December Arrives, This Month at the Movies, NBA Rant and NFL Week 13 Picks!

Weeeeooo! Long live December! December my 3rd Favourite month of the Year. Just happy to be here after the last 30 days or so, what's it called again, ah yes, November, Movember, whatever, move along, make room for the holiday season.

November, what a drag, quite literally I mean, this month seems to have dragged on for months on end. A month which, for the better part, saw me abstain from all types of fun and folly. A month in which I decided just 10 days in, to embark on purifying my mind, body and soul. Since November 10th, I have been on an Isagenix Health cleanse, no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, no food or drink based socializing, and most of all no sex, er I mean, cuddling, and what's worse, I did this all voluntarily! (Well, everything except for the sex part.) Needless to say it's been a looong month. It's surprising to reflect on just how much of  a socializing staple food and drink are to our (my) way of life. Now I know you're going to say, something to the effect that you can have fun without drinking or eating, but I'm here to tell you that you can't. I've tried it, it's a no go. Cannot be done. Jokes aside, I'm glad to be 24 days in and I'll no doubt finish my final 6 days to come away a leaner, cleaner, slightly less poor, young-ish man. It's been a good experience, if not a bit of a lonely one at times. But I kid you not, so many of the social things I do, whether it be going out to eat with friends, having a beer and enjoying a basket of wings, or my habitual drinks on a Friday or Saturday night. It seems all fun  involves food or drink in some capacity. So without them, November was very much lost on me.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, many, many bright lights, with an array of different colours, for December and it's holiday cheer have finally arrived. Jolly old December, my 3rd favourite month of year, right behind July and August. December is chalk full of all kind of great fun. You have the NFL shaping up quite nicely, the it's NCAA college bowl game season, the NBA is going to feature 3 weeks of  free agent mayhem punctuated by the start to the season just in time to celebrate Jesus' birthday on the 25th of December. Which incidentally is also international gift giving day. Friends, family, food and Hanukkah, it's going to be great. Come on in December, stay awhile.    
In my last blog I railed into Empire Theatres for providing us with a bunch of shitty family films for much of October and November. Maybe it wasn't all completely deserved (maybe it was?) regardless there should be no excuse in December as there appear to be plenty of quality films to see this month. Some blockbusters and some films that will get some Oscar attention on into January. So head out there buy someone some theatre gift cards as stocking stuffers and then use them for yourself and go see some of these flicks this month. See ya there. Here's a few of the films you might catch me at:

Michael Fassbender (X-Men, Inglorious Basterds) continues to dominate the film scene in 2011 "Shame" hits theatres Dec. 2nd. Not holding out much hope that we'll get to see it here, but maybe.

A film adaptation of John le Carre's timeless spy mystery, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy hits theatres on the 9th of December and if the film rivals the books entertainment value for me that will be saying something.

Many are greatly anticipating acclaimed director David Fincher's adaptation of Steig Larsen's worldwide best seller, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.This is the first instalment of the 3 part Millenium Series trilogy. Whether there will be future films may depend on how this film turns out. This should be dark - and if Fincher has shown us anything from his past catalogue, (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac) it's that he can do dark.  Loved all the books and can't wait for this one to see this one come to life on film.

We also have the annual holiday blockbusters in the presence of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows and the animated classic The Adventures of Tin Tin: Secret of the Unicorn. Of the three, I'm most excited for Tin Tin. How I can include Sherlock Holmes in light of the fact I have yet to see the first instalment, I know not.

And we'll throw in Johan Hill's new comedy "The Sitter" for a few laughs to counter all the drama and action above and there's plenty to smile and get excited about when we head to the theatres this month. Hopefully Crystal Palace gets there renos completed and we have a whole new environment to enjoy all this entertainment in. 

I'm probably missing another couple of Oscar contenders and other good comedies. And of course there is also the star studded cast of  the New Year's film spectacle titled, "New Years Eve". It would be easier if I listed the stars not present in this film rather than list all of the celebrities that are. How that will work out, I will likely never know. I'm okay with that.

And now time for my NBA rant, who's to blame and why the NBA lock out pissed me off! Here we go. For the most part this whole lockout, all the reports, all the shit talking and posturing amounts to a whole heaping load of BFD. Big Fucking Deal. I think it has been stupid, selfish and about another 30 odd synonyms in the same vein as silly. The whole process has been handled poorly on both sides from the get go. NBA players were and still are, highly overpaid - so get over yourselves. You make an absurd amount of money to play a sport and were on the verge of shutting a season down based on the difference between making 5.2 and 4.9 million dollars in a season. Ridiculous. So you piss me off, and I blame you that we got into this mess from the beginning.

The NBA owners decided the current system wasn't working and they wanted to see it changed. They decided that the players were being over paid at the current BRI scale (players getting 57 percent) and wanted to see that number go down to what they felt was a more reasonable number of 50 percent . I think that's pretty fair. The current economy called for the owners to re-assess how they could make their business profitable again and this is what they came up with. It's their league and it is BIG business here, so I'm okay with that. Business was doing better in '99 when they came up with the old system and with the downswing in the economy in general, coupled with the growing trend of people wanting to watch the game of basketball at home on their high definition big screen televisions, rather than jamming into the nose bleed sections of huge stadiums may have something to do with that. They decided the players value was slightly below what is was last time around (1999) and leverage was in their favour. It's like Bill Simmons has alluded to in his columns regarding the issue, "you're not paying Tom Cruise the same amount for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (MI: 4) that you paid him for Mission Impossible 1 or 2, you're just not. He's not as valuable as he may have been 10-12 years ago." And in this case the leverage lay in the hands of the owners. The thing that pissed me off about the whole thing was the owners arrogance and obstinacy throughout the whole ordeal. The owners had the leverage and used that to drill home the point that if they lost a season - no big deal. After all, the owners aren't going anywhere, you can own a team for years, sure they'll lose a little this year but over time they can make it back. Players on the other hand, only have the here and now to make their money. They don't have years and years to make back anything they lose this season.
 
