Adorwartable News

Viva Las Vegas

2007-05-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, this is my first post, but I thought you would all get a kick out of this. My buddies and I were bar hopping up and down the Las Vegas strip and we decided to stop in this bar right inside the Flamingo Hilton. Behind this bar was a roullette table. So I ordered my drink and decided to play a little at the table to see if I had any luck. Like most times, I won a few spinds, lost a few...pretty much broke even. So I started talking to these girls at the table and was getting along with everyone at the table. This one guy on my right kept yelling and joking with me every time we won, but I really didn't look at him, just kind of joked around gave each other high fives. Well, finally, I put 20 bucks on black and I hear this guy say, "You've been pretty lucky tonight, 200 on black." So the ball goes and it hits black. I look at the guy and I take a major double take and it just happens to be Mr. "Fuck it, I'm throwing down field" himself. SO I ask him to take a picture with me since I helped him win. So here it is...

Happy Summer!

2007-05-13T04:25:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone! It's been awhile. I guess most of you are home by now after finals. Hope they all went well. We've got two weeks left here. I can't wait to get back. Nothing too much is new. I've just got end-of-the-semester work to finish up. But, as I'm getting pumped for the CWS and as the college baseball season nears the conference tourneys, I figured I'd give a little college baseball update:

- The Irish are still up-and-down. We're sitting at 27-23, 10-12 right now, still needing to clinch a spot in the Big East tournament. David Phelps is our staff ace and up for pitcher of the year. He's only 8-4 but has a 1.74 ERA. He just gets no run support really.

- There's a huge series going on in the Pac-10 this weekend, with Arizona State playing UCLA for first place in the conference. Both teams are looking good for hosting regionals. UCLA started the season 8-14 and has come out of nowhere as a potential one-seed.

- Teams from last year's College World Series that seem poised for a repeat appearance are North Carolina (40-10), Clemson (33-18), Oregon State (36-12), Rice (40-11).

- As always, I've got to put in a word about the good 'ol MVC and the Bluejays. Wichita State is leading the conference, but Creighton is even in the loss column. The Bluejays have four conference games left, while Wichita only has three. Those two should be headed for regionals, with WSU most likely a host site. Evansville could play its way into the regionals with a solid last two weeks of the season.

- Big 12 - looks like it'll get anywhere from four to seven bids - Texas, Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Texas A&M are all locks, while Nebraska, Baylor, Kansas State, and Oklahoma are all fighting for a few more spots. They've all got a lot of work to do, as only K-State as 30 wins right now.

- The SEC is always talked up as the toughest conference and gets sometimes upwards of eight or nine bids, and it's strong again this year. Vanderbilt has been atop the conference all season long and has the pitching staff to make a regional run at the CWS.

other "underdog" teams to look out for, for the CWS include Coastal Carolina (40-10, swept a two-game series at Nebraska), Lousiana-Lafayette (37-13, already clinched the Sun Belt), and Stetson (38-13, they beat our Irish and own a series win against LSU - Paul Mainieri's new squad).

Well, that's it for now. Maybe no one cares about the college baseball, but I've got to get the word out. Happy Summer everyone! I can't wait to get back in the States. GO IRISH!

Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?

2007-05-02T13:52:00.000-05:00

This is the preliminary mix for the semester...feel free to offer comments and changes, but only certain people can actually get me to change songs.

1 - "No Cars Go" The Arcade Fire
2 - "Dashboard" Modest Mouse
3 - "A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger" Of Montreal
4 - "We Share Our Mothers' Health" The Knife
5 - "Alright" Supergrass
6 - "Imitosis" Andrew Bird
7 - "All My Heroes Are Weirdos" !!!
8 - "Silver Rocket" Sonic Youth
9 - "Knife (Girl Talk Remix)" Grizzly Bear
10 - "She's Radioactive!" Bikeride
11 - "North American Scum" LCD Soundsystem
12 - "What Light" Wilco

New blog!

2007-04-30T15:50:00.000-05:00

Dear friends, I have recently decided to turn my hobby of making rash predictions about all things into a Weblog, so feel free to follow my exploits over at Put it in the Bank. Hope all is well in your far-flung corners.

COACHELLA HAS ARRIVED

2007-04-24T17:35:00.000-05:00

Coachella's Lineup has been released
Here is my (tentative) schedule
Friday:
1. Comedians of Comedy
2. Tokyo Police Club
3. Nickel Creek
4. Of Montreal
5. David Guetta
6. Arctic Monkeys
7. Julieta Venegas (mexico represent!)
8. Jesus and Mary Chain
9. Benny Benassi
10. Interpol (or Brazilian Girls???? ah!?!?!)
11. Sonic Youth
12. Bjork
Saturday
1. Pharoahe Monk
2. The Frames (or Fountains of Wayne)
3. The Fratellis
4. Regina Spektor
5. Hot Chip
6. The New Pornographers
7. Peter, Bjorn, and John
8. The Decemberists
9. !!!
10. The Arcade Fire
11. Justice
12. LCD Soundsystem
13. Gotan Project
14. Black Keys (or The Good, The Bad, and the Queen?!?!?!?! which?!?!)
Sunday
1. Lupe Fiasco
2. Mando Diao
3. Tapes n Tapes
4. Grizzly Bear
5. Explosions in the Sky
6. Junior Boys (or Soulwax)
7. The Roots
8. CSS
9. Jose Gonzalez
10. Paul van Dyck
11. Air
12. Manu Chao
13. Happy Mondays
14. Rage Against the Machine

whew. 40 bands. 3 days.

I'm going to be doing alot of running to catch these bands I'll only see portions of some sets so I can see all the acts that I want to see. Pretty ridiculous band list though. I'll give u guys an update when I return. Wish me luck.

Otters Holding Hands

2007-04-18T12:59:00.001-05:00

The best part is at the 1:26 mark when they reach out for each other a second time...how cute!

Music by Box Codax aka Nick McCarthy from Franz Ferdinand

Pitchfork Drinking Game

2007-04-14T09:11:00.001-05:00

funny

Tony Reali Isn't a Big Enough Celebrity to be a Jerk

2007-03-30T14:35:00.000-05:00

ESPN films Around the Horn and PTI down here in DC, so it's not uncommon to see Tony "Stat Boy" Reali around town. Last night, as I was headed toward the Metro to ride to the Ted Leo show, Reali comes out of the station, right past me. I look him square in the eye, smile and say "Great show tonight," and he responds with a haughty stare. Yeah, he was wearing headphones, but come on. Easy lip-read, and with the eye contact, he must've known. Usually, bugging "celebrities" isn't my thing, but come on. He hosts a sports talking heads show. Show a little love to the fans.

In other news, the Ted show was incredible. Second night on the tour, and the freshness shows. Full of energy, and he had an extra guitarist, which added a lot to the sound. Voice sounded good, new stuff seemed tight, besides one slip-up in the makes-me-roll-my-eyes "Bomb Repeat Bomb." NPR has a web cast of it, which you can download here.

Nickelback = Nickelcrap

2007-03-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

Found this article on the AP and found it sad/hilarious...

Sales can't buy love for some top bands

NEW YORK - Few bands inspire such intense hatred as Nickelback.

The post-grunge Canadian quartet has been trashed, bashed and hated on by countless critics, music snobs and other like-minded souls. So have much-maligned acts like Hinder, a rock band from Oklahoma; the Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas, who have spawned infectious rap hits "My Humps" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart"; and Britney Spears, who in her heyday ruled radio but was condemned for everything from her voice to not writing her own songs.

Yet these acts have sold millions upon millions of albums. So are the critics wrong? Do music buyers have bad taste? Is this karmic payback to all the haters?

"There are some bands that, let's face it, are critic-proof," said Nathan Brackett, a senior editor at Rolling Stone. "Just like there are some movies that are critic-proof. Nobody is really reading the reviews for `Norbit,' you know? And nobody's reading Nickelback reviews either."

That might be a good thing. Nickelback's "All the Right Reasons," which debuted at No. 1 on the charts in the fall of 2005 and was still number 16 this week, was called "hard-rock ridiculousness" by The New York Times and "unspeakably awful" by Allmusic.com. Even the late Nirvana frontman and grunge icon Kurt Cobain would disapprove, suggested Rolling Stone, which called the disc "so depressing, you're almost glad Kurt's not around to hear it."

Young people who "are introduced to these bands on the radio, they don't have a lot of baggage," Brackett said. "A lot of kids don't care if an act, you know, kind of took their guitar sound from some other band."

Post-grunge outfits like Nickelback and Hinder continue to be popular — or wreak havoc, whatever your opinion — in part because they appeal to the estrogen set, said Craig Marks, editor in chief of Blender magazine. A "slightly hipper band" will sell more albums to guys than girls, he said.

"They're selling a lot of records to very casual music fans who don't buy a lot of CDs," Marks said. "When you're selling 5 million albums like Nickelback or 2 1/2 million like Hinder, and especially when you're making your mark with big ballads that are kind of wedding songs, then you're selling records to both males and females. And that's often how you get from selling 1 1/2 million records to selling 4 or 5 million records."

When "teenage girls or tween girls like an artist, that's often a sign that ... the artist isn't cool," said Marks, who also gives Spears as an example. "You know, `My little sister likes them.'"

Advertisements, music reviews and fashion trends tell us that "cool" is an edgy rapper, an up-and-coming hipster band or a British chanteuse like Amy Winehouse. Cool is not Nickelback or the Black Eyed Peas. They're not so uncool that they're cool, like Fountains of Wayne.

They're just, in a word, uncool.

Chris St. Peter, 26, of New York, witnessed this hatred years ago at a concert in Boston, where Nickelback was opening for another band in front of an indie-rock crowd.

"They threw batteries at them, which is also terrible but also really funny," St. Peter said. "Nickelback represented everything I think they hated."

Though he didn't hurl any batteries, St. Peter gives the band a thumbs-down. "I hope they go the same way as, like, Creed, and they just sort of disappear."

But for every hater there's a lover like Jaclyn Hafenstein, 30, from Madison, Wis. "Don't they trash them because their music is considered simple, not unique?" she wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Why is that bad? Whatever it (is) they're doing, it makes me bob my head and sing along! I can't say that for every band, whether I like them or not."

Often, bands that are popular in places like Wisconsin get dissed by snobs on the coasts. "There's a real danger with ... writers being in their kind of music-critic clique, you know, in either New York or L.A. or San Francisco, and kind of ignoring these bands just because all the critics they know and all the kind of so-called cool kids are ignoring these bands," Brackett said.

He points out that classic acts like Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Billy Joel were at first ignored by critics. Then again, he said, "there are a lot of times when music critics are right."

Acts hoping to collect both money and respect would do well to study an It band like Fall Out Boy, which sells heaps of records to teen girls while delighting the critics, too. They don't take themselves too seriously, unlike, say, the Killers in their latest incarnation or — again — Nickelback.
It all comes back to Nickelback, doesn't it? At least they're now big enough to headline their own shows, and that means no batteries will be hurled.
Only verbal ones, from outside the venue.
"You know, you have to be really popular in order to corral that sort of hatred," Marks said. "It's the best ballplayer on the visiting team who gets booed during the introductions. No one boos the guy off the bench, but you always boo the star of the other team. You know, it is a tribute to their success."

The only problems I have with this article are the inclusions of Fall Out Boy and Billy Joel as good music, but oh well.

