WTF Chi-town!? Up 10 with a little over 2 minutes to go. You have to win those games, even if you're not a championship contender! I guess we can remove the choking dog label from the Heat and stamp it right down on these years Bulls squad. No excuse for that, yeah Miami hit some big shots but it was poor execution and turnovers that lead to those opportunities for the Heat, notably DWade and LBJ. I just sat there for minutes after the game wondering how that happened, how they lost a margin they had lead by for nearly 46 minutes straight. You can be sure Thibodeau and his young squad won't be sleeping right for awhile after that one. Seriously though. So Dallas vs. Miami it is! Despite all the public's hate mongering, and proposed 'chemistry' issues the Heat have put themselves in the position to achieve just what they set out to do back when they paraded around last August, win the NBA Championship, God help us all.
That's pretty much it for today but I do have this week's Top 20 countdown for your reading and hopefully eventual listening pleasure.
n/a 20. Killin' Em - Busta Rhymes ft. LL Cool J
n/a 19. Dreams Money Can Buy - Drake
10. 18. 6'7" - Lil Wayne Ft. Cory Gunz
19. 17. That's Life 2 - Killer Mike
n/a 16. Make Some Noise - Beastie Boys
n/a 15. Return of Simba - J. Cole ***Top Gainer*** ***Top Debut***
14. 14. Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
15. 13. M I Crooked Letter - Rossini Ft. Big K.R.I.T.
07. 12. All Of The Lights - Kanye West
13. 11. Disgusting - J. Cole
09. 10. On My Level - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Too Short
12. 09. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa
11. 08. Fast Lane - Eminem and Royce 5'9"
03. 07. Red Nation - The Game Ft. Lil Wayne
08. 06. Eraser - Kid Cudi
06. 05. Capcom - Kid Cudi
05. 04. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa
02. 03. Dreamin' - Big K.R.I.T
04. 02. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T.
01. 01. All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco
Call it lazy, call it busy, call it whatever you like, I had other stuff on the go this weekend so it's been awhile. Was over to the Island for a visit this past weekend. Had a good time, got to see some friends I haven't seen in a while, and we all played a little catch up and what not. Had the brief opportunity to travel back in time, though not literally (despite the presence of one Marty McFly, ironically enough), to the place where we all once came together. Funny how that's what life becomes, an unending series of events drawn out over one continuous time-line, and though we may stop to briefly revisit an old event, memory or friend, we can only go back for the briefest of times before life pulls us back to the current time, reality. I know - Deep. Reality.
The real world has me teaching some more physical education and that's quite alright with me too. The school year is almost up and you can feel the buzz around the halls, kids prepping up on their Alice Cooper, not sure they know the artist but they know "School's out for Summer". I can hear the the shop class students down the hall, busy priming up their paddles with the sweet squeals of frosh ringing in their ears. They've got their countdowns all worked out and for the high schools that means there is only 11 days left of class before exams bring the year to a close. As for me, I've got my own countdown, an EI sponsored summer countdown, but typical me, I've been slacking and it's been awhile since I dropped a little summer countdown knowledge. That drought (ironic because of all the rain?) ends today with an updated countdown, chronicling the entire countdown to date - including the near 15 near new entries that it has taken to get back up to date. So here goes the list to this point, old and new. Enjoy!
Complete Summer Countdown List - To Date:
70. Golf - 103. First time out. Needs improvement.
69. Skinny Dipping - Least fun you can have with your clothes off? Or is that the 'r' word?
68. Watermelon - I prefer mine seedless.
67. Vacation - Preferably paid.
66. Road Trips -"Road trippin' with my two favourite allies..." (RCHP)
65. A Good Toss - Baseball, football, tennis Ball, no matter.
64. Nice Cars - Does NOT include the loud, muffler-less, souped up Civics that cruise Main St. on the regular.
63. Camp Fires - White Rabbits. White Rabbits. White Rabbits.
62. Hot Dogs Over the Open Flame - No bun required.
61. Smores - Whoever first stumbled upon this creation needs a statue. Kareem can wait.
60. Ice Cream - Does the bubble gum flavour still exist. Hands down, worst gum out there, but it's like a scavenger hunt and an ice cream cone - at the same time.