Both sides approached the lockout with arrogance, somehow deluding their sides into thinking the could exist on their own. The players thinking they could find suitors worldwide, (but who wants to travel all over the globe for a pay cut when if they could just take a slight pay cut and get back to playing right here at home?) or simply create their own league, (without stadiums or TV deals from major networks? What are you guys thinking? ) or perhaps a superstar tour. (Sure that likely would have made dollars but only for a small percentage of the elite, leaving the vast majority to join Delonte West at Home Depot. ) The owners had the leverage and bullied the players throughout this ordeal, which pitted the players against the owners, owners against players; rather than accepting the fact that the two are far better off when they work together. In the end it took the players deciding to take the matter to court by de-certifying that finally gave the situation any urgency and got us to the point we're at today - or did the NBA reveal it's true breaking point, losing the Christmas Day games?

Either way the whole thing amounts to big fuckin' deal because we ended up where we should have ended up months ago. Big fuckin' deal because I realized as much as I love basketball, I don't really care about it thaaat much in November and December.  Not when I can get my fill of NFL football, college football, early NCAA, NHL Hockey, what I mean to say is there is still plenty of distractions out there in the early months and it's just not that important to me to see the season drag it's way through the first couple months of the season. 82 games in a season is a long season. Hmm 66 games seems about right, so maybe the season should always start on Christmas day? So again I say, we lost November and December, but big fuckin deal, the madness of the next 3 weeks should provided enough excitement to more than make up for it. The lockout pissed me off because I foolishly got drawn into caring about it more than the owners or the players seemed to. And then in the end we arrived at a place where we would have if we'd approached this situation with any urgency months ago. So that's my rant, I blame both sides and their me first approach but in the end, who cares we're gonna get our season and not a whole lot has changed in that regard. And that's the last I'll speak on the past and the NBA lockout, it's time to get excited about what's lies in store for the future. In my next blog, I'll break down the new deal and I'll also take a look at a couple of things that have me most excited for the coming season.    

My NFL Week 13 Picks of the week. If these teams don't win I'll be broker than I already am.

Denver over Minnesota - All aboard the Tebow train. After starting the week as 1 point dogs it appears the public has finally come to their sense and are finally backing the Jesus freak. Tebow and the Broncos have won 3 straight and the 4 of 5 since he became the starter after a 1-4 start shelved Kyle Orton. The defense has picked up in the last couple weeks and Tebow has the Broncos believing again. I'm a believer that the good times will continue this week against the hapless Vikings, who will likely be without all world running back Adrian Peterson again this week.  I think Denver continues to pound the rock and take care of it, waiting for rookie QB Christian Ponder to make a mistake a give the Broncos the edge they need.
(Denver -1)

Carolina over Tampa Bay - Maybe the OVER is the better play here with two swiss cheese like defences squaring off. Both teams have huge holes on defence but I give the edge to the panthers who seem to have more play makers on the offensive side of the ball with dynamic rookie quarterback Cam Newton and his favourite target Steve Smith. It appears Tampa QB josh Freeman will be out this week, thrusting John Johnson into his first start of the season. I'll take the Panthers who will likely be more organized offence and will likely utilize a deeper playbook than the Bucs with the back-up QB thrust into action.(Carolina +2.5)

Jets over Redskins - Rex Grossman cannot play 3 good games in a row. It's just not in his make up. Atleast not as far as I'm concerned, and that is all the analysis I need. Beyond that, the Jets need this one to keep pace with a guaranteed victory by the Pats over the Colts. Last week was a tough inner-division tilt with the Bills but I think credit is due to the Bills who played a hard game, I think this week the Jets have their way this week. Hunch maybe, or just the anti Grossman factor. After all thre can only be one Sexy Rexy, and I prefer mine to fill out a sweater vest.
(NYJ -3)

The Return of the Blog, Answers to my own questions, and a new Hip Hop 2.0!

Ahem, it is with slight regret that I come clean and confess to months of distraction, procrastination and general otherworldly pursuits. This has led to a lengthy dry spell for the blog, limiting, er, severing rather my entries entirely since the dwindling days of summer. I had scratched together a rough draft for posting at the end of summer but even that seems irrelevant some 3 months later, so back to the drawing board as they say. How could I have left my corner of cyber-space and it's loyal reading public without a report on how my summer progressed, or lulled for that matter. Far be it for me to have denied them my up-to-date reports on what's next in the world of hip hop, however nostalgic, biased and uninformed they may be. Pas de insight into the mindless nuclear winter the NBA and it's players had depressed into, delaying and ultimately putting the start of the 2011-2012 season. in jeopardy. Ludicrous. Zero response on my behalf, equally ludicrous. Not even a taste of what was to be, and has come to pass within the NFL - something I follow with a near dogmatic indoctrination. (At least from a  gambler's perspective.) Instead, nothing, nada, zilch.

It is in this regard that I've failed the readers, but guess who's back, at least for now. My abrupt departure should not come as much of a surprise, at least it doesn't to me. "Why?" you say? I've drawn this unlikely parallel.  I like writing. I like blogging. And like many other things I like (re: girls) it ended with out provocation or warning. My blog followed a similar path as do many of my relationships. A passionate and ambitious, if not overly amorous, beginning, a keen desire for acceptance and understanding. Once it became comfortable it was followed by an inevitable and eventual case of  "Swayzing" (See: Film, Ghost )(RIP Sir) on my part. As Elliott Smith (Again, RIP) once sang "I'm a junkyard full of false starts". That said in an effort to buck the tread I'm bringing the blog back. Just gonna try and keep the passion going and make it happen. No promises or proposals as far as entries limits or expectations, I'm just going to try and devote my energies to writing and I remain hopeful that keeps all of you reading. Assuming you are still out there and up for a second go around - blog readers that is, sorry babes.

So where do I pick this up. I can't very well just pick up from where I left off as that leaves me buried in months of news, sport, as well as film and album releases. That said I'll try and do a bit of back tracking on a few of the issues most prevalent to me over the past few months. To the Delorean we go. I'm proposing I ask a series of questions that would have plagued me back in August, only now I'm blessed with a comfortable seat in the quarterbacks Monday morning armchair with my 20/20 hindsight vision googles feeding me the facts in full effect. None the less keep a keen eye, I may still screw this up. Let's tackle and respond to some of the intriguing questions of that at the time that I feel still hold some semblance of importance at this point in time, it being only a short few months later. So without further ado here comes a visit from the ghost of blogger's past.