Toni Kukoc, Win Butler, and facebook bets

2007-03-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

cheers mates,

sorry i've been gone for awhile so i have a lot to write about. sounds like everyone's having a good semester. london's great but i'm looking forward to senior year back at nd.

a few weeks ago, i had a week-long break, so i went to rome, croatia, and slovenia. you can read about rome on wikipedia if you want, so i won't tell you about every ruin i saw in the forum. i feel like i should mention some of the highlights of my trip to split, croatia. first of all, split seems to have adopted chicago as its favorite american city. whenever i asked anyone if they knew toni kukoc, they would all become very excited saying, "tonic kukoc?!? of course!! he's from split!! chicago bulls!!!!!!!!" they were all so happy to hear that i live in the same town that hosted their national hero for so many years.

the funniest part about the trip was arriving in split on mardi gras. apparently, everyone dresses up and walks around the city. lots of people had typical american halloween costumes (sports players, superheroes). other people decided to wear the most offensive costumes they could find. among the crowd, i found muslim terrorists (wearing beards and holding machine guns), members of the kkk (with 'nigger' written on their shirts) who all saluted the guy dressed like hitler, and actual black slaves (people painted blacked and chained to a white master). croatia is a beautiful country.

my brother was in town this week, and last night, we went to the arcade fire show. patrick wolf (best new music on the fork) opened for them and was incredibly....gay. he was wearing tight pants, glitter, and less of a shirt than i used to wear to workout. pretty sweet tunes though. arcade fire dominated as expected, but win was so sick that he just stopped singing the choruses to some of the funeral songs. but he did jump into the crowd (and pretty much right on top of me) during rebellion (lies). neon bible is sweet, but the concert just made me remember how much i love funeral. the one song i never got into on that album was 'haiti' which was possibly my favorite song of the whole concert.

i was also informed last night that meghan slentz was talking to some people, and somehow my name came up. so she said "yeah i know him. he made his facebook profile exactly the same as mine, and then he acted like he didn't know what i was talking about when i asked him about it." so before, i thought there might be a chance she didnt know who i was. now i know that everytime i see this girl, she thinks im the creepiest person in the world. just makes london a little more awkward. but at least im not wearing a dress. and at least im not mike brey (we suck). im expecting big things from the baseball team though. keep us updated, tom. hope everyone has a good st. patricks day.

J

Dance? Sure, why not...

2007-03-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest!

The excitement is building and building as we near tip off tomorrow morning. I hope that Coach Brey has the team on a short leash and early curfew because our game starts at 11:35 Pacific Time...but Tory Jackson has been wearing a White Sox hat so we should be all good.

Our team and band is sharing a hotel with the Texas team and band. I was just hanging out in the lobby last night and who should walk in? Kevin Durant. He looks just as tough in person as he does on TV...he oozes athleticism. Oh, and the hotel is the best I've ever stayed in. Walk in marble shower, soft beds, HDTV on flat-LCD televisions, and free wireless internet. Combine that with the steak on the charter flight from South Bend and I may decide to walk onto the basketball team next year just for the perks.

Yesterday, I saw the movie 300 with Tyler and another one of the cheerleaders. We were killing time in the mall before the movie started and local kids kept asking us whether we thought we could beat Texas or not. They didn't seem to understand that we couldn't play Texas until the title game and kept flashing the hook 'em horns to us.

The local Spokane ND alumni club had us and the cheerleaders do a "pep rally" at an Irish pub last night. I'm amazed at the prevalance of ND fans anywhere you go. After the rally a bunch of us went back to the pub and these alums bought us drinks and food...gotta love rich ND alums. The stipend money has been fantastic as well...I'll probably turn a couple hundred dollar profit for the trip.

So, I'll post again after the game on Friday about our game and the Oregon/Miami OH game (which we also get to watch)...I'm trying to find tickets for the night session involving USC and Texas, but so far no luck. Anyway, I've got to run off to some free go-karting...Go Irish Beat Eagles.

Arcade Fire? Popular? What?

2007-03-14T17:37:00.000-05:00

As reported in various places, Arcade Fire's Neon Bible debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 list, coming in behind only the Notorious B.I.G.'s Greatest Hits. Interesting, as Funeral topped out at #131. And after the Shins reached the top spot earlier this winter, it makes you think about what "indie" means, if it means anything anymore. The OC seems to have brought it here to stay, and I guess I'm happy about that. While I like to act cool about having known this stuff for a couple of years now, and some of me wants to keep indie guarded and reserved for only the most enlightened, it's good that bands like Arcade Fire can reach a broader audience. Sure is a lot deeper and more interesting than most of the stuff you can find nowadays. The more people who hear "No Cars Go" the better, if you ask me. Hopefully new fans will discover Funeral now, which might be as close to the "life-changing rock record" as I'll ever find.

In other news, I'm in the middle of break here in the Jerz, amped up to watch the tourney tomorrow and Friday before headed back down to the District on Saturday. After being in the bustling city for a couple of months, it's nice to get back to the quiet "country" for a spell. Dinner time with the fam; Go Irish, and hook 'em Durant.

update amigos

2007-03-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

dudes,
it's been awhile. first music. i've gotten into a couple new records recently. the knife, who share their motherland with the creators of the World's First Perfect Album, released a mindblowing electronic record last year (Silent Shout). how indie is this record? enough to fill that number 1 spot on the fork's top records of '06. yeah. i know. this brother-sis duo's pretty kooky though. they refuse to show their faces in public, apparently in fear that listeners will superficially change their thoughts on the music if they see what they look like. i think they're just a couple of ugly swedes who have grown unreasonably self-conscious in a country that defines Hitler's dream of the Aryan race. But i digress... very interesting manipulation of vocals on this record. it's downright creepy most of the time, which isn't such a bad thing because the layered synth beats are a trippy experience to begin with. it's not something that you'd grind on a freshman babe to, if that's what you're wondering. but if you're into that whole electronic indie thing you'll probably like this. if you want something tamer try their old records, apparently they're more popish. Of Montreal just put out an epic record last month, and there's been the proverbial cream in the jeans by all the usual suspects that we check to make sure it's ok to listen to a record (pf, allmusic, metacritic, etc). couple comments. why are they called of montreal? they're from georgia? who would want to be mistaken for being "of montreal"? must have some french in them somewhere, or just some bad smell maybe. i duhno. i try no to judge. besides the name, they also have a penchant for laughably pretensious literary/historical allusions in their music. Take "The Past is a Grotesque Animal", a real marathon of a track that Kevin Barnes described as the turning point between the 1st and 2nd sides of this breakup concept album. I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met"/Who could appreciate George Bataille/Standing at Swedish festival discussing the 'Story of the Eye'" and " The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"/She gets hysterical because they're both so mean/And it's my favorite scene", citing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Yeah whatever dude. It's still cool though. Apparently Barnes has a problem with public nudity as well. But i can forgive him, cause there are some pretty clever lyrics in here: "Somehow you've red-rovered the gestapo circling my heart." Nice. Oh and the music's pretty cool too. He's still got that whole electropop thing lingering from Sunlandic Twins, but on some of the tracks he turns a bit darker. me rikey. so give those two a shot if u want people to think you're indie. or if u just like good music, and still know that joanna newsom should stick that harp up her ass and learn how to write 5 minute songs.
Mexico's pretty solid. no complaints. busy weekends coming up. On tuesday I'm going to acapulco for a week, which should be a blast, a bunch of gringos wil be there for american spring break, and saturday of course is st. patty's, so i'll try to survive that. i turned my 21st birthday into a weeklong marathon of bars, finishing on a wednesday at this super trendy club with lots of attractive girls that i got to stare at. i thought i was pretty cool. and tough. now that i'm 21.
after acapulco, the next weekend i'm going on a trip with the kids at Puebla to some little city called Cuetzalan. I'm not really sure what we're doing there, but they're paying for the whole trip so I said why not. and then the week after that we have spring break. We're going to Puerto Vallarta, which I know J man is a big fan of, and then a couple other smaller beach towns to bro out some more.
Sadly this semester will be over before I know it. it's really gone by way way too fast. i'm really glad i came here, and i'm actually really glad that there's no ND kids here, cause it forced me to be outside of any sort of comfort zone i probably would have made if there were a bunch of irish students here. i've met alot of people from alot of different countries, off the top of my head germany, finland, sweden, england, france, italy, japan, australia, new zealand, venezuela, argentina, chile, Holland, Poland, Canada... yeah, it's been cool. hopefully one day when i have some cash money i can visit all of those places and crash at their places. when i came down to mexico i knew i was gonna get a taste of the mexican culture, but i had no idea how many different people from different parts of the world i was going to get to know. it's been quite a ride.
sorry i've been bad with updates lately. at the very latest, i will give u guys a pre and post coachella update. it's comin up quick now, only about a month and a half or so. very nice.
cheers

2007-03-11T16:44:00.001-05:00

salut, baseball update, and whatever

2007-03-11T16:44:00.000-05:00

How's everyone been? Things have been fun and interesting here lately. The dinners with my host lady are always exciting and full of conversation. Other than class and the usual stuff, a friend of mine from the Czech Republic (who had studied in Omaha for a year during high school and then visited again last summer for three months) came to Dijon this weekend. So, it was a fun weekend. We got some soccer games going in the park and then a group of us went on a hike on the outskirts of Dijon. You can climb this hill/mountain and have a great view of Dijon and Lake Kir and a river that flows near Dijon. My host lady, my roommate, and I just ate dinner about a half an hour ago, and I had a little adventure taking the trash out afterwards. You have to go down to the first floor and put everything in this trash room, and anyway, the door locked behind me, so I was locked in there for awhile. My host lady and my roommate Lauren waited for me to come back up for a while and figured I was probably locked down there. So, they showed up with a digital camera and their video ready. Anyway, I digress... Some of us here are going to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day; we just found a fairly cheap flight. So, that should be fun. Here's a quick little college baseball update: the Irish have been struggling lately - surprisingly no offense. Our pitching has actually been pretty good. I really think once we get things going and get into conference play, our pitching and hitting will come along and we'll be great. Wade Korpi is solid, and Dan Kapala is back from injury. He'll really help. We're 4-8 right now, after winning two and losing two this weekend. We seem to beat the good, ranked teams and lose to teams we should beat. Last week, we beat #7 Nebraska, and the week before, we beat #12 TCU but lost this week to Sacred Heart (3-0) and Harvard (4-0, just no offensive production), not exactly baseball powerhouses. Anyway, my prediction for the season is we start getting the bats going and pick up some good non-con wins and beat Michigan later in the year for a quality win, win the Big East... that's as far as I'll go for now. Hopefully this is a year we can make it to Omaha, though. Florida State is really a team to keep an eye on. They're undefeated still (20-0). And, dang, I thought I could watch the selection show here online, but it's not working for some reason. And how 'bout the Irish hockey? My Mom just called, though, and told me Notre Dame's seed and site. I think we got shafted.. no respect. Winthrop will be tough. As for music I've started listening to lately and really like, I love the new Arcade Fire, the more recent Bright Eyes stuff (Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and stuff after that even), a few other bands that are playing in Omaha or have played in Omaha: Page France, Headlights, Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, and The Cold War Kids. Hope everyone's doing well. Type to ya later. Go Irish!

AWOL

2007-02-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

I realize I have been MIA lately, so I guess I should give a little update on myself. Most importantly, me, Peter Courtney, J Small, and Jappy/Pappy are plowing through Arrested Development from start to end. This is currently my most basic motivation for living.

In other news, I have gotten some new music lately. Of Montreal, Peter Bjorn and John, the first Arcade Fire, and NIN live all gain stellar reviews. Deerhoof gets 10 stars for weirdness and musicallity, but the vocals are kind of annoying and bring the overall score down to just good.

