I Can't Function

It's time for a random topic title. We go to the mean streets of Ravenswood and hit up Ashlee. She didn't come up with anything and said she can't function, so we'll go with that. Gotta keep everyone involved in the blog.. Now, here we go..

If there was ever a post that I had to search around for topics, this will not be the one. I'll have tons of things to mention in this one. Some I probably won't even get to. That's how busy things are around here and that only promises for a quality blog that we have in store. I guess I put pressure on myself there to deliver the goods in this one, so I'll see what these magical fingers can do for the readers..



First off, I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas. I know I did, no complaints at all here. I'll get more into my Christmas as I write, but had to get the original greeting out there. Although I've talked to my crew who sent cards and gifts in the mail, I'm putting out a big thanks to everyone who was part of that tradition this year. It seems to grow each year and I get into sending out the cards and gifts worldwide. I'm weird like that of course.

I like to bounce all over the place, so I'll start things off on Thursday night. The setting was on Tank Hill at Posey's complex. We had a crew there and it was Nintendo Wii night on the new 56-inch TV Posey has, it rocks it out. Who all was in attendance? Posey, Scherri, Gavin, Cork, Ashley, Ashley's man Mike, and myself. We battled it out for about 6 hours. We started the night with bowling tournaments on Wii Sports. Wii Sports is ok when you play alone, but when you get a group of people together, it's amazing, no joke. Then around 1:00, most of the crew went to bed and it was left with me, Posey, and Gavin. We played tennis and it got intense. I'm talking about sweating and stuff. I know that's hard to believe, but if you've played, you know what I mean. Posey termed it Homosexual Tennis Hour. How so? We were standing there with our shirts off batting in tennis, trash talking, and screaming at each other. That sounds different I know, but we cracked up about it since we were dripping sweat playing this game. Around 2:30, Ashley wakes up and walks down the stairs and doesn't know what to think when she sees us. Classic. That and I'm sure we woke everyone up with us being loud.



Saturday I woke up at 3:15 PM, not bad. The day before, I got my last minute shopping done on Friday. It was packed, but luckily I hit the lines right and didn't have to wait much at all. That surprised me. Quick and easy at all of the places I hit up. People said I was crazy for going that late, but obviously I wasn't the only idiot out there.

Christmas Eve is tradition for our family. The crew comes over to crash at our place to get our eat on, tell some stories, watch games, and whatever else. This year we switched it up a bit. Well, the "kids" of the bunch anyways. That'll be the 20-somethings and we had some good Nintendo Wii action happening. I get enough of that in lately. We played mostly bowling as it was Cork, Alicia, Spank, Kari, Matt, Ozzie, and myself. I'm not the greatest on this game, just as I'm not great in real life bowling, but it's still addicting. My highest so far is 195, which I'll take. Spank has a 224 so far I believe and word has it that Scherri got a 244 the other day. Some of us got sore the next day is the funny part. All in all, everyone seemed to like the system a lot on first pickup. It was also good to hear from my cousin Zack that night as he was partying it up in Atlanta with the rest of our crew. He's wanting a Wii as well, but isn't having any luck getting one (Spank and Alicia are also in the hunt if anyone locally can help). We'll never grow up. 30 years old and still throwing our money to video games. We could be spending it on much worse is the way I look at it. Good times.



Santa showed up to the house. After Spank and Cork were the final two of the bunch to leave the night before, I finally went to bed at 3:30. I wake up at 10:30 to hand out my gifts to the parents and open mine. I can't complain. At this point, there's nothing major that I definitely need, but it still rocks the same walking down the steps that morning. I got some DVDs, Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS (awesome by the way), leather jacket, tons of clothes, Celtics and Notre Dame gear, wrestling shirts and books, etc. Spank hooked me up with a nice UNC stretch fit hat, props to him on that. Cork brought a nice surprise as well, Nintendo Monopoly Collector's Edition, I didn't expect that at all, it's great.

Movie time! That night, for quite some time, we've been pumped to see Rocky Balboa, or what I don't get is why they don't just call it Rocky VI, who knows. It's Rocky VI to me and that's what I'm rolling with. I've heard mixed reviews on people who have seen it. Me personally? I'm biased towards Rocky stuff anyways, but it was excellent in my opinion. If you like the old style Rocky setup, you'll like this one for sure I think. Maybe I'm wrong, but at least give it a chance. Spank was big into it and I believe Cork liked it as well. The thing that gets me is that Rocky is 60 years old and jacked out of his mind, shredded, it's nuts. Antonio Tarver, a world class boxer in real life, wasn't anywhere near as jacked up as Rocky was in this movie, no joke. Go see this movie.



Anyone out there hooked on Rob & Big on MTV? It's some quality entertainment. There really is no storyline, but it sucks you right in. You got this little skater dude (Rob) and his bodyguard (Big) and their bulldog. They basically hang out and be idiots and they got a TV show out of that. And how is that addicting? Give it a try, it's awesome.