To the questions!

"Will the 2011-2012 NBA season start on time?"

Much like I anticipated then, (an easy thing to assert using my powerful system of knowledge of times already passed) I can assuredly report that the NBA will not see a tip off on October the 30th, as originally planned. I've you've followed the blog at all to this point, (a tortuously depriving experience, I know - you poor soul - get a hobby.)  you know that I eat, sleep and breathe basketball, and have done so since my days of using my right hand on the left side. (Wait, I still do that - cue the opposing coach's unflattering but ultimately strategic chide of "force him left, he only wants to go right!" Damn you opposing coach. Damn you.) Clearly the answer to this question could be seen miles away. Players representative Billy Hunter has claimed in numerous interviews, he "knew this day was coming", and the NBA owners have openly used, "we don't care if there is no season, we want to change the current system." as their point of leverage all along.  What infuriates me is that if the players rep knew this since way back when - why didn't they decertify the union way back on July 1st so they could get the sense of urgency underway. Or even August 1st or September 1st, once they had established that "negotiations in good faith" were going to be fruitless. 

Now I had written a bunch more on this subject on Friday November 25 when I originally began writing this whole blog and at that time I used my crystal ball of things seen to try and prognosticate what would happen in my crystal ball of things unseen, which was considerably far snowier. At that time I believe I concluded that we had all become much more familiar with the college players of the day, because that was the only meaningful round ball we were going to see this winter. And as is the case with most things unseen, I have no idea what's going on. And as the crystal ball of the future of the NBA became less of an unseen and more of a "oooh, ah, ok, very good." I am happy to report that in less than 24 hours, I vehemently deny and rebuke my initial prophetic statements,  to bring you the exciting news that the NBA will play a 65 game season and that the season will begin with a triple header on December 25th. Merry Christmas everyone. So instead of doing a report in my next blog chronicling the path the NBA took to it's own destruction, I plan on dosing out a little slice of "why this lock out and everyone involved pissed me off" along with a side of "why I will still love the NBA and will watch it this winter". Kind of a door/window thing there. But to answer the initial question, no you will not be able to watch the NBA and enjoy your Halloween treats at the same time, unless you are enjoying Halloween treats you stocked up on after the fact at a major discount. A classic 'cake and eat it too' instance, congrats.   

Next up:

Will J.Cole's debut album "Cole World: The Sideline Story " sufficiently blow my mind?

Let's start with the disclaimer that my mind was at all time weak stage after having been sufficiently blown by season 4 of Breaking Bad, but that's a story for another day. Couple that with how low I think the current state of hip hop has lowered the bar, an I may be more easily impressed. That would certainly be the case if ancient relics the compact disc didn't still exist from my youth. As far as mind blowing debut albums let's set the bar at 4.5-5 out of 5. Numerical values set let's compare some mind blowing solo debuts of the past, it's gotta be on par with greats like Nas' "Illmatic", Jay Z's "Reasonable Doubt", Rae's "Only Built for Cuban Linx", Kanye's "College Dropout"', Snoop's Doggystyle and the list goes on and on from there.... but the fact remains all of these album's were game changers, I was looking for the same thing from J.Cole in 2011. 

One thing that I think has shifted our perspective of how we rate debut albums is the current mix tape movement that didn't exist during the era of the albums I mentioned above. Because of this I feel J.Cole's debut is a bit different, this isn't the first we've heard of J.Cole, Cole has been around for a couple years now, hence the subtitle, "The Sideline Story". To take the influence of the mixtape and our mass-media-open-source-viral-video-you-tube-crazed-world further, I'd already heard plenty of the tracks on this album before the actual album dropped Sept.27th. The mix tape is now used as your entry point into the rap game.To me, this kind of takes away some of the novelty, atleast from the concept of an album as a whole, where in the past it's like a scavenger hunt and you're sifting through the album looking for the buried treasure of singles. We don't have the same type of "OMG! Have you heard this new cat Eminem's album? This guy is bonkers!" In the case of Nas and even Kanye West, we had heard them in limited cameo roles and anticipated their albums but we still didn't have an in-depth idea of what sort of flow and content they we're going to bring, I felt I did with J.Cole. Are mix tapes ruining albums, IMO I think in a way they are, because there is now so much crap to get through to find the good stuff, and on top of that, the goal is no longer to construct a 5 star album but instead to create a media sensation and a 5 star single - which will in turn either sell millions individually on itunes or lead listeners to buy the album solely for that song. But again, story for a different day. So all of my former diatribe aside - I'd say the J.Cole effort is deserving of 4 star praise, slightly below "mind blowing" and in the realm of "sensory popping". 

I really liked the album, I think it's consistent from start to finish. Looking back over October and November I can say the album has had consistent rotations in my apartment and I rarely jump around from track to track, often preferring to let it run from start to finish. Two of the tests for a great album in my perspective are: a) Can you play the album from start to finish without feeling bloated by what I call "filler", b) Am I still looking to listen to the album 3 months and on after its release. While it's only been 2 months so far I can say that I will continue to listen to the album moving forward.

