Monday, November 23, 2009

A Crap Weekend In Sports

Arsenal lose to Sunderland in the EPL, and Celtic lose to Dundee United in Scotland.

Ridiculous.

At least things are working out a little nicer in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks, who have to be one of the definitive 'neutral's favourite' teams (when have you ever heard anyone say a bad word about them?) are soaring (yep, I just did that) atop the league - along with the equally impressive Orlando Magic, that is.

Vince Carter is doing some great work at Orlando. It's kind of a perfect fit for him, coz he's always been that dude with all the technical and physical gifts in the world who's lazy disposition can make him a little frustrating to watch. In the twilight of his career, and with other big guns around him (Howard, Lewis etc.), the pressure's off. Anyone who saw the way he closed out the win against Boston the other day would have to agree that he could be the X factor they need to get over, say, a Cleveland in the play-offs.

But enough of this positive $hit, let's get back to the crap stuff.

It doesn't get much worse than Kevin Garnett hitting a buzzer beater in Madison Square Garden.

The "Holy F*&k, It's Almost X Mas" Edition

So..... been pretty quiet lately.

November's been a monster of a month on a number of fronts, most of which have signified overindulgence in various guises, shortly accompanied by hangovers. So a bunch of $hit has necessarily fallen by the wayside, and blogging, Twitter-vigilance ('twigilance' would be a bit gay, right?) and general plugged-in-to-web-happenings have all been casualties.

Amidst all this tech-slacking, I've discovered a sneaking (and growing) suspicion that I'm generally happier, more content, and more relaxed when I'm not engaged in the abject voyeurism of Twitter, Facebook etc. This is, of course, tempered by the awkward pull of "I'm missing out on something when I'm not plugged in." Are either of those impulses legitimate?

Whatever.

One thing I know for sure is, I've been writing a lot more music in the downtime.

I guess one good reason to get back in the mix is that it's almost Christmas and I haven't gotten my $hit together re: gifts. Usually, I've at least bid on a bunch of stuff on eBay by now. So I guess I better hop to it.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Nas Midweek, Lil' Wayne Weekend

That could pretty much sum up the parts of the week that seem suitable to listen to each of those artists' music, but that's not really what it refers to.

I saw Nas do his thing at The Metro here in Melbourne (Palace? F*&k outta here. Pig, lipstick, etcetera and so forth) on Wednesday night, and I've been listening to Weezy's No Ceilings mixtape all day today (Sunday).

Part of me wants to give it up to Nas for just rocking out in front of his 7 piece band completely solo, no hype man, no special effects. Just him and his classics. But another part of me couldn't get used to the semi-trailer sized gaps of silence that all of his verses were punctured with, where a hype man would've punched in for him. Blah. Some good things, some bad things.

Same with Lil' Wayne. I keep listening to his music, I'm no Wayne hater. Of course I knew about him waaaay back in the mid 90s when most hip hop heads laughed at him and his southern brethren. But I never really paid him no mind until my boy (ironically also called Weez) put me onto The Carter II. It's been up and down ever since. I love that he truly doesn't give a f*&k, I hate how bad that makes some of his lyrics. Sometimes he goes hard, sometimes he just sounds, well, stupid.

It's kinda lame to look for the whole package in one artist, in the same way that you're a moron if you think going to church every Sunday means you'll eventually loll about on fluffy soft clouds for all eternity. I'm obviously getting something out of both listening experiences, otherwise why the f*&k would I still be listening? So I'm gonna let it ride there.

Nas midwek, Lil' Wayne weekend.

'Placido' Paul, Doing What He Does Best

Normally you would never in a million years get me linking to that piece-of-crap kiddie's pictorial the Herald Sun, (Melbourne's best printed weapon against constipation), but if you know my thoughts -- actually, f*&k it, my feelings -- about one Paul Keating, then you'll understand why I had to do it.

“Canberra is of its essence a great mistake,” Mr Keating said.

“The capital (of Australia) should never have been there, it should have been in Melbourne or Sydney.”

Mr Keating, who was visiting Melbourne from Sydney, said our city has a great feel.

But he did have a laugh at the expense of some of our architecture, describing an attempt to create a type of Victorian Classicism last century as more like “Whorehouse Rococo”, or “Bordello Baroque”.

Ok, not bad. Now try this little number about K-Rudd giving former foe Peter Costello a seat at the financial table:

"The prime minister’s goodie two-shoes approach of appointing former opponents of the Labor Party to important public jobs is no substitute for thoughtful and mature reflection as to the public requirement of those positions.’’

‘‘Costello was a policy bum of the first order who squandered 11 years of economic opportunity.’’

Kinda makes you miss 17% interest rates, no?


Get a Whiff Of Columbia

My dude Krispy put me onto the story of a Columbian football team who got kidnapped right off the pitch in the middle of a game. Spoiler alert: it didn't have a happy ending.

Tachira's secretary-general Leomagno Flores has blamed the violence on an armed wing of the Columbian left-wing guerilla group the LEN, led by a guerilla called El Payaso, or 'The Clown.'

Now, obviously this type of stuff only happens in Latin America. But the particular blend of madness whiffs specifically of Columbia.

Violent football pitch invasion: check.
Shadowy guerilla group with nebulous motives: check
Ridiculous and amusing nickname for homicidal ring leader: check

The only thing more Columbian than all of that, is this crazy f&*k goalkeeper who you've probably all seen footage of before. If you haven't, enjoy.

It's like this every day in Baranquilla.