59. Slush Free Sidewalks - What's slush? Exactly.
58. Green - F! Time to mow the ever growing jungle of a lawn. Off the list!
57. Sports - Sounds like an ambiguous number filler to me!
56. Bridge Jumping - Am I yelling?
55. Cliff Jumping - Or am I screaming - like a girl?
54. Longer Days - "Holy Shit, it's already 9?! Fuck! I thought it was like 7!"
53. Sublime's 'Summertime' - "...and the livin's easy."
52. Cottaging - Now that's relaxing!
51. Cold Beer - Don't mind if I do.
50. Reunions - For friends whose conversations don't begin with "So where are you at these days?".
49. Frisbee - The 'sport' of summer.
48. Bar-B-Q's - Everything just tastes a little better.
47. Summer Concerts - You can have U2, I'll take Arcade Fire.
46. Shorts and Tees - Strictly casual.
45. Summer Kicks - "Back on the scene, crispy and clean."
44. Patios - The Pumphouse have their patio up in what is essentially my backyard, I will be treating it as such.
*** NEW ***
43. Flip Flops - Let em' breathe. Most comfortable footwear since the days of Moses.
42. Windows Down - Cause everyone else secretly wants to hear your music too!
41. Boys of Summer - "Out on the road today i saw a dead head sticker on a Cadillac/ a voice inside my head said don't look back, you can never look back" (DH)
40. Air Conditioning -We all know the incredible feeling of escaping a scorcher. "Aaaahhh."
39. Sundresses - Personally speaking, it's the delicate quality to them that I like.
38. Water Balloons - "Water fight!!"
37. BIF Parties - Sanction! "A spill is not a spill..."
36. Pool Hopping - "Honey, I think someone's in our pool."v
35. Lobster - Great creature. Succulent dish.
34. Washer Toss - The 'pipe' jokes never get old.
33. Cold Beer - Of course! I'd love another.
32. Tenting - Nothing like playing a 6 person game of 'steamroller' in a 3 person tent.
31. Slip and Slide - See Ron.
30. Trampolines - Surely I could go to the 'youtube well' for some kind of trampoline disaster. I won't.
29. Convertibles - "In the Ferrari or Jaguar, switchin four lanes/ With the top down screamin out, "money ain't a thang." (Jigga)
28. Animals' summer dispositions - I'm no expert, but it would seem to me that animals would enjoy the summer. Seems natural. Am I right.
27. Bikinis - It wasn't going to not make the list.
26. Super Soaker 3000 - A remarkably safer version of the drive-by-shooting. Pump action.
25. Keg Parties - Nothing gets me going like a chick banging out a 20 second keg stand. Real talk.
I vow to eat every banana on the hand I buy next time. The reign of the brown banana is over. This has gone on for far too long.
Lebron the Villain
The NBA playoffs continue to roll on and as I write this I'm watching game 5 of the Bulls Heat and obviously I'm still whispering "go Bulls!", but I have to admit the Heat have been the better team so far. I hoped/wanted/longed for the Bulls to win this series, but my honest feeling was after the series with the Celts, the Heat were rolling.The Heat have become much more adept at closing out games than they were during the regular season. They aren't leaving it to the last shot but they've consistently dominated the final 2 minutes of games - as well as overtimes in the past 2 series'. James may have elevated his game to a new level in this series, just as far as dominating any part of the game he chooses - a leading 4th quarter scorer, a dynamic playmaker, a lock down drose on and island defender. Fingerprints everywhere. From what I can see Derrick Rose has met a wall in the Heat's perimeter defence and has fallen into Miami's scheme, which has him shooting a lot of perimeter jump shots. So far his field goal percentage and the Chicago offence has sputtered at times, as a result, the Bulls are looking plenty vulnerable right about now. Despite that, the games truly have been neck and neck throughout the series and I hope to see a couple more. To this point the Bulls, and namely Rose, have struggled in the 4th quarter, a trend the Bulls need to break if they don't want to look back upon 2011 as nothing more than, a learning experience. I have hope for tonight but winning game 6 in Miami will be a tall task. Alas, one game at a time. Go Bulls.