So to this point I've written plenty, but I haven't actually talked about the album itself. Cole's album's concept tells the story of how he has gotten off the sidelines and become a major 'player' in the game. (See what I did there) Through a series of weaving intro, interludes and skits we are given the story of how Cole got signed by Jigga and how ultimately the album and the artist came to be. The album starts out strong with an updated version of "Dollar and a Dream II". "Lights Please" is an enjoyable track, though I had heard it some 6 or 8 months before the albums release, on some mixtape somewhere. Jay-Z shows up on "Mr. Nice Watch" and helps out his new label mate, though I'd hesitate to say he outshines Cole here, the track is quite catchy, even if the hook doesn't say a whole lot. The next song "Cole World" sees J. go in over a great beat. Cole handles a lot of the production on the album so major kudos to him for that. "Lost Ones" sees Cole tackle a more serious topic in what I feel is a modern day take on Tupac's classic "Brenda's Got A Baby". Missy Elliott pops out from whatever rock she's been living under (in Missy's case it must be a rather large boulder) on "Nobody's Perfect" which is a good, lighthearted follow up to the heavier subject matter on "Lost Ones". The album is a bit top heavy with it's highlights but is still a strong lyrical effort throughout before finishing with the pre-released single "Work Out". If you got the deluxe version you'll enjoy "Nothing Lasts Forever" and lastly a much older track "Who Dat", which is a question listeners may have had when they heard it the first time but by now many of us know about the flow that is J.Cole.  Would have liked to see them throw in a couple of the other singles that helped build his buzz like "Return of Simba" or "How High" over the past couple months int he deluxe edition but no such luck. 4 stars out of 5 is nothing to sneeze at so if you haven't given the album a listen yet, I highly recommend you do, it just may blow your mind.

And if you missed the BET Awards, hopefully you didn't miss the cyphers: Here's my favourite.

On to the next one...

Will anyone be able to stop Mike Vick and his "Dream Team" Philadelphia Eagles with all of their big off-season acquisitions? Ha! Taking a page out of the Miami Heat's book the Philadelphia Eagles had a monster off-season. Acquiring "shutdown" corner back Nmandi Asomugha, d-end Jason Babin, corner Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie and former Tennessee starter turned Vick back-up Vince Young. Also like the Miami Heat before them, the Eagles celebrated their off-season as if that is where the Superbowl is won and not at the end of a long gruelling NFL season. At 4-6 trying to recover their season from an irrelevant abyss heading in week 12 of the NFL season, the team once coined by Young as "the dream team" (for the record, there has and will only ever be one) has been an absolute nightmare. Vick has been under fire all season leading him to miss time at multiple spots this season; putting a smile on the face of all those who claimed he didn't have the durability to be relied upon as a fantasy no.1 overall pick. DeSean Jackson has let contractual issues result in him behaving like a petulant child on and off the field throughout the season. Sooking his way to a shitty season. Nmandi has hardly been the cover corner corner he was billed as, but that may be more the fault of the Eagles who have used him in a much different sort of defensive role than the Raiders had used him in the past. All the way around the season has been a disappointment for Philadelphia fans, a strong reminder that the football is the ultimate team game. Chemistry and ultimately execution are developed on the field through hard work, not merely through signatures on paper in the off season. The Eagles may pull it together moving forward but 2011-2012 will not be the season of the Eagle.    

Some of the other surprises over the past couple months have been, the Cards pulling off a World Series calibre turn around to their season, can't mention that with the surprising collapse of the Red Sox that led to a full upheaval of another squad seemingly anointed for greatness. I've found the lack of quality films in the theatre(s) (Only Trinity with Crystal Palace out of the equation.) to be less surprising that frustrating. Maybe there's no good films out there, maybe they've been waiting for Oscar season to release them. But it seems to me we didn't get J.Edgar, we didn't get The Descendents, where is Driver? I would have liked Moneyball to stick around an extra week as I didn't get to it, instead we get Hugo, Arthur Christmas, Happy Feet 2, Jack and Jill, Puss in Boots? Is this some sort of joke?  Anyway the movies have sucked, and I didn't know where else to get this in.

Lastly, something I would have questioned back in August and still have some doubts about is... what would a new version of my Hip Hop 2.0 look like? With so many new albums released between my last top 20 and today. (J. Cole, Drake's "Take Care", Jigga an Ye's "Watch the Throne", Wale's "Ambition", Game's "Red Album" and Luda dropped a solid mixtape as well.) So much music in there to select from, not to mention the countless singles and mixtape tracks that have been released so I've spent the day sifting through and compiling some kind of list. So here goes a whole new top 20 from scratch.

20. The Resurrection of Hip Hop - Lyn Charles Ft. Big K.R.I.T.

19. Here Ye, Here Ye - T.I. Ft. Pharell

18. Underground Kings - Drake

17. Say It To My Face - Ludacris Ft. Meek Mill

16. 5 on the Kush - B.O.B. Ft. Big K.R.I.T., Bun B

15. Cole World - J. Cole

14. It's A Tower Heist - Nas Ft. Rick Ross

13. The Noose -Tech N9ne Ft. Mayda

12. I Do - Young Jeezy Ft. Jay-Z, Andre 3000

11. Slave - Tech N9ne Ft. Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Kalhouny

10. Toast to the Dead - Immortal Technique

09. Murder to Excellence - Jay Z and Kanye West

08. Lightwork - Lupe Fiasco Ft. Ellie Goulding and Bassnectar

07. Mr. Nice Watch - J.Cole Ft. Jay-Z

06. Ambition - Wale Ft. Rick Ross, Meek Mill

05. Let's Roll -Yelawolf Ft. Kid Rock

04. Interlude - Lil Wayne, Ft. Tech N9ne, Andre 3000 (Ironically my only entry from Weezy's Carter Album, and he's not even actually on the track.

03. Sweet - Common

02. Headlines - Drake

01. Make My - The Roots Ft. Big K.R.I.T. (I said this songs belongs at the top of a list the first time I heard it, here it is, top of the list.)

That's it for now folks, I made it to the end. P.

JBudd

Lockouts, Series Finales, Hope Everyone's Enjoying Summer!