Thats all. Keep on keeping on

Bonjour, et la nouvelle d'aujourd'hui

2007-02-27T07:18:00.000-05:00

It's been a while. Everything's going well here in France. I love it. Since I last posted, classes have started, I've been to Paris again, and I've traveled a little on some excursions around Bourgogne. We went to Beaune, heart of wine country, and did a little wine-tasting. Last weekend, we visited the towns of Vezelay and Fontenay and toured some enormous basilicas/cathedrals, ancient abbeys, and strolled the streets of some neat villages. My host lady is pretty eccentric, really cool, though. She is a fantastic cook, so we're trying all these delicious, new-to-me French foods. At least twice a week (sometimes more) she goes out to party or go dancing. And she blasts American hip-hop/rap music in the living room and attempts to sing, mostly hum, along even though she doesn't know what most of the lyrics are trying to say. There are two other students living with me. Lauren, who is from Maine and goes to school in Canada, and Tadashi, who is from Japan. We have awesome dinners when we sit and speak French for two/three hours. My host lady will say, "ok, I'm tired or I've got somewhere to go, so we have to eat quickly tonight." Then, it'll last for more than two hours. It's great for conversational French, though, and it's fun. Seeing JPW pics posted online and reading about all the stuff going on back at ND, I do miss the place. So, there are always two places I know I can go where things will always be - for the most part - the same as in the Etats-Unis: the basketball court and church. So, those are my two sanctuaries. We went to an awesome mass in a massive cathedral here in Dijon last Sunday. The singing was great, and the sun was shining through the beautiful stained glass windows the whole time. Even though the language was different, the ceremony will always be the same. As for the basketball, I played last week and am going again tomorrow. It's great for learning slang and, again, just for practicing speaking French. Like they say in "Hoosiers," the rims are still 10 feet high and the charity strike is 15 feet away. Anyway, basketball and church, I guess, are my two releases. I love it here, but once in a while, it's good to experience something familiar. My French is getting tons better. It's a blast trying to improve and just using it everyday at the store, the boulangerie, or in class. Dijon is an amazing city. The architecture in Centre Ville is awesome. And the city's much bigger than I thought it'd be, and there's always plenty to do. Tuesday nights are always fun because we go to this bar Okhil, which has an international student night. Tons of students from all over the world are there, and it's great to mingle and meet people from so many places, communicating in only French. This Friday, we're heading on another excursion to the Loire Valley. Staying in a four-star hotel for the weekend (paid for by the program) and visiting some chateaux I've only seen in pictures until now. Haven't finalized any out-of-the-country travel plans yet, but I'm hoping to get to Spain later in March, the Czech Republic perhaps for Easter, and then Italy and Eastern Europe later in April when we've got a three-week break. Greece in May, hopefully. I'm going to be getting back to Paris quite a bit, too. There's my little update. I've been following Irish b-ball online and keeping up on baseball. I'll give some baseball rundowns later in the season. Everybody gear up for the Road to Omaha! Hope everything's going well for all of you. Paix, et a plus tard.

Barack and I

2007-02-13T23:31:00.001-05:00

First, my apologies for being MIA the last couple of weeks. More detailed posts to follow. But this one is too cool to throw in with other more menial updates, and I'll be surprised if I can make it through using complete sentences. So I was at this Hyatt hotel tonight where my department at USCCB has been hosting this huge conference. And I'm standing in the lobby, which has an escalator attached to it that leads right to the hotel exit. Fr. Bill Lies from ND's Center for Social Concerns, who's out for the conference, grabbed me and said, "Do you know who's at the top of the escalator? Barack Obama. You should go meet him." After apologizing over my shoulder to some old lady for running into her, spilling her coffee everywhere, I scaled the escalator, and there he was himself. The Obamanator. In the flesh. With an enormous black man standing by as a handler. Barack was speaking to the young child of a woman who works with me, so I stood by and waited to make my move. After he finished, I grabbed his attention and stuck out my hand. He took it, and we stood there shaking. I racked my brain for something to say. But all I could think of was, "Hi, I'm Mike. I'm with the U.S. Bishops." "OK.." Barack said, obviously confused by my completely irrelevant and unimportant announcement. What do I say to the potential next leader of the free world? Nothing, apparently. I mumbled something under my breath, let go of his soft hand, and wished Barack a good night. He smiled, waved, and walked out of the hotel. Embarrassing? A bit. But the excitement wins out this time around, and I've spent the past four hours prepping some witticisms just in case I see Hillary around town.

Disturbing

2007-02-12T13:07:00.001-05:00

I knew this song wasn't cool anymore.

An interesting take...

2007-02-09T16:47:00.000-05:00

Friends, both present and abroad. I hope everything is going well.

I'm sure we all remember the atrocity which was the Super Mario Bros. movie in the early nineties. Questionable acting, ridiculous use of CGI for the goombas, etc... the flaws are endless. We can only thank the Lord that the movie hasn't marred the godlike status of our plumbing duo in the video game world. While I must admit, I was young when I saw the movie, this blog posting really made me want to see it again. Perhaps it will forever be an awful movie, but he makes pretty solid observations... even a comparison (though a bit of a stretch) with Shakespeare's Hamlet. While the author of this blog points out numerous points of merit... whether they are a result of his own extreme interpretation of the movie, he does also make mention of the BAD parts of the movie. Alas, I shall leave you with the link... personal reflections and/or copies of the movie would be appreciated :D

Josh

Link http://www.destructoid.com/why-the-super-mario-movie-is-an
-underappreciated-masterpiece-29694.phtml

LOST-Tomorrow Night!

2007-02-06T17:14:00.001-05:00

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles. I love Paris every moment of the year. I love Paris, why oh why do I love Paris...

2007-02-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the song-lyric titles when we first get to our abroad destination... I love Paris. We just arrived Friday morning Paris time and stayed in Paris until last night, when we took the TGV to Dijon. Paris was awesome; we saw most of the major monuments - Le Tour Eiffel, L'Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, etc. Didn't make it to the Louvre or Musee d'Orsay yet, but we'll get back. I knew Paris was a big city, but I was just amazed at how crowded it was everywhere... every restaurant, every store was just packed with people. It seemed like a dream being there, though: seeing all these places I've always seen only in pictures. I used to think it was just a stereotype that French people took their leisurely time eating croque messieurs et croque mesdames and drinking espresso and wine at sidewalk cafes. But, our very first lunch (with the couple from Dijon who met us at the CDG airport) was at a petit cafe, eating the aforementioned and couscous. They said we'd get some "quick" lunch, but we were there for nearly two hours. For dessert, it was creme bruleee... I felt very French. Other than that, the second day was interesting. We ate in Montmarte, near Sacre Coeur. The place had photos and notes on scrap paper and index cards all over the walls; people who had eaten there would leave a note and the serveuse would hang it on the wall. So, we left our own and drew a little ND monogram. C'etait bon. The whole time at that cafe, Beatles music was playing in the background. The serveuse didn't speak English really, but she did know some of the lyrics, and we all sang along. When "Here comes the sun" came on, it was fitting because il a fait du soleil in Paris that day. Anyway, I'm here in Dijon now... my host lady is really nice. She has two kids, but they're both in their 20s and moved out. Her son came over tonight for dinner. The spoke ridiculously fast, but I got by for the most part. It's been fun trying to improve my French. She lives in the center of Dijon, so it's a short walk from any discotheque, record store, boulangerie, boucherrie, ou patisserie. I went to a party last night at some dorm, in a really shady part of town, but it was really cool because all the girls were from Russia, Hungary, Canada or England, and there were guys from Ecuador, Lebanon, China, and Japan. I was the seul American, but it was neat to meet people from all corners of the world. Well, I should probably get going. We've got a placement exam in the morning at the university. Time for a little studying and then bed. I don't have a cell phone yet (doing that tomorrow), but we just got wifi here at the house, so I'll be online. T'es a Paris ce week-end, Justin? If it's next weekend that you're getting there, hopefully I could make it up there. The train's only 1:15 minutes. Sorry if my English was scattered or grammatically incorrect... it's been kind of weird switching back and forth between French and English. Abientot. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!

The Indie Takeover

2007-02-01T07:56:00.000-05:00

The Shins third album, released by Sub Pop (very indie), debuts at # 2 on the Billboard charts??? The world is slowly becoming more indie everyday. I think this has partly has to be attributed to the Pants Party.

To Clear Things Up

2007-01-30T23:02:00.000-05:00

I'm just opening a bottle. That's all. I'll post Friday, once I'm in France. I'm sure you guys that are abroad have heard by now, but it's been snowing like crazy here... it's probably been over a week straight and nearly 15 inches. Later.

Goodbye Tom

2007-01-30T16:34:00.000-05:00

Tom, we will all miss you. Enjoy Dijon.

The shorts party

2007-01-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

3:00-4:00pm EST on Fridays

wvfi.nd.edu

LISTEN!!!

Seen and heard...

2007-01-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

In today's Question of the Day, James Aldridge answered the question, "What is your favorite movie?" with this response:

"Roots, because its my roots."

In Irish starting point guard, Tory Jackson's Economics class, his professor raised the question, "What does economics mean to you?" He responded:

"Taking fool's money and putting it in my pocket."

2007 Coachella

2007-01-22T22:42:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the lineup for 2007 Coachella Music Festival?
Simply Ridiculous. Highlights: bjork, interpol, jesus and mary chain, arctic monkeys, sonic youth, dj shadow, felix da housecat, rufus wainwright, nickel creek, tokyo police club, comedians of comedy (what?!?!?!), benny benassi, red hot chili peppers, arcade fire, tiesto, decemberists, kings of leon, LCD soundsystem, new pornographers, fountains of wayne, andrew bird, the frames, girl talk, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, air, willie nelson, paul van dyck, explosions in the sky, tapes n tapes, lupe fiasco, grizzly bear.
by the way, tiesto and paul van dyck fight for the top spot as the best DJ in the world as rated by DJ Magazine.

that's like every artist i have on my ipod. i can't believe this i'm still in shock.
this is a poorly written post but i don't care.
anyways i'm going with some buddies from school who are from arizona (hopefully). salud.

I hate Michael Jackson...

2007-01-22T16:09:00.001-05:00

Why? Why? Why?

Should the next generation really associate the beatles with a crappy big box chain selling tide and coca cola? There has to be something Sir Paul and Ringo can do to recapture their legacy. I'd personally donate five dollars to their cause (even though I've personally never purchased a beatles album). Oh well, at least Feb-bear-ary is right around the corner.

To Mike...

2007-01-16T21:20:00.001-05:00

Can anything really be better than this?

Keep Fishin'

2007-01-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

Well the semester has finally begun and Scott has already missed his first class...wait...that was just the dream I had last night. For those of you not in the greater Dillon Hall region of the country, we recieved our first snow of the winter early this morning and the temperatures have slipped into the upper 20s. Jose and I have erected a partion between the two halves of our room so that we don't have to look at or smell each other. While moving back into the room I discovered all sorts of goodies that Scott left behind. This includes a towel, a sweatshirt, deodorant, Cranium, an alarm clock, and a telephone. So if you want any of this stuff, let me know before Jose eats it.

Perusing a few of my favorite indie music blogs this afternoon, I discovered an end of 2006 list written by none other than our favorite Harvard undergrad, Rivers Cuomo, that he wrote for the school paper. He had this to say about 2006:

Stuff I Liked in 2006
By RIVERS CUOMO

1. Hall & Oates—“Greatest Hits.” Man, did the 80s rule.

2. Nelly Furtado—“Promiscuous” and “Maneater.” I admire her independence from the expectations of her fanbase.

3. Chamillionaire & Krayzie Bone—“Ridin.’” This song gets me pumped. I also love Weird Al’s version, “White and Nerdy.”

4. Danity Kane—“Show Stopper.” I am biologically incapable of not being attracted to this song.

5. Fish Leong—“Yong Qi.” The best ballad I’ve heard in years comes from China.

6. Gnarls Barkley—“Crazy.” What the heck? Where did this song come from?

7. Keane—“Somewhere Only We Know.” I think this song was on my list last year but it still makes my heart beat fast.

8. Panic At The Disco—“I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” This song seems so avant-garde and yet it’s structurally very simple and repetitive. Good job, kids.

9. Sam Harris—“Letter to A Christian Nation.” Interesting.

10. Bob Woodward—“State of Denial.” Seems like a pretty even-handed and well-informed account of the war. Then again, what do I know.

11. Ne-Yo. Besides the fact that his songs are catchy and soulful, I love the fact that they’re so anti-gangsta.

12. “Lost”—I’m just about finished with the first season but I think I’m going to have to give it up because it’s too violent.

13. Shakira—“Hips Don’t Lie.” I’ve love the music for this song. Does anyone know where it’s from? It sounds familiar.

14. The Fray—“Over My Head.” I finally realized why this song sounded so right to me the first time I heard it on the radio: My drummer reminded me that Weezer toured with The Fray in 2004 and I so must have heard this song every night through the walls of my dressing room.

15. Tim McGraw—“Live Like You Were Dying” and “My Little Girl.” Country music sounds good to me now that I’m a family man.

16. Cassie—“Me & U.” This was one of my favorite songs of the year before I knew it was produced by a Harvard alum!

17. Yung Joc and Young Dro. Supplying my thug fix.

18. Jojo—“Too Little, Too Late.” A rare example of a chorus that starts on the II chord rather than the I chord.

19. Sufjan Stevens—“Come On! Feel the Illinoise!” For when populist art cloys.

He's into a lot of the same stuff we are! WOW! Also, he likes a lot of questionable music, which could explain recent songs like "We Are All On Drugs." Hopefully, once he finishes his degree, starts having sex again, and picks up a guitar, maybe we'll be treated with one more great Weezer album.