I started out trying to make some kind of Will Smith/ Wild Wild West/Sarcastically Tame joke about the Western Conference Final and now you can try. Hope you make out better than I did. Dirk is having one of the finest runs of his career proving his legacy as one of this generation's most uniquely special scorer's. The man can flat out score and he does it all so effortlessly and efficiently. An interesting juxtaposition from the styles of Lebron, Wade and DRose - fellow remaining megastars. People are being a tad harsh with Durant and Westbrook regarding the OKC "implosion" in the West Final. IMO, yeah, Durant could have made a few more shots and, yeah, Westbrook could have included his teammates more but I think the reality is that Dallas was the better team in this series. Granted, I had heard the "fat lady" doing her sound check with about 5 minutes left in Game 4 and with OKC up 15 at home I headed to bed, meaning I didn't see there epic meltdown firsthand, but from the highlights it looked like more of a storming back by a Dirk led Mavs squad. Still, KD, 15? That said, Dallas is deep, talented and was at the top of bracket all season long. They have vets who have been there before in the Dallas 06 squad, and Kidd with the Nets in the early 00's. More telling is that they seem to have found some kind of playoff mojo. They're Dirk and his mighty men. A band of assassins who can all fill it up from the outside at anytime - making it very difficult to double down on Dirk. If there is such thing as the 'spirit' of a team, they seem to have it. Maybe the question will be - can the Mav's 'spirit' match the Heat's 'swagger'? Dammit. Go Bulls.
New Top 20 Tomorrow - As in the next time I write. Probably Saturday. Maybe Never. Tomorrow.
P.
My week long grind is over and I've caught hold of my breathe just long enough to pump this blog out for the masses. A week full of a teaching, a weekend of serving and I'm feeling just about ready for a little break, no rest for the weary just yet though, four more teaching days, then I'm off to the Island for a much deserved 4-day-weekend-steam-blow-off-bonanza. Should be a grand time - Islanders see you soon. I should note I've been saving up my tips, so get ready. Today it's back to the basics, -we're gonna break down the conference playoff finales in the East and West, discuss some 'under the radar' films worth watching this summer, and we'll break out another weekly hip hop top 20 countdown, per usual. As for the summer countdown, I'll do up another entry devoted solely to that so we can play a little catch up. Rest assured, summer is still on it's way. Otherwise, why is it raining so GD much?! On y va! Allons-y!
Playoff Crystal Ball
The NBA playoffs have been a treat so far, with numerous close games and excited/surprising developments. One thing that always stand out is players who raise their level of play and solidify their names among the NBA's elite, this seasons playoffs that player was Zach Randolph. But the Thunder outlasted the Grizz and the Thunder looked the best they had all series in Sunday's clincher. If Westbrook picks his spots and plays under control the Thunder look tough to beat, why do I feel that's a big if. But you gotta wonder is JKidd gonna try and stay in front of him? Another exciting development has been how much this season represents a real changing of the guard as old play off stand bys, Lakers, Spurs and Celtics (8 championships in the last decade.) have all experienced an early departure from the big dance. While up and comers, the Bulls and Thunder, have already made a name for themselves. Dallas, a team that has been chilling for so long we can't remember how dominant they were in dismantling the 3 time champion Lakers. Fair or foul, the Maverick's are going to have to deal with the questions about their mental pysche from here on out. I hope Dirk was only getting started when he torched the Lakers and we're treated to an all time performance from one of the league's finest pure scorers - big, small, whatever - ever. And then there's the Heat, who despite Sunday's letdown, look at times like the playoffs most dynamic team - whether it be in the half court at either end, or in end to end transition with their two unstoppable finishers in DWade and LBJ. So, who wins?
Eastern Conference Miami Heat over Chicago Bulls in 7 (4-3) The Skinny - This one hurts because I want the Bulls to win, I bought a $20 proline and bet on the Bulls in the series. But that's because I bet with my heart, I know it's not good policy but I'm gonna be watching the games and I want to root for the Bulls for 7 seven games so it's worth it, and who knows maybe the Bulls will fuck around and win. I felt the Heat choked the Celtics out without much difficulty and I expect their half court defence will do that same thing to the Bulls at times in this series. The Heat need to attack on the catch, not rely so much on the isolation - the Bulls defence is stellar and designed to funnel defenders into the superior Bull's bigs. However, the fact remains, the Bulls are still very much a one man show. If, and its a very big if, the Heat can scheme up something to contain Rose, the Bulls can be beat in a long series. I hope the Bulls win and I hope DRose is the best player in the series, but I've got a bad feeling the Heat are for real. X Factor - Carlos Boozer - DRose needs him to do some heavy lifting, he needs to outplay Bosh, significantly.