What up, getting a little caught up with summer and things of that nature, again, it's been awhile. Trying to get post number 2 for the month of July in here before July is up. Not cool. Things have been on the go though, couple weeks back I coached at BNB's Bantam Elite Camp, a basketball camp in Fredericton for the "top 40" middle school aged boys and  girls from across the province. It was good times, long sweat infused days of great reward, followed by a hotbox of a residence bedroom late into the night, with a spattering of meal hall cuisine mixed in between. All told, the camp was an enjoyable way to pass a summer week. I got the chance to coach a couple of kids from Riverview, which was a fun coincidence, hopefully I get a chance to coach them again in the future at what would be the next level for them. (High School)  

Alright, what else has been up - went to Tracy Morgan's stand up comedy show at the Casino just last week and that was quite a show. The show was a little late getting started as Tracy has some immigration issues getting into the country, ala "The Game", but despite our border patrols reservations, Morgan made his way to the Casino and by 835 the show got started.The opening act, Brain Scolero, was pretty good, sweating and setting the table for Tracy's tardy arrival. Morgan proceeded to put on an x-rated gut busting 40 minutes of jokes. Most jokes were quite sexually charged and unquestionably explicit, apparently leaving some spectators in uneasiness. What I say to that, is you obviously didn't know what you were getting yourself into, Tracy said it himself, "If you came to see 30 Rock you're in the wrong place." Tracy handled a few hecklers in a pretty subdued fashion, although at one point he did call a guy "a faggot" which he followed with "not in a derogatory sort of way." It was at this point where I felt that show took a less funny more human turn, and Tracy was just kind of sitting there talking about how he was just trying to make people happy and what not. That went on for about 15 minutes and then Tracy got back to telling jokes for the shows finale and ended it with some laughs. On the whole the show was pretty enjoyable on a number of different levels; I caught Morgan's towel when he tossed it into the crowd, the noticeable public uneasiness of some, and crude, clever, and  'funny cause it's true' humour. I'd give the show a 7.5 out of 10 and I felt it was worth the price of admission. However, as far as the casino slot machines are concerned, I'm less than impressed.

From there, I hit the Island up for a relaxed 4 day retreat, where I mostly chilled and played Golf with a few friends up there. Thank you to them for their hospitality.  At numerous times for in Freddy and in PEI I had some time to write but I also found myself without Internet at these points. The whole week in Fredericton I was staying on campus at UNB and I couldn't find a wireless connection to speak of at all. I donno what's more concerning their lack of connectivity or my attitude that I need to be 'a clicks away' at all times. I will say it is far easier to check information and find ideas with the internet always on the ready. Betcha didn't know that. But it's true. World Wide Web they say.

So that's whats been up. What else is there to discuss. OK let's discuss the season finales for both the Game of Thrones and The Killing. Take a look at the current sports landscape and reflect on the draft briefly. Beyond that I'll sprinkle in some music as well and we'll get an afternoons writing out of this yet.

Headlines

Game Of Thrones Over The Killing
Obvious spoilers in here. These were two shows that I've been watching on a weekly basis throughout their recently completed debut seasons. Seattle based The Killing grabbed my early attention with it's gripping and gritty tale of the murder of Rosie Larson, a high school teenager. The story jumped out of the gate with fireworks, it appeared no one was safe from guilt or investigation. Game of Thrones a new HBO production based on the fantasy saga novels by George R. R. Martin, I've mentioned in here on various occasions in the past. Game of Thrones though stunning visually, took a couple of weeks for me to totally understand the complexities and enormity of  their fantasy world.  However, as the shows progressed it became clearer to me that GOT is the far superior series and will be one I will follow through into next season. And not just because it has dragons. GOT took it's time and created a universe full of characters and ideas. The characters seem to have a great deal of depth to them as we learn the origins, histories, traditions and codes of each house and region. As an adaptation GOT is well written and seems to have a great deal of scope in what it looks to accomplish. Perhaps the supernatural fantasy element appears to be on the way in season two after season one spent a great deal of time in developing some of its main characters to give the show its depth. To this point much of the talk has been of war but we have yet to really see a clash of epic proportion. GOT has gotten it right and taken its time in doing so. That being said. Game of Thrones has certainly taken some chances.

Ha the 1:30 mark gets me. But yeah like the man says "They killed off one of the main actors before the finale". He's right, that was episode 9 but the show is still all that to me. GOT had a great finale that only makes you look forward to what's coming next. I'll be anxiously awaiting it's return.

The Killing on the other hand, just left me feeling mostly used and confused. After watching the show, week after week, it became clear to me that they were reaching for ideas. A whole episode was dedicated to officer Linden losing her son and searching around Seattle for a whole day. Not a word was mentioned about the Larson case the whole episode. So we could see a human parallel between the detective Linden and the Larson family? This far in? I think they needed another week to plot the course for their ending, call me a conspiracy theorist but I think this came about just about the same time as they signed on for a second season and now had to hurriedly come up with an ending that allowed for a second instalment. You have exhausted the twists and turns and all of the unbelievabilities for this season. As far as I'm concerned they could easily have started a new case with season 2 and wrapped it up with Richmond as the killer - I would have been fine with that. They clearly should have checked the log books and checked the gas on the campaign cars weeks ago (think this is no brainer police work, no?) but I'll let that slide, just wrap this show up for me, I've suspended disbelief for nearly every possible fringe character here. But no, The Killing jumped the shark and tried to end with a big one, I'm not sold. Holder's now a dirty cop, not a misunderstood one? Richmond wasn't guilty despite all of the signs that pointed at him?, Balko kills him so we'll never hear Richmond's side?, The end, see ya next year.  Take it or leave it for me as far as next season goes, I used to feel hmm, invested, I donno that I still will next time around. So that's it. I'd say watch Game of Thrones if you haven't already and as far as The Killing goes, meh, I think I wished I'd tuned out after episode 8.   

Locks On and Locks Off
The NFL has completed a deal between it's athletes and owners and their lockout is over, meaning that as I expected the whole time, the season would go on as scheduled. The NFL earns so many people, sooo much money that there was no way a deal wasn't going to get done. As far as the NFL  was concerned the system wasn't broken it just needed to be tinkered with. The owners wanted a little bigger slice of the pie and the players wanted more guaranteed dollars and better working conditions (No 18 game seasons or OTA's). And after a lot of pomp and circumstance the two sides compromised, agreed, and now a frenzy of off season activity has seen many franchises in rush mode to get their rosters set for training camp and a season that really isn't all that far off. Is it just me,or  is it just the fact that the off season has been reduced to about 2 weeks rather than the usual 6 months, but it seems to me that the free agent crop is more bountiful than ever this off season, plenty off big name players have been available and moving. The landscape has likely shifted yet again for another season, in a league where parity has reigned in recent seasons. The Pats and Eagles look like the early winners with both teams grabbing big name player potential guys at relative discounts for their services. The Pats with Albert Haynesworth and Ochocinco and the Eagles landing prized free agent cornerback Nnamdi Osamugha. The Eagles also acquired Dominic Rogers Cromartie and defensive end Jason Babin as well. The Eagles have helped themselves quite nicely so far, but still look to re-sign DeSean Jackson to remain a home run threat. Where will Plaxico and Moss end up? Lot's of intrigue out there heading into both an exciting new NFL season as well as the equally exciting fantasy football season that will accompany it.