Speaking of clever indie pop, the new CYHSY album is streaming off of their myspace:
Some Loud Thunder

It is definitely worth a listen. Their sound has matured a lot, while still keeping the essential things that made their debut album so terrific. I think the vocals are a little clearer and the backing instrumentation definitely builds off of their previous works. Check out what sounds like some church bells on the great track "Goodbye to Mother and the Cove." The songs that were previously leaked, such as "Satan Said Dance," sound much better in their final album form and there is no sophomore slump for CYHSY.

Overall this disk rates four out of five Dorwart heads:

SHOEGAZE IS BACK

2007-01-16T14:45:00.000-05:00

mbv- my bloody valentine- or manbearpig- will release a new album. no mames, guey.

A Day in the Life

2007-01-16T06:09:00.000-05:00

If any of you are still looking for something to do for Spring Break and have thousands of dollars to spend, I recommend coming to London. After less than a week here, I'm pretty sure it's the best city in the world. I think this is the only place any of us have ever been called "pussies" by a professor for not drinking enough.

Actually, English Ale is not the best thing about the city. Being bored in London is impossible. I feel like I could spend an entire year just in the city without working or going to class, and I still wouldn't do everything I want to.

Anyway, tonight Katie and I are going to see Kristin Hersh for free at some pub, the same Kristin Hersh dubbed the "Queen Mum of indie rock" by everyone's favorite pretentious music webzine (the fork). If it's worth reviewing, I'll do that.

I also heard one of the business professors here is arranging to have all the ND basketball games put on DVD and sent over here, so we all can watch them. Any news on McAlarney yet? I'm jealous of you guys on campus who get to watch Russell and the boys dominate the Big East.

Washington: More Concerts than South Bend

2007-01-15T20:52:00.000-05:00

After hitting up the National Gallery of Art today (sweet Rembrandts, Scott), I hung out with my buddy Jack from high school who goes to Georgetown (lunch at Potbelly's. Awesome.). He showed me a couple of indie concert venues online, and the list is impressive. Here are some shows I hope to check out later in the semester; expect to find reviews of those shows on this site.

Jan. 19//Benjy Feree and Meredith Bragg
Feb. 12//Thunderbirds are Now!, Oxford Collapse
Feb. 13//Apples in Stereo
Feb. 22//Chin Up Chin Up (maybe I'll pay to see 'em after not going for free at ND), Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Mar. 2//The Thermals
Mar. 4//Grizzly Bear
Mar. 23//The Walkmen
Mar. 27//+/-
Apr. 25//John Vanderslice

Sweet. I also visited DC's #1 record store today, which is right down the block. Small, but good indie collection..I nabbed Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins' record, and the latest Golden Smog album (Jeff Tweedy and some guys from the Jayhawks). The record store is close to Kramer Books, a famous bookstore that is sort of like a singles bar for nerds. Apparently, it's a social custom to stand around in the section of books that you're interested in and try to strike up a conversation with someone of the opposite sex who shares that interest. If things start well, you ask them to get some coffee at the cafe at the back of the store. I will have to try this.

DC Sleeps

2007-01-13T22:58:00.002-05:00

Sorry for that downer of a title; things here in the District are indeed more exciting than that sleepy Postal Service track, but I had to follow Justin's clever usage of a song name with one of my own. I arrived this afternoon and was the first to check in to my 6-man suite, a nice apartment that puts Dillon shame size-wise. The kitchenette is a little frightening (no SDH will hopefully not equal no eating), but I can't complain. Oh, and three girls live across the hall. In the same dorm. They came by to say hello; nice gals. I tried to play it cool, but alarm bells were going off. I took a deep breath and collected myself, and realized that gender relations are already smoother than they will ever be at ND. Props to coed housing.

This afternoon my folks and I Metro-d over to where I'll be working, right next to the Catholic University of America. Kind of a cool campus, but c'mon..we all know what the real Catholic University of America is. Adjacent to the school is the National Shrine, a huge basilica that is the symbolic home of American Catholicism. You could fit 3 or 4 of our basilicas easily into the Shrine's ridiculously large nave. In the basement is a sweet crypt church, which is located conveniently right next to the official Shrine bookstore, cafeteria and gift shop. The bookstore was proud to offer books by several ND authors, including that psycho freak law professor Charles Rice who pops up in the Observer quite often. I needed to buy a lanyard for my keys, but the ones the Shrine gift shop offered - featuring slogans from "God is Awesome" to the more chic "I Heart Jesus" - weren't exactly what I was looking for.

After Mass, my 'rents and I met up with my aunt and her pony-tailed, jazz-musician boyfriend for dinner at this weird bistro place, with life-size prop planes hanging from the ceiling and real sports cars parked all over the place. It was actually a pretty classy joint though (great bread), and my aunt's boyfriend told me about some good jazz clubs to check out. Sufjan is playing a free show in about a month at the Kennedy Center (home of the National Symphony), so I'll have to swing over there.

Looking at the Metro map is wild. Within 15 minutes, I can be at any of scores of museums or the basketball arena or the Nationals' baseball stadium. So much is right here at my finger tips. What a difference from Michiana. Couldn't watch the football tonight (no TV til CW arrives tomorrow), but I saw the Saints pulled out a squeaker. Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? What a story. Hopefully I'll find a place to check the Bears tomorrow. Until next time, enjoy your last few days of freedom and I'll see you on the other side.

London Calling

2007-01-13T08:07:00.000-05:00

Booyakashaa! Greetings to everyone from the University of Notre Dame in London. After 24+ hours of no sleep, I was finally rested enough to go to my first London pub/club last night, which was quite an experience. Londoners apparently love grinding and eating each others' faces while listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I also found the greatest drink in the world. The Natty Light of London is cider. It comes in 2 liter plastic bottles (like US 2 liter Coke bottles). It tastes like a combination of Laskey's favortie apple cider and champagne and contains anywhere from 4-7% alcohol. The preferred brand is Ice Dragon, which our professor noted is the most efficient way to eject alcohol into your body at the cheapest price.

Ice Dragon, however, seems to be the only thing that's cheap here. After staring at Londoners and a few ND kids dancing like fools at the club, I walked home and bought a hot dog for $7 along the way. It's crazy going into the record shops here in London. Unlike in the US, where the "Best CD's of 2006" (at least the best-selling) were High School Musical, Nickelback, and some other crap, all the stores here are pushing TV on the Radio, Razorlight, Kasabian, Albert Hammond, Jr., and the new Oasis greatest hits. Apparently, the stores don't appreciate great American classics though, as I was able to find Jeff Buckley's Grace for only 4 pounds ($8), which is definitely worth the money. Get this CD if you don't have it. + major indie points (he may have killed himself in an even more indie fashion than Elliott Smith).

I'm off now to go see Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Looking forward to hanging out with some Americans and watching NFL games tonight. Also looking forward to hearing more about Scott's drunken adventures in Mexico, Laskey's DC experience, and Tommy's trip to Dijon, as he increases the overall indieness of French culture. Hope the University of Dillon Hall is great as well.
Peace.
XO

IHOP, or IBarelyMove

2007-01-13T02:02:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post... I realized I had forgotten something extremely exciting that I've done in the past few weeks: I went to the IHOP. Yes, last Friday, I went to the IHOP with some friends and had the traditional big steak. While, we, here in Omaha, did not go as late as the IHOP crew usually does back in South Bend, I was unable to put nearly as much of a dent in the mound of an omlet as I normally do. Nevertheless, it was delicious, and it made me think of the IHOP crew. I miss that place, and I miss the Swedish pancakes and lingonberries. Somehow, I don't think they have the IHOPs in France, even though they're "international," and they probably don't have lingonberries, as those are only found in northern Sweden and Mishawaka. We'll have to continue the tradition next year, hopefully.

Discovery Channel: The Bandie

2007-01-12T22:36:00.000-05:00

**Disclaimer: I did not write this, but found it in a hilarious group on facebook that is dedicated to all things bandie.**

Ahh. Here we see a herd of band geeks in their natural habitat: the band field (commonly mis-labeled as the football field). One should never make this mistake within earshot of the band geek. Band geeks and football players are natural enemies, thus competition for territory is fierce. Several sightings have been reported of Band geek herds numbering well into the hundreds and two hundreds. While Football players usually travel in smaller groups, they feel superior to the Band Geeks but tend to keep to themselves.

The band geek is a complex and fascinating creature, capable of moving at high speeds in unison to form complex and intricate shapes on the fields, as well as producing amazing musical sounds. Herds of band geeks will frequently gather on weekends to put on these displays, coming from all over the area to participate and often waiting hours at a time for their turn. Band geeks are best viewed during the fall season when they gather with their individual herds to practice for the regional gathering of the herds. Band geeks have been known to migrate huge distances simply to attend these gatherings, known as “tournaments” to the band geek.

Though the herds of band geeks move as a single unit, the herd is actually made up of numerous subspecies of band geek. There are four main classifications of band geek, each with its respective subspecies. The classifications are: Percussion, Brass, Woodwind and Pageantry, often called Color Guard.

The band geek herd is led by one to two Alpha band geeks, typically known as “drum majors.” The Drum Major may come from any known subspecies. Unlike other animals, the status of the Drum Major is not determined by popularity, talent, or strength, but rather the odd ability to wave their arms around for long periods of time. This is their main function and they labor under the delusion that other members of the herd are watching them. Although these customs are strange, they should never be questioned.

The Percussion band geek falls into one of two subspecies: the Drum Line, made up of bass drums, tenor drums, snares drums, and sometimes cymbals, and the Pit, so named because that is the place most of the band would like to push them into. There are major differences between these two subspecies. The Drum Line takes part in forming the musical and visual displays with the rest of the herd on the band field. They are the beat of the band --often keeping tempo when the herd is practicing. The pit, however, is stationary. They stay within a pack-rat like nest of instruments, most commonly found just in front of the Drum Major. The Pit is a nomadic group, packing and repacking their equipment frequently—often leaving behind traces where they once where.

Next we have the Brass classification, consisting of the Trumpet, Alto Horn, Trombone, Baritone, and Tuba subspecies. The Brass is predominantly male, with the exception of the Alto Horns. The Trumpets are the highest voice, often the largest of the brass subspecies and quite frequently the most annoying. They spend most of their time competing with one another to see who can play the loudest, highest, and sometimes ugliest note. Dynamic markings mean nothing to them—they play only loud or ear shattering. The Alto Horns have a slightly lower voice and are easier to tolerate than the Trumpet. They like to confuse other members of the herd by calling themselves Mellophones, or Marching French Horns. The Trombones, by contrast, are nearly as annoying as the Trumpets, but their instrument also doubles as a weapon--so be wary of provoking them. Unlike other species of brass, the Trombone has no valves. The typical Trombone spends most of its time swapping dirty jokes with the Baritones or fellow Trombones. The Baritones like to refer to themselves as Euphoniums. No one quite knows why. They like to talk to the Trombones without actually having to be one of them. Do not trust the Baritones. They spend their time plotting the downfall of other sections so that they can take over their solos. The tubas are the lowest voice and calmest of all the brass subspecies. Carrying such a large instrument will take the fight out of almost anyone. It is the dearest wish of many to destroy the woodwind section, particularly the flutes, for complaining about how heavy their tiny instruments are. Overall, the brass section is responsible for most of the sound and mayhem within the herd. One can usually identify one of these subspecies by the angle of their horns, tending to be facing any direction except forward. Also, these species seem to be more physically gifted than that of the woodwinds.