Western Conference Dallas Mavericks over Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 (4-2) The Skinny - It's honestly been quite a while since I last saw Dallas play, so long in fact, that I think we can discount the idea that they're riding any kind of wave of momentum at this time. Hard to imagine that sweeping the Lakers would be a bad thing, and I'd be overdoing it to suggest that it was. But it's hard not to think that the 9 day layoff won't result in some kind of rust heading into game 1. Whereas, the Thunder come in fresh off their best game of the playoffs and solid rhythm to their game, something they've struggled to find to this point with Russell the playmaker vs. Russell the scorer. Durant needs to get touches, if I'm Coach Brooks, I'm stressing that hard. This will be a series of match-ups and I think they may favour the Thunder, JKidd likely will try and keep up with Westbrook at times, but I think Stevenson will see him as well. Durant will likely draw Marion's attention, I don't expect Nowitzki to cover him to much but we'll see. Dirk provides his own formidable challenge on the other end of the floor. The Thunder don't seem to have a fix for Dirk either so I expect some numbers from the big Germ. I think Game 1 is pivotal tonight, the Mavs can't afford to drop home court avantage because they're rusty coming into this one. I don't think they will. X Factor - If Westbrook shares, everyone on the Thunder gets more.
Okay, so two weeks back I gave my summer blockbuster preview with the release of Fast Five and Thor. I'm still yet to see Fast Five, but I have heard good things and an imdb rating of 7.7 suggests it has a high quality level of entertainment value at least. But if you're anything like me, you look at your movie collection, specifically at those that you consider to be your favourites, and very few fit the typical blockbuster mould - maybe they lacked the Xplosive budget, were actually concerned with getting the story right or were too gritty to get a PG14 rating the producers covet to up the numbers. Whatever the case, the point is that great movies need not be blockbusters, in fact, often times they're not. Here's a look at a couple of this summers top anti-blockbuster films that I'm most looking forward to. I mentioned Hesher and Everything Must Go last week so don't think I'm counting those out. Here's 3 more to watch for.
Our Idiot Brother: A Sundance invitee, Our Idiot Brother may well follow a fairly predictable indie film formula. But if you're shooting for indie cult success Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer, and Zooey Deschanel are the kind of names you like to have in your credit roll. This movie might not be all that challenging but hopefully it's some indie fun in the vein of Little Miss Sunshine, Adventureland or something of that sort.
The Guard: Looks to be a very entertaining movie. Don Cheadle is a go to actor of mine. Directed by John Michael McDonagh, the brother of Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), J.M. takes a similar approach reaching out to Brendan Gleeson as well to play in his film here. Let's hope that The Guard shares the sense of humour that we got from In Bruges last time around, if so, expect some sharp hitting dialogue and a thrilling crime comedy. Brendan Gleeson’s deadpan dry wit played very well with Colin Farrell in the younger brother's film it will be interesting to see if he and Don Cheadle can create the same kind of magic this time around..
The Tree of Life: Terrence Malick is know for his cinematic poetry, whatever that is. I know he did Thin Red Line and The New World, neither of which move my johnson. They say you either love his work or are bored stiff, the cast alone is enough to get me excited about this one (Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain)and the last time a movie was known for it's cinematography and was heralded as a challenged to the viewer I was watching There Will Be Blood, an it was a challenge I was happy to experience. A mysterious film, the details of what The Tree of Life is all about remain relatively cloak and dagger, but it's stirring up enough intrigue and seems to have the pedigree to make some noise this summer. Feel free to comment below if you can decipher what is going on in this trailer.
It's getting late I'll do an edit tomorrow and add in my top 20 countdown. Until then shout out MC. This one goes out to you. P. for now.
****Back at it here Wednesday night, watching the Bulls v. Heat game gonna drop the top 20 of the week. Deng just buried an "at the buzzer!" half court heave, after Lebron only showed token pressure. Just sayin. Anyhow Bulls don't look good but they still look hungrier than the Heat and continue to dominate the glass (9 offensive rebounds in the first 6 minutes!) starting to look more like a personnel issues and less like an energy issue. Just sayin. All good things if you're a Bulls fan, and usually I'm not, but I'm certainly rooting for them against the old boys club down in South Beach. Go Bulls. Enjoy the game.
