Nail in the Coffin

NOOO!!!!!

I just heard (read) that Chris Cooley was placed on IR. This makes me sad. The on thing keeping me going this season was the possibility that Captain Chaos could make a late season return and lead the Redskins to their 4th and final win of the season. Now, that will have to wait until next year.

This year has been extremely painful for my 'skins. Their injury list is now starting to bear way too much resemblance to their preseason projected starting lineup.

Portis
Cooley
Haynesworth
Jarmon
Hall
Samuels
Jansen
Betts

... pretty sure I am missing an offensive lineman or two.

In a way, the new look Redskins are kind of exciting to watch. I felt a certain amount of pride watching these guys with no hope of playoffs playing their guts out against the Eagles yesterday. In the end, the exhausted defense couldn't hold out in the closing minutes. It was disappointing, but right now the expectations are so low that just seeing more than 20 points causes a certain amount of excitement.

So this is yet another awful season for the Redskins. All in all, this blog post is simply an excuse to, once again, pay homage to Mr and Mrs Cooley.

Now you tell me!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!

This post comes to you from the often-sought rarely-seen "Chuck's PC" at home base. With extra PTO days to spare this young(ish) accountant has taken advantage and is spending Black Friday at anyplace-but-work. Have fun working that Daily Recap succkas!!!

So Thanksgiving was turkey goodness as always. Mom throws together a nice meat and potatoes meal and the relatives are good people. The only downside is that I was able to tune in to the Green Bay - Detroit game, which stank, and then had to turn the channel to Sam the Fireman for the benefit of nephew Nate. Ohhhh welllll.

But none of that has anything to do with anything. This morning I have all sorts of free time on my hands. So as I am busy putting together a kick ass radio station courtesy of Pandora.com, I was just reading the latest edition of Jambaroo over at Deadspin and came across this as the Redskins vs Eagles preview:

Redskins at Eagles: A friend of mine just got engaged. For you bachelors out there, there is nothing more terrifying than the time in between the moment you buy an engagement ring, and the moment you propose. Not because you're getting nervous about marriage. But because you're walking around with a bauble in your pocket worth thousands of dollars. You want to get rid of that shit as fast as you can, to give it to your woman so she assumes all responsibility for it. That whole time YOU have the ring, you freak the fuck out over losing it. That's why I never suggest you plan on bringing an engagement ring to some tropical locale, or try hiding it in a soufflé, or some retarded thing like that. Just get rid of the fucker ASAP.

Ha! I had to laugh because I went through the same thing. Have you ever spent multiple days traveling a serious distance in strange lands with a multi-thousand dollar item in your posession? Man is that scary. Not only did I have multiple layovers, I was travelling to Colombia. You know all the rumors about Colombia? It ended up all for the best in the end, but complications like customs and checkpoints were a constant worry. Just before we got to Parque Tayrona we had to get searched by a couple military dudes. I was freaking out the whole time because, A) I didn't want them to pull out the ring and ruin the surprise, and B) I'm sorry for gringo tendencies but I was not, at that point, confident that there was no corruption in the military. So, I had to act all fishy and kind of interject my body between the guys and my fiance.

Luckily, everything worked out, I didn't get robbed, and I didn't just lose it because I'm stupid like that. I just wish I had that piece of advice a little beforehand.

"I'm Sure I Used To Be So Free"

Lost of new music for me to check out, kind of happy about that. We have new Pearl Jam, Chevelle, Muse, Mute Math, Collective Soul, and Mos Def. I might be forgetting a couple. The only one I've really been able to give a good listen to is Pearl Jam which seems to get better each time I listen to it. I'm curious to see how Muse is, though. A buddy of mine turned me on to them a few years ago when he picked me up on the way to the bar. I heard this bad ass guitar riff and asked who it was and he explained that someone had told him to check them out after hearing he was in to Radiohead. The Muse-Radiohead comparison is a popular one but I think their similarities are getting fewer with each successive album.

It turns out that the riff that introduced me to Muse was from "Stockholm Syndrome" which continues to be one of my favorites. That prompted me to get my hands on the album, Absolution, and I definitely was not disappointed. Songs like "Hysteria", "Time is Running Out" and "Apocalypse Please" keep me listening to the album again and again and what's great is that they, as well as just about every song on the album, are all different styles. If there's one thing that Muse is not lacking, it's diversity.

If i thought that album was good then I was very surprised to find that the one that was released prior to it, Origin of Symmetry, was just as good.

"New Born", super awesome.

"Bliss", awesome.

"Hyper Music", also awesome.

"Plug In Baby", awesome again.

And "Citizen Erased", well, that's the whole reason I wrote this post. I needed an excuse to post one of the most intense songs ever written. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do:



...I'll get to their last two albums later.

Dos Aguila Por Favor!!!

At some point I want to put up a post detailing the best week of my life. In April 2009 I visited my then-girlfriend/now-fiance in the country of Colombia where she was teaching on a Fulbright scholarship at a university in the city of Medellin. It was my first real time out of the states (Canada and Cancun do not count) and it was amazing.

The country is gorgeous, the people are friendly, I turned 30, and we got engaged. It's a shame that the country suffers from such a bad reputation but, on the other hand, fear of drug lords and murder keep the number of wandering gringo at a minimum. My only wish is that I had taken more pictures. I guess that means I will just have to go back someday...

"Now who's the dragon at my door?"

Big Wreck! (and just some plain old Thornley)

"Nothing back there for you to find,...Or was it you you left behind?"

You know it!

The passing of an American icon

Yet another celebrity has passed in a year having no shortage of tragic deaths. I have tried to stay away from the majority of these sad events as they are getting more than enough coverage on just about every network. But this one I could not avoid. Never before have we seen such grace and dignity.

I think we can all remember when she first touched our lives, and even though it was a small part, what remained was an image that would last forever. So fare thee well dear sweet Gidget. You may be gone now, but you will never be forgotten.

Update: Taco Bell soon to release new burrito featuring "mystery meat".

Spinning the favorites!

...continuing a tradition that started with two young scholars at a fine Syracuse institution...

Pearl Jam - Brother (remix)



Three Dog Night - Shambala



311 - Daisy Cutter