2014 Tag

There is nothing more exciting than a New England Patriots’ nationally televised humiliation. Now that I’ve let that out of me, let’s look at this week’s takeaways…   All Is Not Well In DC This is definitely true regarding politics, but lately it applies to the ‘Skins as well. Since the injury to RGIII (déjà vu), Washington has looked stagnant in just about all facets of football. Especially defensively. They gave up 4 TDs to Eli Manning on Thursday night in an ugly home loss to the G-units. Total, they’veRead More

Every year, I seem to find myself scrambling for a Halloween costume idea and execution a few days before the holiday. Throughout the year, I come up with many different ideas I think would make an impressive costume, but then I completely forget about them. Then I end up dressing as something very lame. It’s like when I used to walk into a video store and completely forget about the 100 films I’d intermittently put on my must-see list, and settle instead for renting Varsity Blues for the 80th time.Read More

Teams, I see you. We’re beginning to notice who came to play this season and who’s pining for a top draft pick in 2015. So without further ado, here are my 3 biggest surprises of the early season.     3. Atlanta Falcons The Bucs might be terrible, but they are still an NFL team. For Atlanta to demolish them 56-14 on Thursday night was nothing short of spectacular, and hints at the season to come. It was a night of high octane offense for the Falcons, but the momentRead More

Most of you are scared to go there. Your guy friends laugh nervously when you broach the topic at lunch, and your good, but not best friends mentally move you from their classy-has-it-together category of friends to the perverted-don’t-bring-around-grandma one when you bring it up. But if not now, when? Perhaps you’ve started dating a new person, you’re smitten, you’re spooning, you’re sleeping, you accidentally had more cheese than your digestive system can quietly process (ie any), your ear plus are nestled in your ears because you’re a light sleeper andRead More

For every band living the rock and roll lifestyle – smashing guitars and raiding the mini bar a la Iggy Azalea – there is another that’s traded in the high life for an adult one.  And that philosophy doesn’t only apply to tucking in their shirts and adopting 401Ks.  Some have created an entire identity for themselves, completely autonomous as both artists and people.  It’s rare that an indie group is truly independent by these standards, but every once in a while one will peek through the rows of label-puppets.Read More

The season has legitimately arrived, now with 2 full weeks in the books. There were many highs and lows both on and off the field, but here are the top 5 takeaways. 5. Controversy Although I care more about what happens on the field, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge what is happening behind closed doors. Especially when it involves domestic abuse. Despite some amazing games over the weekend, all anyone is talking about is Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. Peterson is the latest in dead beat dad horror stories,Read More

I couldn’t fully grasp this concept until recently. And by recently I mean when I found out Heath Ledger died and I tried to watch 10 Things I Hate About You. I thought it was a fluke, that one of my favorite films from my youth would solicit such a sadness.  I told myself it was only sad because he was so young himself as a serenading sparkplug, and I tried again with Brokeback Mountain, but I still could not see his face on screen without being subject to unsolicited emotions.  I can never enjoyRead More

The whole Ray Rice thing has got me to thinking… In general, guys don’t know how to treat ladies anymore. I’m not equating every dude out there to Ray Rice by any means, but even in simple ways I see a lot of men drop the ball. I call it male bafoonery. In commercials, I see men being portrayed as patsy morons. Even walking the streets of LA (okay, from my car) I see moronic behavior. Guys not holding the door open for others, especially for women and the elderly. GuysRead More

This past Wednesday marked a glorious occasion for fans of dance-along, paint-your-face indie pop.  Giddy, metro rock outfit Walk the Moon – still selling out shows on the back of their massively successful second album – released a taste of what’s next in the form of the whimsical dance floor track “Shut Up and Dance.” The Ohio foursome – comprised of members Nicholas Petricca, Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman and Eli Maiman – have spent the summer supporting Panic! at the Disco on their Gospel Tour, but it appears that theyRead More

Pigskin season is upon us. Time for cooler weather, beer, and…. more beer. With Week 1 firmly in the books, let’s review the 5 takeaways.   #5. Seattle Is Still Seattle While most fans around the league are unsure about their team’s future, Seahawks fans are reclining in their La-Z-Boys and laughing at the rest of them. The men from the Northwest (I think that’s in America) came out of the gates sprinting. They made Green Bay look like a bunch of cheese packers. Their defense stunted Aaron Rodgers forRead More

Even those who frequent Pitchfork and BIRP might have a difficult time stumbling upon a certain quintet of upstarts from Hamilton, Ontario. Funny, considering that Arkells all the rage on the Canadian indie scene, amassing the Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammy) for New Group of the Year in 2010 and Group of the Year in 2012. A brief journey through their discography is all it takes to see why. Their debut album Jackson Square announced them as a loud, persistent force backed by a subtle Motown influence and a uniqueRead More

Few things are completely certain, but the exception lies in the world of tennis. Fans have become accustomed to Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal participating in every grand slam final. Well the waves of change are a flowin’. Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic will face off in Flushing Meadows today.     Significance This 2014 US Open Final will be a landmark occasion. Since the 2005 French Open, every grand slam final has included at least one of the big 3 (Fed, Djok, Nadal). That’s 9 1/2 yearsRead More

Sex is one of those things.   One of those things that can be really good, really bad, unmistakably messy, emotionally entangling, seemingly life changing, and what you have before breakfast some days and after dinner others, like a cupcake.  And in your mid-twenties and outside of a relationship it is usually a combination of power, alcohol and nearly expired condoms that you’ve found in the kitchen drawer and that belonged to three roommates ago. Some of us were raised Catholic with the notion that the only option for our genitals was chastityRead More

Yesterday’s men’s quarterfinals featured unbelievable displays of physical ability by Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori. Djokovic notched a big win last night with his victory over Andy Murray. While earlier in the day, Nishikori defeated favorite Stanislas Wawrinka in 5 sets. But the score lines don’t explain these results very accurately. Anyone who saw last night’s match can attest to the obvious difference in physicality between Djokovic and Murray. By the fourth set, it was becoming pronounced. Murray opened his service game with a strange, 70 mph first serve usingRead More

“Nobody likes you when you’re 23” – Blink 182 #NODISRESPECTTOBLINK182 but, by 23, you’ve (hopefully) found your core group of friends. The friends that have been there for every birthday, every break-up, and every night spent sleeping on the bathroom floor (see also: the pavement and in between your ex’s sheets). The friends, childhood or college, that you know will be there for life and will likely give some sort of embarrassing speech or break a glass at your wedding. Unless you’re an asshole, chances are there’s at least fiveRead More