11. 20. Makin' Dough - Obie Trice
n/a 19. That's Life 2 - Killer Mike
n/a 18. See It To Believe It - J Cole
20. 17. Ballin'- Young Jeezy Ft. Lil Wayne
n/a 16. I'm On One - Drake, Rick Ross, Lil' Wayne
n/a 15. M I Crooked Letter - Rossini Ft. Big K.R.I.T. *Top Debut*
15. 14. Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
17. 13. Disgusting - J. Cole
14. 12. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa
18. 11. Fast Lane - Eminem and Royce 5'9" *Top Gainer*
05. 10. 6'7" - Lil Wayne Ft. Cory Gunz
12. 09. On My Level - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Too Short
10. 08. Eraser - Kid Cudi
04. 07. All Of The Lights - Kanye West
07. 06. Capcom - Kid Cudi
08. 05. All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco
06. 04. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T.
03. 03. Red Nation - The Game Ft. Lil Wayne
02. 02. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa
01. 01. Dreamin' - Big K.R.I.T
Hump day. It's all downhill from here + long weekend. Peace all.
What up world! Happy Monday (now Tuesday) to everyone out there getting started on their weekday work grind! Another week of teaching physical education at the local high school for this guy. This is grind week, 5 teaching days followed by 2 serving shifts. Then I'm off for a couple weekends and a shit-tonne of good times, but for now - I'm grindin'. Let's go!
This tune comes to us all the way from Korea, not really, but DBudd sent it my way from Korea so we'll say that. Despite the fact that the White Stripes have called it a career, Jack White is still a workaholic, channelling his creative juices into great music. Throw in DJ Danger Mouse, of Gnarls Barkley and the Grey Album fame, and you've got a couple individuals dedicated to making great sounds. Check out their collabo here, it comes off of DJ Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi's new album, "Rome", due out next Tuesday.
Ding Dong! The witch is dead! The wicked witch.... no, I'm not getting my munchkin on - but I will share my delight in seeing the wicked witch of the NBA West, the Los Angeles Lakers, get pumped and promptly sent home for their summer vacays on Sunday. Dallas looks pretty good and they'll get loads of rest as the other three series' look like they're set to go the distance. One thing we've discovered, a bit earlier than anticipated, is we do know that there will be a new NBA Champion in 2011. One thing we already knew, but reaffirmed, is that Jason Terry will make his open jumpers. Right P-Jax. Happy Trails.
I'm gonna switch it up for this blog, get off my usual hip hop tip, and take a look at another genre and specifically another band as I use Blink 182 to kick-start this week's discussion. Also, I'll keep the summer countdown going as it's not getting any further away, and we'll get a rundown of all information pertinent to the week starting the 9th of May, 2011 - that means album and film releases and other 'can't miss' crap.
*Emo Warning set to Amber* Summer of 1999, I had just cleared a place on my wall for my newly minted middle school diploma. I was preparing for the big leagues of high school, fast buses and loose women, I had a new sound in my ear. I'll admit I wasn't there for their 'old-sound' of Buddha or Cheshire Cat. I can't even say it was Dude Ranch, arguably their finest album, that put me on Blink. I think I speak for many, when I say, it was "What's My Age Again?" in the summer of 1999 followed by "Adam's Song" and "All the Small Things" that started my love for the music of Blink 182. Blink exploded on the scene in 1999 with their mock boy band parody music vids and their toilet humoured energy - a perfect escape for 9th graders everywhere. While their music steadily crept closer to the mainstream middle re: "pop", over the years, achieving greater polish - sparked by cleaner riff-driven melodies.However, it was their early work, most notably Dude Ranch, that has resonated with me through the years. Maybe I'm just refusing to grow up but I find the subject matter still strikes a chord, pun pardoned. And then sometimes, you just can't go back. While they recently have reunited for tours after a couple years hiatus, the group has moved in different directions - with each member embarking on a multitude of other side projects. Maybe it was just the right place and right time for what I felt was the right sound, they may never rekindle then magic they found at the turn of the new millennium. So without further ado, Blink 182, top 25 songs, as voted by me. This one goes out to the fellas who were in Aussie with me. I know we never banged out a definitive top 25 list, but we definitely have had this discussion at length, possibly over a game of drinking jenga! Enjoy.