The woodwinds are natural enemies of the brass, despite being in the same herd. The woodwinds are typically smaller, calmer, and more maneuverable on the band field than the brass, yet typically cannot be heard due to the overwhelming sound of the brass. The brass does everything in their power to drown out the sound of the woodwinds. Subspecies of the woodwind include the saxophone, clarinet, and flute. Saxophones are brass wannabe’s. Their instrument is made of metal, and yet they are still classified as a woodwind. The sounds saxophones make vary in tone and pitch—sporadic high squealing can be herd, often mistaken for a piccolo mating cry. The lower saxophones even go so far as to stick close to the tubas during the musical displays, despite the best efforts of the tubas to avoid them. The clarinets are more tolerable than the saxophones. They tend to keep to themselves and attract relatively little animosity from other members of the herd. Many clarinets like to pretend they are really in the Color Guard classification and spin their instruments in their hands, much to the annoyance of other members of the herd. Keeping to themselves so much, clarinets are widely considered to be the least sane species of band geek. Finally, there are the flutes, the most enigmatic subspecies in the herd. They are made of metal, like the saxophones yet do not even have a wooden reed to give them claim to being a woodwind. However, due to the frequent loathing harbored by the tubas, the brass refuses to accept them as part of their group. The flutes are almost exclusively female and generally disliked by every other subspecies of band geek. The flute resembles a piece of plumbing and sounds like a dog whistle. They are typically clueless as to the hostility of other members of the herd and consider themselves to be the pinnacle of musical talent.

Lastly, we have the Pageantry/Color Guard. Like the flutes, they are almost exclusively female, though males have been known to exist. Unlike the rest of the herd, they produce no sound through the use of an instrument—although they are far from silent. The Pageantry typically consists of Sabres, Rifles, and Flags. Sabres spin fake sword-like objects and rifles spin large, fake guns. Why they find this entertaining is a mystery to the rest of the band geek herd. The flags spin and throw colorful banners as part of a display understood only by other Pageantry members. The woodwinds, percussion, and brass do not consider them to be true members of the herd because they produce no sound, but let them think they are in the herd. CAUTION: Members of these subspecies are extremely territorial and have been known to inflict bodily harm upon others. Encroachment could lead to injury, and possibly death.

The behavior of the band geek varies depending on the age of the individual. The youngest is known as the Freshman. Freshmen consider themselves to be the experts of the herd and have no problem telling others this. Freshmen are frequently the targets of a ritual known as “trash-canning,” performed whenever the upperclassmen are bored. The next age is the Sophomore, typically made up of those who managed to live through their Freshman year. Slightly more mature than the freshmen, they have finally learned that they are not the smartest members of the herd, yet continue to act that way. Next are the juniors. They try to hang around the seniors, act as immature as the sophomores, and are responsible for most of the pranks committed within the herd. Lastly are the seniors, the oldest members of the herd. Seniors know everything about band. Never question this. Seniors spend a majority of their time keeping the Freshmen in line and reminiscing about past field shows, usually finishing by saying the Freshmen aren’t nearly as good as they were—and definitely not as tall. Note: Seniors feel passionately about their past performances--imitations of these songs by underclassmen are to be done at their own risk.

The language of the band geek is unlike any other. While some of it resembles English, some words are known only to the band geek, such as Sectionals, Tempo, Horn flash, and Drill Charts. Conversely, some words in English are completely unknown to the band geek, words like Free Time, Individuality, and Lives. A majority of communication, however, is non-verbal and comes in the form of music produced by the instruments of the band geeks, or series of hand gestures.

In conclusion, the band geek is a fascinating individual worthy of further study, particularly for its complex social structure within the herd and its ability to produce intricate and well practiced musical and visual displays."

In other news, our favorite mash up DJ, Girl Talk, has done it again. He has remixed The Knife by Grizzly Bear by smashing it into the Wamp Wamp song by Clipse.

MP3: Grizzly Bear - The Knife (Girl Talk Remix)

Mark "Funnyman" Vermeersch

2007-01-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

Since I'm really funny, I'm not going to make much of an effort at throwing down blogs. However, I will be sure to keep tabs on my friends that are abroad when I am looking for a welcome break from studying (read: every hour). From time to time, as interesting new happenings happen in my life, I may even feel adventurous enough to delve further into the blogging world, creating a blogging funniness that hasn't been seen in years.

Corwin Brown will be our new DC

2007-01-12T18:00:00.000-05:00

The rumors are true. Corwin Brown, the DB coach for the Jets, will be our new Defensive Coordinator. Minter is either gone or demoted. Word is that Vaas is also gone, and Powlus will replace him as quarterback coach. Overall the attitude is positive on the message boards towards Brown, who has an aggressive defensive scheme. To summarize, here's a post by IGMinister, a well respected poster on Irisheyes:
"1. Strong recruiting CV - Check

2. Ties to the CPL and black to combat negative recruiting damage there - Check

3. From a defensive pedigree of coaches that likely all recommended him to Weis - Check

4. Highly respected for his innovative defensive ideas per Mangini - Belicheck - Check

5. Energetic and rah rah - double check

6. young and upcoming - check

7. more experience than Norton - Check

8. Same experiience and coaching level as DeWayne Walker and Ron English when they were hired - Check

9. A known commodity to Weis as opposed to taking someone elses word for his soundness - Check (coached on the same staffs)

10. Would run an attacking aggressive scheme - Check (every coach he played and learned how to coach under does)

11. Likes DB's to play physical at the line - check
anything else I'm missing for those that still feel underwhelmed?
This would be a fantastic hire anyway you cut it."

Bending Like Beckham??

2007-01-12T12:08:00.000-05:00

Well, Almost getting ready to head back to Good Ol' Notre Dame in a couple of days. Considering all my friends have gone back to school this week, nothing too exciting has happened...aside the fact I'm finally 21, went to UCLA, and an impending trip to San Diego. Because of the slow week, two stories have been biggies here: The supposed cold snap we are having now... high of 55...lows of 30! Closest to snow days we have around here in the Southland. The other big news which has undoubtedly hit the nation with much fanfare:David Beckham does the US. The L.A. Galaxy has him for 5 years...and $250 million! How will affect futbol(soccer) here in the US? Will people final pay attention to the international past time that is futbol? We know one group who will be flocking to futbol matches...las ladies. Scoot, quiero tacos!!!! De Alpastor porfavor. Gracias Scott...te extrañamos.

Omaha = +indie points

2007-01-11T23:18:00.000-05:00

Bon soir! All is well in the Big O. Omaha is great. But, I don't really have too much exciting to report. That's why I've hardly been online lately... nothing much new. My brothers and sister are back in school, and I've pretty much just been hanging out at home reading and shooting some hoops in the backyard. Nothing like shooting hoops in the backyard with a ball that is so old, the leather's falling off. I've been going to some Creighton basketball games, so that's been fun. The Jays are starting to play a little better. The last game drew the largest basketball crowd in state history, 16,300 some. I'm no indie expert, especially when it comes to the music. I do, however, believe I've got a story that could possibly give me some indie points. I went to Homer's a few weeks ago (Homer's is an incredibly indie record/cd store in downtown Omaha in the Old Market district, and the people who work there dress very indie-ly). Anyway, I bought the Decemberists' Crane Wife and the Flaming Lips' most recent cd. I've listened to the Decemberists for awhile and use allmusic once in awhile, but I'm nowhere near the level of indie expertise that you guys are. Anyway, when I paid for my cds, I felt very indie, because the cashier, who was dressed very indie-ly, started asking me about the Decemberists. And I carried out a decent conversation for at least five minutes about past albums, good songs, stuff like that. Other than that, I'm getting pumped for France. I'll be back at ND for two weeks, starting the 16th, for the French play. Then, I fly out of Chicago the 1st, for Paris. I just got some euros in the mail today, and I've got my host family's name and address. Because of this blog and the indie point system (if there is one), I do find myself thinking about things that are and aren't indie. For example, I have discovered that it is very un-indie to have a Motorola razor phone, because, for some reason, everyone in Omaha has one. I have one and have to admit, I don't feel indie because of it. I haven't seen too many movies lately, but I did see Pursuit of Happyness, which I thought was very good. Has anyone else seen it? Once college baseball season starts in a few weeks, I'll give some good baseball updates. We're only about three weeks away from the first games. The Road to Omaha is almost here. Well, that's it for now. Abientot.

Best of Jim Mora

2007-01-11T22:36:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, and while this has nothing to do with my life, it is still pretty damn funny. So enjoy this classic video.

Cat Power=Indie Points for Me

2007-01-11T12:31:00.000-05:00

Since this blog supposedly has some type of indie point system, and I feel my indie points are pretty low compared to some of the other posters - I listen to some "emo" bands - I thought I needed something to score big, so here it is:
http://iknowmusic.blogspot.com/2007/01/proof-thats-shes-crazy-so-yes-theres.html

Found this care of the Rolling Stone Rock Blog. Cat Power (indie multiplier of 5, I think) covering Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Pretty cool stuff.

Sorry to PV and Scott, but my life is really boring and that is why I haven't been posting prolifically. But expect more tonight, after I watch Little Miss Sunshine and give my review of that and some other films I have enjoyed recently. Until then, peace.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to Awesomeness...or Nerdiness

2007-01-11T00:53:00.000-05:00

I have just reached the 24 hours played mark on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Nintendo Wii and to celebrating spending one day of my life on this game I have decided to give everyone a tasty little synopsis.

* * *

The story begins with Link, a young goat herder, awakening to find his peaceful world has begun to drastically change. An evil twilight has crept across the land and stolen his friends. On top of these issues, Link is now a mystical wolf...and so the adventure begins...

* * *

Alright so maybe I should find another hobby, but since I've wasted the majority of my money frivolously on this toy, I'm not giving up until the end credits roll. Luckily for me, this is the single greatest game that I have ever played. Great game play, terrific storyline, funny dialogue, and a HUGE sword. But the magic of this game come from gift from the gods that is the Nintendo Wii...
This little box could be the key to world peace. It has brought together both family and friends around the rightful center of every home, the television. My family has never had more fun than the fun we have had playing Wii Bowling. Why go to a real bowling alley? There you have to pay money, wear gross, used shoes, and do something resembling physical exercise. No, us blue-blooded American need something that encourages laziness and won't burn the calories gained from eating our Big Mac with cheese. So now on top of instant messaging, facebook, youtube, and sports on television my life is finally complete with the Wii. Fresh air? Ha, I laugh at nature. Why go to a baseball diamond and deal with the glare from the sun when I can sit in my living room, swing a fake bat, and breathe the sweet smell of central air? I commend the geniuses at Nintendo for finally allowing me to become the sloth I always aspired to be.
Okay, so why share this with the blogging community. One reason was that someone other than Michael needed to post. His posts are usually worth reading, but come on people we can do better! Dorwart can write about something cute that happened in Omaha. Bobby, I want to hear about working at Subway. Jose, I want you to keep the room clean and smelling fresh. Is this too much to ask? Don't we all remember the fun times we've had? Look at those big smiles! If we can have fun at crappy Wrigley Field then we can write a decent blog. So, everyone, contribute!
My other reason for posting stems for posting is that I'm sickened by the video playing drone that I have become. The benefits of having amazing hand-eye coordination are offset by the loss of my desire to do anything else with my life. When I finish this game (and I damn well better finish soon) I'll breath a sweet sweet sigh of relief and get back to what I should be doing with my life...tax returns.

A Celebration Ginnjury

2007-01-11T00:43:00.000-05:00

Please pardon the pun and enjoy this photo. I was feeling kind of bad for Ted Ginn, since he got injured and had to miss the bulk of the championship game after his explosive kick return touchdown -- highlight of the game for the Bucks. But upon discovering that he was injured during his celebration following the touchdown, my pang of sympathy quickly dissipated.

Oh, and congrats to Darius Walker on a great Irish career. Sometimes criticized for his lack of explosive speed and boring running style (Scott), Darius was a key cog in the Irish offense for the past three years, and one of the best receiving and blocking tailbacks around. Best of luck to D-Walk in the NFL and beyond.

Interstate Love Song, ND Football Style

2007-01-09T17:06:00.000-05:00

Former frontman of the Stone Temple Pilots and current lead singer for Velvet Revolver Scott Weiland is a big time Notre Dame football fan, for whatever reason. He shows up on campus from time to time (often enjoying the trumpets in the Dome)and has talked about Coach "Weiss" on his blog. Today, Deadspin unearthed an open letter from Weiland to Charlie, imploring the coach to stay in South Bend when the Giants inevitably come knocking during the off-season. Enjoy.