The story as far as the NBA is concerned appears to far bleaker, despite the NBA's scheduled tip off being still a ways off the NBA appears to be headed for a shorted season at the very least. Unlike the NFL, the NBA's system is broken. Considering that the NBA just enjoyed some of it's greatest ratings ever, the leagues popularity is at a high recently speaking. In an NBA that had been a bit starved for hype since MJ hung it up at the end of the twentieth century, the league was rejuvenated when LeBron said he would take his talents to South Beach. People tuned in for love or hate to see what would come of an ultra competitive and ultimately one of the more exciting seasons in recent memory. So with all that momentum and hype machine working how are many of the NBA's franchises losing money? The system is broken and needs to be fixed. The players collect perhaps too great a share of the total percentage of revenue and even then the contracts may not be evenly distributed based on what each player brings to the table. The best article I read on the subject came from Bill Simmons on his Grantland site. Here's a link. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6749669/if-ruled-nba-world  I don't think the NBA wants a lockout but I think it'll be inevitable in this case. The players have too much power because it is a star driven league and the owners will do anything to acquire the type of stars that can put a team of the top. The NBA, unlike many of the other major sports, is a league in which having a superstar player can mean all the difference for franchises. Having more than one is the covet. Rest assured the stars and the owners will come out of this on top. But yeah I'd said basketball will start up around Christmas time but it could go longer depending on how this European experiment works for some of the NBA players willing to go overseas. This will be an interesting one and I'll be following it for the next little while.

Of Note

Colengelo is an Idiot - I found it hard to believe that the Raptors would take another big European with their 5th pick in the 2011 lottery draft about 6 weeks ago. But then again they are  the Raptors and Colangelo is their GM. Toronto could have addressed a major issue by taking Brandon Knight, who was unexpectedly available. It's become apparent that in today's NBA you need a top level PG, and I'm not so sure Bayless or Calderon fit the bill. Beyond that the Raps already have a soft, finesse big man who doesn't like to rebound in former lottery pick Andreas Bargnani, if you're going to pair his talents with anyone I think it should be a defensive oriented, glass eating, banging big man, not another Euro finesse project and that's just speaking from a basketball standpoint. From a PR standpoint I think the pick is a joke. Does Colangelo not know that people are tired of him trying to unearth the next Euro Dirk? Even if the Raps had Jonas Valanciunas rated that high, shouldn't they be questioning their own rating systems at this point when it comes to overrated talent from across the pond? Anyway I may eat my words on this one but I didn't like the pick then and I still don't like it. 

Twin Peaks - Interesting show that I initially got into because of The Killing. People were comparing The Killing to Twin Peaks so I thought I'd check it out. The show aired in 1990 on ABC and was the creation of David Lynch and Mark Frost, so you can expect some oddities. Twin Peaks was a top rated show during it's 1990's run and tells the story of a Laura Palmer, a high school home coming queen who's body is found in the season's pilot. The film follows a quirky FBI detective, Dale Cooper, (Kyle MacLaughlin) who comes in from out of town to investigate the case. We learn there is more to this quiet Washington town than initially meets the eye, as Lynch and Frost unveil a seedier under belly to the respectable small-town. I enjoyed this show, partial because of its early 90's kitsch but also because of it's good writing and interesting characters. worth checking out if only for the campy theme song.


Big Sean/Killer Mike are taking home my inaugural artist of the month award. Per usual I couldn't decide which artist to honour with this award and per usual I just made this award up but yeah I wanted to acknowledge that Big Sean's album Finally Famous and Killer Mike's album Pledge 3 we're dope albums and were in heavy rotation for me in July. Big Sean's long awaited major label debut is nothing otherworldly but it is clever and catchy enough to  keep you listening, blessed with a lot of production from No.ID  and that seems to be working. Killer Mike's Pl3dge  album is chock full of gritty story telling and conscious questioning of the current 'system'. Killer Mike has some political aims from his music. Undoubtedly these are two of the albums I've played most often this month and that, earns them the Artist(s) of the month. Something I just made up now, on the spot, but meh, why not? Highlights include: Finally Famous: "I Do It", "Memories Pt. 2" Ft. John Legend, "Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay" Ft. Kanye West & Roscoe Dash, "100 Keys" Ft Rick Ross. and on  Pl3dge: "That's Life 2", "Ric Flair", "Ready, Set, Go" Feat TI and Big Boi

Speed Read 

Kanye West/Jay Z - Kanye and Jay Z dropped the first single "Otis" off  their new album Watch the Throne set to drop in a few weeks time. The song pays tribute to it's namesake borrowing a sample from Soul Legend Otis Redding. Here's the single I like it but I don't love it. 4/5

Colby Rasmus - I really liked what the Jays did in acquiring the former first round Cardinals draft pick at the deadline. The Jays unloaded some of their arms but as far as I was concerned only Frasor was of any value out of those guys. I think there is still plenty of potential for Rasmus who is still very young and seemed to have butted heads with LaRussa in St. Louis more than played poorly. We got the best player in a trade and to me that's the most important thing. (*He hit a two run double while I wrote this, good omen, no?)

Captain America - Went to see Captain America this week, I thought it was pretty good but not great. Another super hero movie for the summer blockbuster catalogue. I would rate it slightly below what I thought of Thor. So I'd say 7/10. If you got nothing to do then go check it out, another 3D flick, which is almost getting irritating at this point. The origins portion of the film means its a bit slow getting started but then it picks up steam as it goes. Worth a look.

Cowboys vs. Aliens - Movie to check out for this week.