Blink's Best (My Opinion)
25. What's My Age Again - "...the state looks down on sodomy"
24. Anthem - "I time bomb"
23. Enthused - "I swear, I'll act enthused"
22. Easy Target - "Southern California's breeding mommy's little monster"
21. Dysentery Gary - "Fuck the guy tho took her and ran away"
20. Boring - "Boring, alright."
19. Please Take Me Home - "Oh no it happened again, she's cool, she's hot, she's my friend."
18. Dumpweed - "She's a dove, she's a fuckin' nightmare."
17. The Party Song - "She wasn't wearing underwear, at least I prayed..."
16. Pathetic - "I think it's disgusting, believing and trusting."
15. Dick Lips - "I know I've seen you trashed, at least one time."
14. Aliens Exist - "I'm not like you guys."
13. Voyeur - "The lonely guy I am, I wait for her to change."
12. Don't Leave Me - "Let's try this one more time with feeling."
11. Untitled - "It's not a change of taste, I was the one there last night."
10. Anthem Part 2 - "Young and hostile, but not stupid."
09. Man Overboard - "Time keeps moving on and on and on..."
08. Stay Together for the Kids - "If a stupid poem could fix this home, I'd read it everyday."
07. Stockholm Syndrome - "An empty heart. (replaced with paranoia.)"
06. Give Me One Good Reason - "Give me one good reason, why we need to be like them."
05. Going Away To College - "Why does it feel the same to fall in love or break it off?"
04. Mutt - "He pauses shaving and tells himself that he is the bomb."
03. Lemmings - "I wanted everything, I got it, and now I'm gonna throw it away, I'll throw it away yeah ."
02. Dammit - "Well I guess this is growing up."
01. Apple Shampoo - "...but some good things must end"
Rain isn't snow, and with that the in mind - the summer countdown continues.
Pool Party? Not exactly.
44. Patios - This morning I went out my back door to see about a half dozen wooden table tops and benches strewn about Orange Lane, the Pump House is putting its summer patio together. This quickly reminded me how much important a part of summer patios are. A patio changes the game, makes eating in the summer a much more all encompassing affair (a drinking affair). What's better than a warm breeze on the patio while enjoying a nice cool cocktail. After hours a patio can be a cool getaway from a packed dance floor - summer is all about the patio.
43. Summer Bars - This one kind of ties into the last, a lot of exclusively summer bars are reliant on their laidback patio friendly atmosphere. Throw in the novelty that they are only open a few months of the year and their appeal heads skyward. When I think summer bars, I think of PEI and how much fun that place is during the summer months. Isn't it so much better to go to the bar in what you want to wear and not have to worry about checking your jacket, mittens, scarf, ear muffs, tuque, boots, long johns, thermal underwear, you get the point.
42. Pool Parties - It is no secret that the kid who has the pool is the coolest kid all summer long, one caveat being - have pool - must throw party.
41. Jet Skies - I'll let Daniel Tosh share with you what he thinks of Jet Skies, know that I second that emotion.
What's new and exciting for this week? Well not a whole lot is the answer, but there is still NHL and NBA Playoffs going on to keep your sporting appetite under wraps. As far as new CD's some good Canadian content out there as both Sam Roberts and Sloan drop new albums this week. Two bands I have seen live and have enjoyed at different points in my life. For me, the music edge goes to Sam Roberts on this one. His live concert in the rain and mud over 5 or 6 years ago for the Festival of Lights in Charlottetown was one of the best shows I've been to in my life so he -hands down - takes that one. As far as films go, some funny ladies do their best "hangover" impression in "Bridesmaids" and so far reviews are quite good. It is possible that this female driven comedy could match the hilarity of the Hangover? Seriously, I'm asking, "is that possible?" What's more, there's a set of indie flicks set to open - "Everything Must Go" and "Hesher" both come out this week. I'll be doing a "we're not 'blockbusters', we're just the best movies of the summer" report here real soon, both of these films will be in that mix. For now just check out the trailers. Have a great week all! P.