"Okay Charlie, at this point I am going to assume that you haven't spoken to the Giants' organization about their 'potential coaching job.' But LEAVING NOTRE DAME, your alma mater, without having achieved really anything of monolithic proportions like you've promised us, is absurd and unfair. So at this point, I will get on my knees and beg. Don't do it, coach. Don't do it! Stay and do what you promised; your team, your school, the fans, the legacy deserves to be taken to the promised land. Your recruits, Charlie, who are just beginning to trickle in, came to play for you. You! Not someone else and they are coming to South Bend to those brutal winters from places all over the country — from the South to Southern Cal, just to be led to the promised land. Jimmy Clausen, the most highly recruited player in high school football, committed to Notre Dame. When asked why in a recent interview, he said to play for coach Weis and get a new environment. Why? The promised land, the crown jewel, the national championship. But we can't start talking about Notre Dame in the same breath as a national championship yet. You've gotta win one. The team's gotta go out there and get one. We, the Irish nation, fight for it with you together and we will all win one together and walk away to the promised land together.

"Yours truly, Scott Weiland, rock n' roll singer, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, VELVET REVOLVER, legacy and Notre Dame football fan."

From NOLA With Love

2007-01-08T00:37:00.000-05:00

After a four day, five night jaunt to the Crescent City for our predictably disappointing bowl game, I'm back in Jersey for a week before moving down to the District for the semester. While Bourbon Street was always at least interesting (maybe Darius Walker shouldn't have been out on New Year's Eve, saying hi to kids like me) and the Super Dome as domey as it gets (which gets old after 15 straight hours in the building, in uniform), on this post I'll stick to the great music I found throughout the entire trip.

On New Year's Eve, the biggest party in the French Quarter could be found surrounding the main stage in Jackson Square, where Trombone Shorty was leading his jumpin' jazz-funk band in an electric performance. The square was indeed quite literally jumpin', as Shorty demanded that all in attendance jump at about two distinct points per song. His take on "When the Saints Go Marching In," the city's anthem, was the best I heard all week, exploding with a spirited joy that made it obvious that New Orleans might be down, but it sure as hell ain't out. (Check out the video posted below.)

The next night, I checked out Maison Bourbon, a club on Bourbon Street dedicated to the preservation of jazz. Performing was a combo led by trumpeter Jamil Sharif (his dad pulled a Muhammad Ali in the ‘60s), a blower from a big-time music family. He’s played with Wynton Marsalis and was the New Orleans music coordinator for the movie “Ray.” He was backed by a drummer, bassist (same dude as in the photo up there at the start of the post), pianist and tenor sax player. It was great to see some old-school New Orleans Jazz up close and personal; Jamil signed a disc for me and we chatted in between sets. Highlight of the night was “Bourbon Street Parade,” a classic, boisterous march that Jamil captured perfectly.

The night before the game, I dropped by the House of Blues, where an LSU blog was sponsoring a party. Hiding all evidence of my allegiance and donning my best southern accent (TIGER BAIIIIIT), I fit right in. Providing the entertainment for the party was the Soul Rebels, a brass band originally formed by the drum majors of the Southern University, Grambling University and Texas Southern University marching bands. The style is a mix between jazz, funk, rock and hip-hop, featuring two trumpets, a trombone and a tenor sax up front, backed by an electric guitar, two drummers and a tuba holding down the bass line. These guys weren’t just amateurs messing around; they had incredible chops and impressive music knowledge, covering stuff from Shaggy to the Violent Femmes to Gnarls Barkley. Dressed in over-sized shirts and pants with baseball caps and plenty of shiny jewelry usually found in rap videos, these guys made brass instruments amazingly cool. I wish I could do that.

Despite the game and a whole lot of waiting around (for elevators, for the team to leave the Dome so we could practice, for my roommates to stop cuddling with their girlfriends), the music made the trip plenty worth it, and a perfect way for me to end my marching band career. Maybe the Soul Rebels could use a back-up.

Trombone Shorty

2007-01-08T00:19:00.001-05:00

As mentioned above, here's a video of Trombone Shorty live.

Hola gringos

2007-01-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

I'm here in Monterrey, broin out hardcore. It's a good time. I was telling Justin, the other night we went out and my buddy Dan just goes up to this group of Mexican girls and just starts speaking Spanish to them. Tiene huevos. Anyways I was stumbling awkwardly through conversations, making up stories worse than Steve f@#$# stabbed him, because I didn't know what else to say. Good time though. The chiquitas like American boys, especially when you try to speak Spanish to them, I guess they find it endearing in the same way that we find foreign accents cute. The international program here is quite big- 450 kids. About 200 from the States, then like 70 from France actually. Speaking of France, I thought that Malajube was French, but they are in fact Canadian. Minus 15 indie points. It was funny, I was talking to some Frenchies last night, they didn't speak good English and I of course do not speak French, so we were speaking broken Spanish to each other. They dress so metro. Freedom! When people ask me where I'm from, I ask them, "Conoces a Jack Daniels? Viene de mi estado." It's good for a laugh, and I could use some nice oneliners in Spanish because I sound ridiculous when I speak Spanish to Mexicans. There's a lot of laughter AT me, not really from my jokes though. Oh well.
I met a girl from Finland, asked her if she knew the Hives. She looked at me strangely. There are some Swedes in the program, I'll have to ask them. It's really easy to meet people. Everyone wants to meet new people, kind of like the beginning of freshman year except much less awkward. My roommate is from Venezuela, really nice kid.
I was quite the show this weekend. They have this bar strip, Barrio Antiguo, that is ridiculously fun. 10 peso beers. Everything is so cheap. Don't even get me started on the food. Here's a little tasty dish from a local place. This is how they serve their tacos. Smaller round tortillas. And cheap as hell. AHHHH.
Why has no one been blogging? Is life that boring? Laskey's the only one even making an effort. Pathetic.
Besos,
El mujeriego

Some albums pitchfork and allmusic told me to like

2007-01-01T15:33:00.001-05:00

I'm not really sure what my goal for this blog was when I created it. I thought it would be a good way to keep up with each other, especially with several of us abroad. Right now it's mainly about music, but I encourage everyone to blog whatever they want. Hatke, keep it coming with the Irish basketball articles, I know you're the expert on that. I'm gonna try to start posting some Irish recruiting updates in the near future. Signing day isn't too far away, and Weis still has his some work to do on a number of key recruits for this class.
Nice job with the top 10 lists fellas. Another solid year of indie records. Andy I especially liked your top 10 albums. Ballsy move there with the PJ and the Neil Young. Plus 5 indie points. It's hard to imagine that this time freshman year I didn't a) know what Pitchfork was, b) hated Radiohead (and John Lennon), and c) didn't use the term "indie". Luckily some things haven't changed though. I still am convinced that artists who play a harp and make records with over 4000 words in the lyrics are wildly pretensious. Maybe I'll give Joanna Newsom a try in a few years when I get over my initial disgust (see b above).
And since everyone is doing it, I guess I'm supposed to create my own top 10 (13 PV?) list. It'd be hard for me to make a top albums list because honestly there are alot of albums released in '06 that I haven't gotten around to listening to. Then again, as Pauwels mentioned, there are so many songs to choose from, so I'll have to go with a top 20 list to fit all of songs. Here it goes:

20) The Funeral- Band of Horses-- Starts out with delicate vocals over an ethereal electric guitar, and then at the 1:20 mark when the band comes in you realize this song is an epic. The James Mercer (Shins) and Jim James (My Morning Jacket) influence is clear, but Band of Horses adds an arena rock element to their music that just makes you smile.
19) Montréal -40°C- Malajube-- I just started listening to Trompe-L'oeil over Christmas break, and I have to say, it's the best thing to come out of France since... well I don't know that many good French bands (Air?). The music is quite layered, at points becoming too busy. But what makes their songs so interesting is the bizarre progressions that they take. Fuzzy electric at the beginning here gets mixed in with a funky synthesizer, and then several sets of pipes enter spitting out crazy French lyrics. The "Oh Oh Oh" of the chorus somehow manages to tie together the disjointed interludes. This song is a mess, and I love it.
18) Ah Ha- Under the Influence of Giants-- Do you like Michael Jackson but not child pornography and dangling babies over balconies? UTIOG is the band for you. You can almost picture MJ grabbing his balls at the end when Aaron Bruno goes for the high pitched yelps. This synth work on the album also conjures up images of John Travolta shaking his ass to the Bee Gees. Disco is alive and well.
17) Poltergeist- Umbrella Tree-- This three-piece band is from Nashville, and I saw them live at the end of the summer. Thus I am incredibly indie for putting them on this list. Sexy vocals, soft nursery rhyme piano, and meticulous drumming. Cool.
16) Springfiel, or Bobby Got A Shadfly Caught In His Hair- Sufjan Stevens-- Yeah, I know. I'm sick of the banjo and the precious use of horns and strings. He even admits he's sick of it. It will be interesting to see where he goes with his next album. Anyways, this is a great song that lacks alot of his sugary elements (except the choir of backing vocals in the chorus which was abused on Illinois). Highlight is the haunting electric work that lingers through the song.
15) Ballad of Miss Kate- Matt Costa-- This song is pretty stripped down. Some catchy acoustic plucking and a fuzzy electric in the background. The vocals become the clear focus of the song, which is fine because Costa's voice is spectacular. And a funny title too.
14) On A Neck, On A Spit- Grizzly Bear-- Justin got me into Grizzly Bear. The song takes awhile to get going, but around the 2 minute mark the acoustic shows up, followed by Droste's repeating "Each day, spend it with me now". Then comes the drums, then the bass. And that's it. Pretty little song. Whole album is good, too.
13) Give and Go- Girl Talk-- Greg Gillis is a genius. I've heard so-called "mashups" before, but Night Ripper is on another level. The samples work seamlessly with one another. This track alone uses 17 different samples. I find myself constantly chuckling when I listen to the album. Gillis somehow brings together some of the worst of top 40 ("Back Then" by Mike Jones) with some of the best indie ("Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth). Well done.
12) S.O.S.- Earl Greyhound-- Another record I got into over break. They sound very similar to Audioslave; Matt Whyte' voice is a replica of Chris Cornell's and the guitar work is obviously inspired by Morello. Just a good track to rock to.
11) Saint John- Cold War Kids-- "all the white boys in the stay-pressed slacks/they're home for the summer from college/stayin' out late, getting rowdy at the bar/and lookin' for trouble uptown." I love these lyrics. Great album.
10) Sukie In The Graveyard- Belle & Sebastian-- I thought The Life Pursuit was pretty decent, but on the whole the band failed to produce an innovative album. This song is the ringer. The keyboard hook is very catchy, and the horns, especially near the end, are a nice touch.
9) Empire- Kasabian-- So this is definitely a Britpop band. Listen if you like the Killers.
8) The Boxer- The Chemical Brothers-- These guys keep making solid records. Such a big influence on the electronic movement of the 90s and its incorporation into Top 40 tracks. "Galvanize" is a great song, but I like the progression in this song a little better. Tim Burgess does a great job with the vocals. Some of the beats from this song are borrowed from tracks on a previous record, "Dig Your Own Hole", which is their best work.
7) Could We- Cat Power-- Ah, Chan Marshall. Marry me. So she used to have a bad alcohol problem, and apparently she cleaned up her act for this record. It shows. The tracks on the whole are much less dreary than the slow, soft guitars of her previous albums. This whole album is worth a listen. She might have the prettiest voice in music today, and it's a nice change of pace to hear it used in a happier context. The saxophones bring a smile here.
6) I'm In No Mood- The Fiery Furnaces-- They're really weird. Everyone knows that. But they still make some good music. This track is actually quite funny lyrically ("I was so drunk last night/ I didn't even undress for bed/And I swear the pin in my hair got stuck in my head"). The song appropriately expresses the state of a hangover, with angry piano parts mixed into illogical progressions of synth beats and guitar riffs.
5) Someday Baby- Bob Dylan-- He's still alive? Yeah, and he's still making kickass music. Just listen to it.
4) When The Sun Goes Down- Arctic Monkeys-- They were overhyped, sure. But this album still captures the essence of the Britpop/garage rock movement. There are several tracks that could have made the top 20, but this one's my favorite. This song has a killer baseline.
3) Wolf Like Me- TV On The Radio-- See the lists below for explanation.
2) The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat)- The Flaming Lips-- What a band. Their sound just keeps evolving, and even within this album you can hear a variety of styles being implemented. The echoing "right!" of "You've got that right!", and of course the awesome fuzzy hook are the highlights of the track.
1) Incinerate- Sonic Youth-- The hook alone is enough to land a spot on any top 10 list. It's good to see that artists like Dylan, the Lips, and Sonic Youth are still making important music. These guys helped to invent indie rock and their still doing their thang. Rock.