And while I have no new top 20, I will give you the 5 Songs I liked that I've heard the past 2 weeks. The only caveat being that I must have first heard the song within the last 2 weeks.

1. Drake - Headlines - The first official single off of Drake's new Take Care album, set to be released later this year. Produced by Boi-1da.
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2. J. Cole Ft. Trey Songz - Can't Get Enough - Just business as usual in Cole World as J. Cole drops another track in anticipation of his major label debut, when will that happen? Who knows but enjoy the releases until it does. This one features RnB crooner, Trey Songz  backing Cole up.

3. Frank Ocean - Thinking About You - Fairly new RnB sensation. Heard the song, liked it, what do you think?

4. Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Big Sean - Flowers - Produced by Big Jerm, these three up and comers have worked together to put out a mix tape for the summer. More leaks to follow.

5. Nappy Roots - Congratulations - First single off of Nappy Roots new album coming out this fall, on the album Nappy Roots collaborate with the production of Outkast Dungeon family members Organized Noize, hence the album title Nappy Dot Org

Hope all is well where ever you're at. Enjoy your extended New Brunswick Day long weekend local readers!

P. 

Blog: The Summer Edition - It's the Final Countdown, and New Hip-Hop Countdown.

Hallelujahs and hoorays for the long awaited arrival of the summer. Better late than never and the latest heat wave has been a a pleasant reminder of what we've come to expect from our summers, especially in this modern 'globally warmed' climate of ours. I near screamed, "conspiracy!" in late June. Hopefully we hit our averages though, things stay the course and we get toasty. So I know its been awhile since I last wrote, way too long really. No excuse really, but we'll try to get back on track. So let's get back to something I've been working on for a while now, my summer countdown, so here is the latest blog - were calling it, the summer edition. We'll give one last look at the countdown to summer, and look at what this summer has in store in regards to some music, movies and anything else entertaining.

Over the past couple months I've been running a tally of assorted summer delicacies to build up the hype, excitement and anticipation of what to expect and adore from the coming 3 months. So here is that list in it's entirety dating back some 70 days! Whooo! This was truly a labour of love as at times I had trouble coming up with enough entries, that's not to say that summer didn't have that many, more so, that I was enjoying a creative spasm and couldn't shake the cramp; so as you'll see, I had a beer. In honour of summer, of course, and that usually did the trick. I've updated some of my commentaries that date back to previous entries, surf's up, take a deep breathe, off we go.

70. Golf - "Isn't it fun to go out in the sun, and lie on the course?" - Bob Hope

Plenty A Gross Bum

69. Skinny Dipping -Not to be mistaken with streaking, which doesn't necessarily require water. If you can incorporate the two, even better.

68. Watermelon - Preferably seedless, wait, preferably vodka infused!

67. Vacation - In the words of Drake, "I'm on one!" I hope you are too!

66. Road Trips - Because you would hate to disrupt your life with something like routine!

65. A Good Toss - Games are easily invented with a ball and a beach.

64. Nice Cars - Give me something double-take worthy.

63. Camp Fires - Man has been fascinated for centuries, now get drunk and jump over that fire!

62. Hot Dogs Over the Open Flame - Your reward for a fiery near death experience.

61. Smores - Complete with a delectable dessert!

60. Ice Cream - Am I still a child if I like moon mist?

59. Slush Free Sidewalks - When I wrote this, this was an issue. Slush. You remember.

58. Green - Life, Go!,  Dead Presidents, Ganja, Innocence, green is plenty good.

57. Summer Sports - Summer time well spent.

56. Bridge Jumping - Give your heart a natural boost!

55. Cliff Jumping - "So there are no rocks, right there? For a bit, ya say?" I'm jumping.

54. Longer Days - The more daylight the shorter the days seems, or is it just me?

53. Summertime - Sublime - Here's a new more recent Sublime song featuring Wiz Khalifa. The band doesn't quite sound the same with Rome on the mic but this is still a good summer jam to bump to.

52. Cottaging - Preferably with no telecommunications to the alleged 'real world'. (Some of you just cursed at me, "#### that!")

51. Cold Beer - I'll take my first on the golf course in my mind. I'm 6 under, and deserving.

50. Reunions - Bring the fellas back together for a time, that's what I'm saying!

49. Frisbee - "Hippies!.... Hippies want to save the world but all they do is smoke pot and play frisbee!" Eric Cartman (South Park)

48. Bar-B-Q's - Bout time I got a few steaks and made this happen!

47. Summer Concerts -Feels ''more alive' to watch a show outdoors.

46. Shorts and Tees - Fuck the Rouge this is summer's unofficial dress code.

45. Summer Kicks - The crispiest.

44. Patios - Put me on the patio and instantly add 3 tall ones to my tab.

43. Summer Bars - Your exclusivity suggests to me, that you, too, like summer the best of all the seasons.

42. Pool Parties - Can easily lead to our #69 entry. Bottoms off, I mean, up!

41. Jet Skies - The effect on your jaw is similar to that of a playing on a trampoline, or magical mushrooms (so I'm told, of course), rigid perma-smile.

43. Flip Flops - Not just for the undecided.

42. Windows Down - In my world a cool breeze beats a cold air conditioner in the car. My world.

41. Boys of Summer -Don doing his thing.

40. Air Conditioning - Because sometimes there is such thing as "too hot".

39. Sundresses - It's more of an aesthetic preference than a practical one.

38. Water Balloons - "Fire in the hole!"

37. BIF Parties - Can we get a beer in someones face already! Dogg!

36. Pool Hopping - Now, it is not recommended to have a pool party in someone else's pool, but that is simply a recommendation, and the full monty is worth the extra effort.

35. Lobster - What a mythical little beast, I like the pinchers.

34. Washer Toss - Assemble your tandem. And we're talking near-gender-equality, in a near-sport here.

33. Cold Beer - Must have really milked that first one!

32. Tenting - "Pitch your tent right over there", that's what she said.

31. Slip and Slide - Preferably a slip into a slide and not the reverse order.

30. Trampolines -  I've always enjoy this video for some reason or another.

 

29. Convertibles - Isn't this just a timeless convention that pervades our consciousness, this notion an image of 'convertibles are cool', maybe, or maybe they're just way more fun.