P.S. Shout out to Denmark. I donno who is in Denmark reading this blog, but the audience statistics suggest I have a following in Denmark, and for that I say ,"dank je wel"!
Professional development day - aka, a supply teachers long weekend. I still work tonight at the City Grill, but it's another short week for students around New Brunswick, I donno if you remember it being like this when you were in school, but there is something like only 2 weeks, in which the students have 5 school days in the week, over the course of the final 7 weeks. I know that sounded like some kind of algebra problem but this blog is a product of this professional development day because I've been a bit too busy otherwise. I know it's been some time since my last post, but it has been a rather busy last week. For example, yesterday I taught during the day, coached track and field after school til 5:30, went home - had a peanut butter sandwich and put my feet up for a half hour. Catch my breathe, and I'm heading back to the school for 7 to open the gym for the high school boys basketball team which wrapped up at 9. A long day, and I didn't feel much like writing when I came to the end of it. Also I've been in teaching Phys Ed all week, an though I greatly enjoy it and it's great to be working, it doesn't leave any down town for writing or formulating ideas like some other courses I've covered in recent weeks. I'm busy teaching the kicks the soulja boi dance and evaluating their 'boot scootin' boogies' - Ha, I know.
Anyway 'nuff excuses, much has happened in the past week, we had the Canadians de Mont Royale meet their demise, the once seemingly invincible San Antonio Spurs also saw their season end- does that mean the end of their 'dynasty' as well? Tim Duncan didn't look like his old self getting outmatched by Gasol in the first round, and no not Pau, it was Marc making Duncan look aged in the first round. Will the Celtics and Lakers be the latest to see their seasons fade? Some of this feels so old, it's irrelevant - in our information age, in which we're fed new interesting stories by the hour, each day. This was a big one from this past week. This video is nice.
Yep, Osama Bin Laden was killed this past week, too somewhat disturbing hysteria. However, I will say I think we always knew if the Americans ever caught Bin Laden, his punishment, was assuredly death. I just like the comedy in that video, ha the Hip Hop Obama. There are some beauty one-liners.
Happy Belated Cinco De Mayo to you all, we're in a new month and usually May marks the beginning of the summer blockbuster season. This year the champagne was popped prematurely with the opening of Fast Five coming out this past weekend - breaking records for an opening weekend in April. So with that jumping off I think it's time to take a look at the summer blockbusters that will follow it in the coming dog days of summer. I missed last weeks hip hop's most wanted countdown, so i'll be getting back to that. Also the summer countdown continues - this time it feels a little more appropriate with all the good weather we've had this week, though it seems some showers are rolling in, just in time for the weekend. So we've got a little wrap up, some tunes, some movies and, another smorgasbord of reasons why summer cannot come early enough! Let's get at it.
I started to write about this summers blockbuster movies and I was looking for clips when I stumbled upon this summer movie trailer. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll humbly allow this video to do the talking on what films to look forward to for this coming summer season.
Some pretty epic looking films in there - X-Men: First Class, Captain America, the new Harry Potter. A few dud looking ones, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, Green Lantern, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon (IMHO). And a few that I'm not real sure on, but I'm intrigued enough that I'll want to go and find out - Cowboys and Aliens, The Hangover Pt. 2, Super 8. I went to see Thor, I thought it was pretty good, I liked the depths they writers took to explore the science fiction side of story, I don't want to say too much because I know many will want to see it. I give it a 7/10. As for the other big blockbuster out there Struan has already seen Fast 5, and he recommended me seeing it, saying it was wild. That leaves me feeling that if you go in there expecting a non-stop action adventure from Fast 5 ,than your expectations will be fulfilled and then some. I'll probably see that at some point, I'm not the biggest fan of the full throttle action adventure genre, but I do admit they are the best to see in the theatre atmosphere. Whereas, I might prefer an extended 3 hour drama from the comfort of my own home, just sayin. What I find surprising is that I am kind of looking forward to seeing the new Harry Potter- yet I have never seen or read any of the series to this point - maybe a marathon is in order. But yeah if I were to rank my top 3 picks for movies I'm most looking forward to seeing, it would have to be. 1) Hangover Pt.2 - I donno if it will be as funny as the first but I'm expected a lot of the same and I'll be quite happy if that's what I get. 2) Cowboys and Aliens - The western sci-fi genre has exactly been an easy genre to pin down with top quality films, that said I'm waiting with bated breathe to see what comes of this film. And lastly my 3rd selection would have to be X-Men: First Class. The previews look promising and I though the premise behind the film to be a story line worth checking out, and the X-Men films have yielded pretty solid results in the past.