And there it is. You're welcome.

America!

2006-12-30T13:30:00.001-05:00

Saddam Hussein was executed last night in Iraq.

America!

America!

America!

Enter the J-Man

2006-12-30T02:53:00.000-05:00

Greeting from the J-man. Unbelieveble to say, but I am just a couple of weeks from returning to the university that is Notre Dame. I know you have missed the good ol' J-man... Well, at the moment, I am in beautiful Pico Rivera. Yes I know, high 60s and into the 70s, and mostly clear skies. Awesome...perfect time for a thing we call the Rose Parade and yes the Grandaddy of them all-the game with the two teams to whom we lost this year...is there some way for...as I heard...USC to lose and Michigan not win? I guess not. Well, with all the hype the Rose Bowl is getting here, I think the only sane thing I can do is watch a video I caught on the Notre Dame MySpace group. I think you will all enjoy it. For now, I'll catch some Super Troopers. Adios Amigos!

Cinderella breaks her glass slipper...

2006-12-29T18:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like our favorite overachieving Irish sports team just may have lost its starting point guard for the season.

This is from the South Bend FOX affiliate:

Notre Dame Athlete Arrested

Indiana police arrested a Notre Dame basketball player early Friday morning on drug charges.

A State trooper arrested Kyle McAlarney just after 1:30 Friday morning. It happened at Ironwood and Edison road in South Bend.

He faces three preliminary misdemeanor marijuana charges.

Police say he posted bond a few hours later and has not been formally charged yet.

McAlarney is a starting guard at Notre Dame and scored a career high 21 points last night in ND's win over Rider.

Notre Dame athletic officials said they couldn't comment on personal matters.

Updated: December 29, 2006, 5:43 pm

This seems similar to RPN and his DUI early last season, for which he got himself kicked off the football field for a semester. It'll be interesting to see how Poorman and Jenkins treat KMac in light of the success the program is having this season. Maybe they will only slap him with a ten game suspension which would sit him down until the middle of the Big East schedule. T. Jackson will have to step up big and perform well the whole game because I don't see Falls running the point effectively and I don't think Carter has the passing ability to be the primary ball handler either.

At least we will still kill Stony Brook later this week.

Wilco on Conan Tonight

2006-12-29T12:22:00.000-05:00

If you were like me and missed it the first time around, NBC is re-airing Conan's week in Chicago this week, with the fith and final show featuring Barack Obama and a performance from Wilco tonight. Check it out.

James Brown, Rest in Peace

2006-12-25T23:30:00.001-05:00

The Godfather of Soul died today at the age of 73. I never him saw live, but his show was supposed to be incredible, and here's a video of Brown performing "Sex Machine," displaying his ridiculous energy.

Pachelbel Rant

2006-12-23T13:14:00.001-05:00

Pachelbel haunts our hero wherever he goes and whatever he listens to, from reggae to punk.

The Good Shepherd

2006-12-22T22:04:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, I caught the new DeNiro-directed movie on the creation of the CIA, "The Good Shepherd." Matt Damon is stellar, playing that dark, sketchy character he has patented in the Bourne films and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Great supporting performances from Alec Baldwin, John Turturro and DeNiro himself, but Angelina Jolie is far from believable as Damon's abandoned, sniffling wife. At 150 minutes, the movie drags at some points, but the back-stabbing world of intelligence is presented effectively, spanning almost two decades of American history. Recommended watch, if you have the time to spare.

My Top Ten

2006-12-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

Here is an expanded take on the Top Ten albums I posted on Facebook. Since posting a couple of weeks ago, I have done some relistening and picked up a few new albums that might cause me to reconsider some choices I made, but I will stick to my original choices. Sorry, but I am doing albums not songs cause there are just so many songs out there.

10) Bruce Springsteen - The Seeger Sessions: Awesome take on an American legend. Still not as good as an album of new music from the boss, but the way he rocks on this record might be a good sign of things to come.

9)Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards: This is one of those albums I have been listening to a lot since posting this list and would probably move it up higher. A definitive collection, spanning several genres, including some tracks that are so far out there you just have to sit back and take it in stride (like the track about the insect kingdom).

8)Beck - The Information: Beck has always been great, but has struggled to release an album that combines his many musical stylings and influences; this is the best he has released in terms of mixing the crazyiness of his early career with the more thoughtful lyricism of his later career (Sea Change).

7)Neil Young - Living with War: Too bad the best protest album since the start of the Iraq war came from the guy who wrote "Ohio" and not from any number of socially conscious musicions of our generation (Zach DeLarocha, where are you?) - too bad in the sense that it kind of says whats wrong with the youth of today. A tremendous album by a tremendous artist.

6)The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers: Not a Stripes album, but the only think Jack White released this year, so we have to let it serve as a placeholder while he has his fun with the boys and gets ready to bring us another masterstroke soon.

5)The Streets - Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living: Not Mike Skinners best, but still demonstrative of his unique mastery of describing everyday life. And British accents are baller.

4)Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam: I liked Riot Act more than most critics, but this album is definately a return to greatness from Eddie and the boys. Packed with hard hitting songs about the war in Iraq and other potent issues, this ranks with Vs. as one of America's greatest bands greatest albums. The only grunge band to survive more than a decade, because it evolved.

3)Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere: Dangermouse is a genius. Cee-Lo has amazing pipes. Together, they created this groundbreaking mix of rock, hip-hop, dance, R&B. And some of the best videos of the year. And cool costumes for live shows.

2.)Drive-By Truckers - Blessing and a Curse: The album I regret putting on this Top Ten, and in a powerful spot at that. A great album, but not nearly as good as there others. Deserves honorable mention status, but not number 2. I must have been drunk when I first made this list, or listening to Dirty South and wishing it had come out this year.

1)The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America: Kerouac, drugs, parties, America. This album has everything you should want. Better than their previous albums because Craig Finn allowed the boys behind him to play out a little bit more, and there talent shines through. The best bar band of all time.

Honorable Mentions: Bob Dylan - Modern Times, Cat Power - The Greatest, My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade, The Decembrists - The Crane Wife, Lupe Fiasco - Food and Licquor, Barenaked Ladies - Are Me, Weird Al - Straight out of Lynwood, Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards

If everyone else is doing it...

2006-12-21T23:40:00.000-05:00

First of all, Calexico does not belong on a "best of" anything list, no matter what year it is. Also surprising to see Lupe Fiasco made Mike "I don't like rap music" Laskey's list.

The following are the actual 10 best songs of the year (minus Joanna Newsom, who is automatically disqualified for being too pretensious):

10. Daydreamin'--Lupe Fiaso feat. Jill Scott--Jill Scott by herself is incredibly annoying, but she's got a classic voice and makes this the standout track on a solid rap album.

9. G'Dang Diggy--Common Market--Sweet rap n' roll tune off one of my favorite albums of the year.

8. Insistor--Tapes 'n Tapes--For some reason, it's not cool to like this band anymore, but this album is sweet. I don't care if they sound too much like Pavement; we need more bands that sound like Pavement.

7. You Only Live Once--The Strokes--First track on an album that would be on everybody's "best of" lists if The Strokes didn't make it. This is definitely the worst album the strokes have ever made and is absolutely one of the best albums of the year. Julian Casablancas is a genius, and you won't find an indie band with a more talented lineup of musicians. Catchy song, too.

6. Steady as She Goes--The Raconteurs--Everything Jack White touches turns to gold. He might be the most talented rock star in America.

5. Incinerate--Sonic Youth--Jim O'Rourke leaves to make some music with Jeff Tweedy, and the band still produces great music. Lee's and Thurston's guitars are awesome throughout this tune, and I think they have to be considering when talking about the best American bands ever. Nobody their age is rocking as hard.

4. Ruby Falls--Guster--Epic, Pink Floyd-esque tune from The Gusters. When is this band going to get some respect?

3. The Knife--Grizzly Bear--Probably my favorite album of the year. Track for track, the most beautiful melodies since Elliott Smith's XO or the Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin.

2. Free Radicals--The Flaming Lips--Speaking of the Lips, this was the best song from the best concert from the best music festival I saw all summer. It should be a requirement for all people to see this band live once in their lives.

1. Wolf Like Me--TV on the Radio--Best rock band with Canadians in it since Bloc Party!! God Bless TV on the Radio.

PV's Bakers Dozen for 2006

2006-12-21T22:01:00.000-05:00

I like Mike's list of his top songs for the soon to be departed year, but he left a lot of tasty music off. Skimming through my iTunes, I couldn't narrow my list down to ten. So I present to you, my friends, my top 13 songs of 2006:

13) Cruel // Calexico
This song represents everything good about Calexico. A driving guitar line, dense percussion, and solid vocals. Joey Burn's voice is so haunting and this track has a deep mystery to it.
12) On a Neck, On a Spit // Grizzly Bear
The first few minutes of this song kind of drag on, but when the vocalist starts repeating, "Each day is better with you," the track really takes off.
11) Van Helsing Boombox // Man Man
I don't know a lot about Man Man, but I do know that I love this song, especially the whistling.
10) Ship the Majestic Suffix // Danielson
On top of the terrific instrumentation, the word play makes this song delicious.
9) The Great Salt Lake // Band of Horses
This whole album is amazing and I really like the singer's voice on this track.
8) I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor // Arctic Monkeys
The Arctic Monkeys got boring really quickly, but there is something about this song that stands up to all the hype surrounding their debut album.
7) Stuck Between Stations // The Hold Steady
As much as I hate agreeing with Mike, this song is one of the year's best.
6) Louisiana // The Walkmen
The Walkmen! Trumpets! Awesome!
5) Crazy // Gnarls Barkley
See number 8, replacing the Arctic Monkeys with Gnarls Barkley.
4) 45:33 // LCD Soundsystem
I realize that this is a whole album worth of music, but if I were to ever run I would listen to this song.
3) O Valencia! // The Decemberists
Steven Colbert stole a victory from the Decemberists. I hope he feels bad every time he listens to this delicious track.
2) Wolf Like Me // TV on the Radio
The best rock song of the past year. I hate how every time the mainstream media mentions TOTR they have to mention that they sound like David Bowie and how he sang on one of the tracks on their record. Well, he didn't guest on this song and I like wolves.
1) Smash Your Head // Girl Talk
I wish this album wasn't divided into tracks and I could put the whole thing as my number one song, a la LCD Soundsystem. The moment when Biggie and Elton sync up is one of the best moments on this excellent record.

Top 10 Songs of 2006

2006-12-21T20:31:00.000-05:00

It's about the time of year for Best Of lists, so I thought I'd get things started here at AN. Please join me. Here are my favorite ten songs of 2006:

10) Easy // Barenaked Ladies
Song Highlight: Acoustic guitar riff over sustained chords from the electric..how hooky.
9) Hold On, Hold On // Neko Case
SH: "The most tender place in my heart is for strangers." Her rich voice never sounded better or more haunting than on this ambiguous, distant lyric.
8) Your Place // Zero 7
SH: 6/8 swing beat on the drum set under a soulful, perfectly cool line from the trumpets.
7) Pull Shapes // The Pipettes
SH: Unabashed fun the gals are having makes me want to dance every time, even if you don't want to see it.
6) Workhorse // My Brightest Diamond
SH: Speaking of haunting, the "no no no" lyric gives me chills every time.
5) Kick Push // Lupe Fiasco
SH: A rap song about skateboarding that doesn't get gimmicky or affected? How did he pull that off? Great horns, too.
4) Sons and Daughters // The Decemberists
SH: The use of "dirigible," plus the sweet round at the end featuring the even sweeter Petra.
3) The Ruling Class // Loose Fur
SH: Jeff. Tweedy. And the whistle line is awesome.
2) Emily // Joanna Newsom
SH: The embedded poem in the song is my favorite lyric of the year, hands down.
1) Stuck Between Stations // The Hold Steady
SH: The whole thing. Springsteen-esque guitar riffs and pianos and bells, quoting Kerouac, John Berryman story. Incredible blend of storytelling and rock ecstacy, with dark themes underneath.