28. Animals' summer dispositions -  At this point I'm talking all mammals. We're all just a bunch of happy beasts right about now.

27. Bikinis - Happy 65th Anniversary to the Bikini. Well done.

26. Super Soaker 3000 - "Say hello to my little friend!"

25. Keg Parties - Nothing gets me going like a chick banging out a 20 second keg stand. Real talk.

24. Bikinis - So nice, it made it twice.

23. LFO - So many ridiculously good lyrics in this jam, but "Summertime girls are the kind I like, Steal your honey, like I stole your bike" still takes the cake. Dreamy bunch.

22. Devil May Care Attitude - Getting in touch with your inner-rebel nation. See also; joining a fight club.

21. Mussels - Yeah! Give me one of those delicious little snot-shot looking, delicacies. Grossly good.

20. RCHP - Announcing new countdown! New ReD Hot Chili Peppers anthem has been given an August 30th release date. The album is titled, "I'm With You" and was produced by Rick Rubin, famous for his work with the Beastie Boys,'99 Problems' w/ Jay Z, among numerous other accomplishments.

19. Beer - Beer Me.

18. Summertime -This was originally a spot for the jazz tune summertime. I've already posted that. Great summer jazz tune check it out. Here's a new Common track called "Summer Madness", just in time for the summer.

17. Summer Reading - Into Robertson Davies' Fifth Business at the moment. So far I've enjoyed it. Beach. Read. Sleep. Burn.

16. Sun Showers -May there be more sun showers than baby showers ahead in the medium future.

15. Yard Sales - My grandmother would be remiss if I did not include this as one of summer's pleasures. "My Lord, you should have seen the things they had, an they were just giving them away".

14. Mini Golf - If you're with your buddy go golfing, if you're with your girl...

13. Snorkelling - For the last time, where are all the mermaids at?

12.  Corn Boils - Corn on the cob, a uniquely special, summer staple.  

11.  Cold Beer - Take the keys .

10. Lapping Waves - I'm looking for those Pacific ocean waves like down in Oz, you know, like the wave pool at Magic Mountain.

09. Block Parties - Preferably featuring Matchstick Mike.

08. Fireworks - Stru and predicted 15 minutes of fireworks. Moncton gave us 25, I guess we've finally made it Moncton.

07. Hammocks - All that's missing is the breeze.

06. Picnics - Does anyone still do this. Besides, you know, the Teddy Bears, are they still doing their thing.

05. Sand Castles - These can be simple, or elaborate and intricate, either way they usually end up with someone buried up to their neck in sand.

04.  Fresh Cut Grass - It's like a new hair cut for your house. Everything looks bigger, better and cleaner when it's been neatly trimmed.

03.  The First Burn - Nothing like getting your Lester the Lobster on that first couple times to the beach as you transform from a starch-pasty-white, to a fuming-molten-lava-red. The first burn is the first tan. Amirite?

02.  The Beach - I've alluded to it many times here but haven't come out and officially given it numbered status, but the beach is one of the biggest reasons I look forward to the summer season. The relaxed atmosphere, the scenic views(!), the sun beating down, the refreshing dip at arms reach, the perfect terrain for rest or play.

01. Late Night Shenanigans - The summer is the perfect time to stay up all night and keep the good times rolling. Think Dazed and Confused party at the moon tower. The summer can be one of those times where the nights never seem to end, from one place to the next - a new adventure lurks around every corner and time is just a number. That's what I love about summer.

And there we have it, 70 reasons to stop reading, get out and enjoy everything that summer has to offer. 

But before you go I'm gonna give you a most recent Top 20 Hip Hop Countdown because I haven't done that in awhile and there has been a tonne of new music coming out these days. Stay tuned for the next blog, which will be my review blog in which I'll take a look at how I did in my own mock draft as well as the give out some team grades for the selections themselves. I'll review Big Sean's much anticipated "Finally Famous" major label debut album. And we'll also take a look at the first seasons that were, for The Killing and The Game of Thrones, so if you haven't finished those up - spoiler alert in advance, and if you have time, finish 'em up! So that's what I'll be working on this weekend. Here's a song by Chiddy Bang that I've been feeling, it's called "Mind Your Manners", it really borders a bit close to the pop step for me but I catch myself hitting the replay button. More of a  hip-pop track than a hip-hop track. Let me know what you think.

Like I was saying above, there has been a plethora of recent hip hop releases of late and some have been pretty on point. So that'll shake this lastest list up quite a bit and I'm gonna toss out a couple other new tracks and feel free and comment on my fb or whatever if you think they're something you'd be looking to bump. Cheers to some good new hip hop!

Hip Hop Top 20 - Week 06. 07. 2011

LW TW  Song  Title        Artist

16. 20.  That's Life 2 - Killer Mike/ Trust Issues - Drake

n/a 19.  Pot of Gold - The Game Ft. Chris Brown

n/a 18.  I'm On - Trae The Truth, MDMA, Lupe Fiasco, Wiz Khalifa and Big Boi

n/a 17. Marvin Gay and Chardonnay - Big Sean Ft. Kanye West & Roscoe Dash

n/a 16.  I'm On - The Game Ft. Mars

20. 15.  Marvin's Room - Drake

n/a 14.  Reagan Era - Kendrick Lamar Ft. RZA

n/a 13.  Work Out - J. Cole

05. 12.  All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco

n/a 11. Ghetto Dreams - Common and Nas

04. 10. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T

14. 09. How High - J. Cole

11. 08. M I Crooked Letter - Rossini Ft. Big K.R.I.T.

01. 07. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa

06. 06. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa

07. 05. Disgusting - J. Cole

12. 04.  Nasty - Nas

02. 03. Fast Lane - Bad Meets Evil(Eminem & Royce 5'9")

08. 02. Dreams Money Can Buy - Drake

03. 01. Return of Simba - J. Cole

Cole is simply the best thing going these days in my opinion. He's got numerous songs on here and I didn't even include "See It To Believe It", which is another very good track from Cole. Expect his debut major label album to drop later this year to some critical fanfare.

That's it. P.