We'll keep the summer countdown running - I feel like I have about a dozen days to make up. But that's a good thing - times flying, summer we'll be here before we know it.
Here goes ten more reasons to love summer, numbers fifty four through forty five.
54. Longer Days - While I can't say that the our summers intensity or length can compete with that of the summer I experienced while in Australia, I will say that I came to greatly appreciate the hours of sun that we enjoy after dinner. Despite being summer, the sun would set between 6:30 and 7:30 most every night that I can remember, while I was down under. I love that there is enough time to push for 18 holes at the peak of our summer. Some of those sunny evenings find just the right temperature and carry their light til near 9:30 making for great east-coast summer nights.
53. This song.
52. Cottaging - It's getting to that time of year when people get out to their cottage and take down the boards off the windows, make the necessary repairs the harsh winter has dealt, clean out the cobwebs and prepare themselves a summer retreat away from the noise pollution of the city suburbs. Cottages often make for some of the summers best house party locations, often hidden away, these make for the best party moments of the summer.
51. Cold Beers - Nothing beats and ice cold beer after a good sweat on a warm summers day. Nothing.
50. Reunions - Summer often marks the return of students from university to see friends and family they've been away from. Often weddings are held in the summer and provide a great opportunity to bring people together. Here's to summer occasions that bring us closer together with those that we've spent time apart from!
49. Frisbee - You need warm hands and good weather to play Frisbee, therefore it is a summer sport where we're from. The great thing about Frisbee is that its never the person who throws the Frisbee that has to go over and retrieve the Frisbee after it was come clamouring unexpectedly in on an elderly set of sunbathers or too close to the nesting area of an overprotective mother of what seems like 8 children. You can 'go fishing' with your frisbee tosses, I prefer to to see an awkward, "I'm so sorry, we were just tossing..." with mine. 48. Bar-B-Q's - The summer BBQ season is well under way and it adds a whole new element to my versatility as an amateur chef. Whether it's steaks, kebabs, or scalloped potatoes a BBQ is a great way to kick your feet up. enjoy a cold beer, and have some great eats.
47. Summer Concerts - The summer concert series traditionally begins with Coachella in April, and this year was no different, Kanye West, Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon headlined a show that had a line up that likely won't be topped. That said, Arcade Fire will be coming to Moncton as part of the U2 show later this summer. 46. Shorts and Tees - The most comfortable outfit going.
45. Summer Kicks - There is nothing worse than getting your sneakers out too soon. The slush and winter grime will ruin even the nicest pair of crisp summer kicks. The slush is gone, the rains have cleaned up the sidewalks, even the grass around is drying up - it's time to get the summer sneaks out.
And lastly I wanted to get back to my Hip Hop's Most Wanted Top 20 List, which I had let slide for a week.
LW TW Track Artist
n/a 20. Ballin - Young Jeezy Ft. Lil Wayne
n/a 19. F5: Furiously Dangerous - Ludacris Ft. Slaughterhouse
n/a 18. Fast Lane - Eminem and Royce 5'9" (Can't help but think Nate Dogg should be on this hook. RIP.)
n/a 17. Disgusting - J. Cole
17. 16. My Last - Big Sean Ft. Chris Brown
19. 15. Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
16. 14. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa
10. 13. Phone Numbers - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Trae The Truth and Big Sean
15. 12. On My Level - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Too Short
08. 11. Makin' Dough - Obie Trice
12. 10. Eraser - Kid Cudi
06. 09. Black and Yellow (Remix) - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Snoop Dogg, Juicy J, T-Pain
11. 08. All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco
07. 07. Capcom - Kid Cudi
09. 06. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T.
05. 05. 6'7" - Lil Wayne Ft. Cory Gunz
03. 04. All Of The Lights - Kanye West
01. 03. Red Nation - The Game Ft. Lil Wayne
04. 02. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa
02. 01. Dreamin' - Big K.R.I.T
That's it for this week. Quick shout out to all the wonderful mothers out there as this weekend mark the passing of Mother's Day.