For a laugh: Florida's graduating class

2006-12-21T10:21:00.000-05:00

Gentlemen, Scholars, Athletes. In that order. Recreation programming? What?

For comparison, ND majors, per SavageDragon on Irisheyes:
The first column is (obviously) the major, the first number in the second column is the number with that subject as their primary major, the second number in the second column is the number with that subject as their secondary major.

Accounting 4/0
American Studies 1/0
Art/Design 2/0
Finance 7/1
FTT 5/1
History 4/1
ALPP 0/1
Management 3/0
Marketing 8/0
CAPS 0/7
PoliSci 2/0
Psych 1/1
SCPP 1/0
Sociology 4/1
Spanish 0/1

42 Upperclassmen; 15 Majors
Max: 8 (~19%) (Finance and Marketing each have 8)
Total in business school: 4+8+3+8= 23 (~54%)

Socrates of Shred?

2006-12-21T01:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight, the Colbert-Decemberists Feud reached its climax, as Colbert called in Peter Frampton to sub for him in the guitar solo contest, sneaking by the Decemberists' Chris Funk. Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider got in on the fun, playing a catchy Ode to Stephen. Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen also popped up at the end. Political figures included celebrity guitar solo judge New York governor-elect Eliot Spitzer and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (what?). Kissinger's gravitas provided the episode's highlights, with lines like "Stephen, it is time to rock," "Stephen, crank it up," and "Tonight, I think the American people won."

Other highlights:
-Stephen saying that the rest of the Decemberists remained in Portland, trying to come up with "the most pretentious rhyme for 'salamander.'"
-Funk showed off some impressive metal chops, a style of playing he doesn't get to use much with the Decemberists.
-Stephen's tear-away suit jacket and 30-string guitar.
-NYU professor retaining cred with his students by voting for the "hyper-literate" Decemberists.

A Christmas Wish for Everyone

2006-12-21T00:56:00.001-05:00

I miss everyone so much already...the only way to describe my feelings is to watch this video. SNL usually isn't funny, but combine it with a little gift-wrapping and Justin Timberlake and it isn't half bad.

A healthy dose of indie

2006-12-21T00:51:00.000-05:00

Right before my doctor's appointment (I'm pretty healthy), I made it over to the Record Exchange, where I scored some nice used discs. They include: Wilco's A.M., Fountains of Wayne's s/t, the Wrens' Secaucus, the Cowboy Junkies' Greatest Hits and the Hives' Veni Vidi Vicious (a bit late on that one, but for $3, I got over the lack of indie cred the purchase displayed and bought it). Good deal. I also heard the digitally remastered "Pet Sounds" today, which sounds like it was recorded extremely recently. The clarity is stunning, a great new release to honor a timeless record.

Nets beat the LeBrons tonight, and took over first place in the Atlantic with an 11-14 record. This could be the worst division in pro sports history. The Knicks have won two games since Carmelogate; perhaps the fight ignited them a bit.

Oh, I flew home from Chicago on Saturday on the same flight as Mike Schmeding, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Michigan State who lives in Jersey. I made sure to flaunt the ND clothing at the luggage carousel, and I talked extra-loud to my cousin (coincidentally on the same flight, from UChicago) about our FANTASTIC win over the Spartans this fall. Mikey didn't look too pleased with me.

Detroit What?!

2006-12-20T13:35:00.000-05:00

To continue the awesome teams theme, the Detroit Lions lost again this weekend, proving Matt Millen is a genius at sucking intentionally so that he can draft Brady Quinn in the subsequent year's draft. Personally, I want him to take Rhema or Jeff, or maybe Calvin Johnson, cause the Lions are sweet at drafting wideouts.

In other news from Detroit, the Pistons are better than the Bulls.

Jay-Hova

2006-12-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

As long as Scott's talking about awesome teams, how about the Bulls at 11-1 since the circus road trip? Also, as much as I don't like watching the NBA, I'm excited to see AI and Carmelo on the same team. Should be pretty exciting. As far as greatest runningbacks go, LT is good, but can you seriously count out Curtis Penis?

Did anyone see this interview?
Dan Patrick: Give me the music on your iPod that would surprise me.
Jay-Z: Thom Yorke, Radiohead.
DP: I don't get Radiohead.
JZ: They're incredible. What do you mean?
DP: I don't get it. I'm not smart enough.

More proof that Jay-Z is the coolest man in the world.

A win's a win

2006-12-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

It was ugly at times (especially the first half), but the Irish got what they needed Tuesday night vs Portland, a win. With 5 craptacular games between Alabama and the start of league play Jan. 3rd vs Louisville, the Irish must win them all to keep their solid season alive. Brey's squad came out strong Saturday night vs Elon and avoided the common post-finals meltdown that has plagued them over the years with a convincing 94-63 win. Unfortunately, the meltdown hit the Irish offense in the first half of the Portland game, a half where the Irish shot just 36% from the field. Even with Portland seemingly hitting every shot, they shot 55% in the first 20 mins, the Irish led at the break 35-26. How does that work out? The charity stripe was kind to the Irish with 11 free points in the first, and a whopping 23 more in the 2nd half. ND is now 2nd in the BE in FT%. Freshman Tory Jackson, who had been struggling from the line, hit 5/6 and always solid Rob Kurz was 11 for 12.

In his post-game presser, coach Brey talked about the benefit this game had for his squad:

"I think you have to give some credit to Portland. I thought they came in here and really played well and defended us physically. They have bodies like a BIG EAST team and they kind of took some things away from us and that was a good thing. We had to deal with maybe not a great flow offensively and we had to dig it out and rely on our defense. I thought in the second half we did a better job and spread the floor a little bit better offensively and got into a pretty good rhythm. It wasn't a great offensive efficiency night, but you look and there are still 86 points on the board. Certainly getting to the foul line was a weapon for us tonight."

Another key for this game was the absence of guard Colin Falls. Falls, who has been out recently with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, is a senior leader on this team and the third leading scorer. His absence puts the leadership burden on sophomore point guard Kyle McAlarney, a role he has handled very well so far. Brey has also increased the role of sophmore Ryan Ayers in Falls' absence. Ayers rewarded Brey's decision with tough defense and a key three-point shot. Hopefully Brey finds some confidence in Ayers and Ayers continues to hit some big shots, well into Big East play. In a presser last week, Brey talked about ways Ayers would earn more minutes. Not surprisingly, he said he has to hit some shots.

Russell Carter topped his career-high point performance vs Alabama (27) with 28 last night vs the Pilots. Carter was NBA-Jam-on-fire going 5 for 10 from behind the arc and 7 for 8 at the line. He threw in 4 rbs, 2 ast, and a steal just for good measure. Coach Brey had this praise for the senior out of NJ:

"He was making some tough shots tonight and he can make some tough shots so you have to let him take a bunch of tough shots. I think he's being very selective with those than he had been in the past. The scoring is great but the thing that's been a key is that he's been a rock as a senior for us out there as far as talking to our young guys in the huddle and not letting anybody panic. He's been really a solid guy and he's got so much respect for the younger guys and he talks to them and pumps them up and really gives them a lot of confidence."

All in all, the Irish ran into a tough team that was on fire the entire night, endured a shooting slump themselves, and still came out 17 pts ahead. While it wasn't perfect, it didn't have to be vs Portland. A win's a win, the Irish are now 9-1 having won 8 straight going into a matchup with a surprising Army (9-2) team Thursday night. Army returns many starters from last year's team that lead the Irish 16-0 at the JACC before the Irish decided to start playing. You can listen to the game Thurs for free on www.und.com at 7:30pm EST. Go Irish! Beat the Army!

Ca$hville's Crunkest!!!!!

2006-12-20T09:55:00.000-05:00

We have this indie record store down by my house called Grimey's, I went there yesterday with my indie friend in town to pick up some records. I got Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain and Anodyne by Uncle Tupelo. I think you guys have Anodyne, or atleast Mike does. "Acuff-Rose" is a sweet song. It's definitely more country than Wilco- slide guitars and fiddles abound.
Psychocandy is also awesome. I'm starting to see where Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine found his inspiration. They helped start the whole noise-pop, dream-pop movement, which eventually became much more indie when it was coined shoegaze.
I agree, PV, the new Shins album is pretty cool. I like the song "Australia". I need to digest it more. The video for Phantom Limb is on youtube.

Justin beat me in fantasy football thanks to 10 points from Cincy's kicker Shane Graham. The 33 points from LaDainian Badlinson was not enough I guess. bummer.com. Has anyone been watching any of the Chargers games? He really is unbelievable, possibly the best runningback ever. Maybe not as good as Travis Henry of the Titans though. Speaking of the NFL's greatest football team, I got to watch the game on Sunday against the Jags in my friend's box in the stadium. It was awesome. Pacman Jones had a ridiculous game, an 87 yard int TD, 70 yard kick return, and a key grab on offense to keep a drive goin in the 4th quarter. It's a shame the AFC is so good, I don't think a 9-7 Titans team will make it into the wild card. We'll be good next year though.
What's the deal with Rex Goodsman? 530 yards, 4 tds, no pics in the last two games? He really is a cumslinger.
Did anyone else see this article on popmatters? I'm not really sure what the writer was trying to prove with it, or why it's on popmatters at all to begin with, but it talks about a new Notre Dame DVD. Maybe you can figure it out.
Ronald Talley is transferring to Delaware, per the Chicago Tribune:
MOVING ON: Former Notre Dame defensive end Ronald Talley, who parted ways with the team in midseason, will transfer to Delaware.

Talley said his desire to play immediately is the reason he chose the school. Because Delaware is a Division I-AA program, Talley is eligible to compete next season and could play two seasons. Had he transferred to another Division I-A program, he would have been required to sit out a year.

Talley left Notre Dame, in part, because of a verbal disagreement with Weis about his role on the team. Talley said the coaches expressed a desire to move him from end to tackle.

''Basically, I lost trust in them,'' Talley said. ''They wanted to do things with me to their advantage, not my advantage.''

Weis could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Hmm... Right Talley, you would have been an awesome SDE in college. Not even Sexy Rexy would have been able to stop that blazing speed you have. Enjoy Delaware.

Somebody ordered pancakes I just sip the sizzurp

2006-12-20T00:58:00.000-05:00

All is quite well here in the Land of Lincoln, though temperatures peaked in the 30s today. I must say I did not enjoy the icy blasts of air that confronted me as I awoke this morning. Alas, spring will be upon us sooner than we know it, and with it, the sun and warm air. Though I have yet to enjoy a single brass concert (let alone Canadian brass), I hope to do so quite shortly as I long to hear but a single note from a marvelous French horn.

Actually, I'm stoned on vicodin and just had 4 teeth ripped out of my mouth. My cheeks are ridiculous puffy, and I look like Kanye West (especially with the jacket). The Adorwortable Mix is sweet. Mike, you need to get the Grizzly Bear album. Someone has to get the Knife album and send it to me because I probably won't buy it.

Greetings from the durty

2006-12-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Things are well and warmer than usual here in the Garden State. I went to a Canadian Brass concert last night at Princeton and ran into this ND gal who was in an English class with me. We've talked maybe once, but she responded to my call of her name with open arms, and we shared quite an enthusiastic hug. Weird. Tomorrow is lunch with a former ND TA who now lives in Princeton and some shopping at the Princeton Record Exchange. Any recommendations? I'm thinking I should finally get the TV on the Radio album, and maybe some sweet Joanna Newsom bootlegs. Oh, and the old-but-new-to-the-general-public Wrens albums are out, so that could be a valuable pickup.

I keep having to remember that people here aren't familiar with our sense of humor, so when I referred to the Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas as Bad-ay-a Bad-as I got some really strange looks. Gotta keep it alive, though.

Bored already...

2006-12-19T21:43:00.000-05:00

...but at least the new album by The Shins is good. The second track, Australia, might be my favorite song they have ever recorded. Also, 'Silent Shout' by The Knife as Pitchfork's best album? I haven't even heard that record. And their list fails without including the most recent Calexico release.

The Indiefest begins....

2006-12-19T20:43:00.000-05:00

So I created a blog. Nothing clever to say yet. But sweet posts will be on their way soon. Enjoy.