I haven't had a Real World: Denver update in a few weeks. What has been going down? Basically what we've missed in the past two weeks is this: Tyrie plans to meet two chicks at the same club at the same time, it equals drama of course. Stephen, Davis, and Alex all go skiing, the rest of the crew isn't interested. Tyrie has Davis' (gay boy) back at the club when some dude went off on him for being gay. The week after that, they ride around a thing called the party bus. Tyrie once again is involved. He gets all up in Jenn's face for basically being a drunken slut. Afterwards, Jenn admits she has a drinking problem and is crying. We all know how that goes. So far, it's been fairly good action compared to the past several seasons. We'll see if it continues.



Bird's Video Moment of the Week: Remember the old Wassup commercials? I stumbled across this one that I haven't seen before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCahySrZooY

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/babygirl3100

3 Quick Thangs:

1. How are the birthdays looking? Thursday, December 28th: Baseballer Ray Knight goes for 54. Denzel Washington is turning 52. Mel Stottlemyre, Jr, another baseballer, parties for his 43rd. Tennis star Patrick Rafter, Happy 34th. That's all I have for this date that is worthy.

2. Today's Random Fact: Take your height and divide by 8. That's how tall your head is.

3. Sometimes it's tough to figure out what to plug in at the end of these posts. So that's why I often go to my buddies for help. I'm talking to Chrissy right now in the mean streets of Webster County. I gotta give her some extra thanks for the card she sent me. Not only did she do it big, but she sent a homemade card and put some intense artwork in it that was impressive. That's what the Christmas spirit is about, thanks again. :)

Birdie's Dirties

Credit goes to loyal Blog reader The_Freak for today's subject line of this post. It's explained towards the second half of this writeup.



Will this be the last blog before Christmas? You never can tell with me. However, I'm due since it's been over a week and people are getting on me for not having something released. I guess that's good to know that the readers are demanding more information from my neck of the woods. I got some fun topics to get into this time as I think there should be a little bit for everyone in this edition. We'll have laughs, some things you may or may not know, some serious business, and then whatever else the staff here decides is worthy of printing.

Here is a good spot to start. Last Thursday and Friday I was getting my work on. This time, it was out of my element, but I figured I'd give it a try. I got a call to work 2 days with pre-K kids. That's a room full of 4 year olds. A few days before that, I had 18 year old seniors at my old high school, some change. Anyways, I barely had a minute to sit down with these little kiddies. So I have to basically play babysitter. These kids are taking naps, need their shoes tied, and all of that. It comes bathroom time and here I am having to walk my boys to the bathroom and watch them try not to make a mess. They walk out and half of them need their pants zipped up, their belts put on, it's a chore. I never thought I'd be getting paid to make sure my kids weren't walking in the hallways with their schlongs hanging out, but someone's gotta do it. Not my cup of tea, but it wasn't as bad as it seems. They're funny cats.



Saturday night it was family time with the cousins. You can't go wrong with that. They came in from the mean streets of Atlanta. We got to eat the best homemade pizza there is (I won't argue that one) from my Aunt Susie and enough other bites to keep you full and then some. Deer jerky, cake, chocolate icing out of the tub, cheeses, that's quality. We got to watch the infamous video of my cousin Kari from last Christmas Eve that Matt saw for the first time. Classic indeed. And no, it's nothing porn related for all you freaks out there that would ask, so don't ask. After laying around and watching the Cowboys/Falcons game, it became storytime the rest of the night. I could make a blog out of just the stories there, but the Mafia type stories were worth it alone. Here's one I'll mention that I've always liked over the years:

My Uncle Sam, who has since passed away, was driving along and minding his business. Apparently, he was going way too slow and these guys started tailgaiting him. No biggie, that happens all the time. Anyways, that's when Uncle Sam had enough and wanted to get all violent. He reaches over on the seat to go for his loaded gun. Ironic enough that it's common for him just to have a loaded gun in the car like it's a meant to be. Instead of holding it up or something to scare the guys or even pointing it out the window, he goes another route. He points the gun to the rear window and blasts it out, shooting at the guys behind him. Yep, you read that right. He shoots his own window out to get at those punks. I guess it did the trick. We could go all day on that stuff.



How's the Christmas season going? I'm doing pretty good with my shopping, I have most of it done. Also, on Monday, I sent out all of my cards and boxes of things and they will be on their way if you haven't already received any and were on the list. I get into this time of year, what can I say? Friday or Saturday, I'll make my last minute adjustments and will have the gifts all bought off.

Here's a shopping diversion for a bit. I'm doing my thing at the mall and Wal-Mart the other day. People just need to get out of the way. They're barely walking and hog up the path and you have to wait. I do what I normally do. I call it my stadium charge (example being at a Pirates baseball game or something) and just barge through. I'm a little dude, so I can get through people going fast, so that's the plan. If you bump into them, so be it, they didn't get out of the way. I'm never mean about it, but I always walk at a fast pace to begin with, and then when these people get in my way, I speed it up more to get where I want. It gets to be a type of a game in a big crowd to see how slick you can be by slipping through a small space, bobbing and weaving Rocky style, and just making your way. Try it out in a crowded area. It'll make your shopping or gaming experience that much better. I guess if you're like 400 pounds, it won't do too good, but you know what I mean.



A new batch of CDs:

Akon: Konvicted. I was one that always said Akon is much better in a role as a chorus dude rather than solo. This one impressed me though as I didn't think he had it in him to release something like this. It's pretty good I have to admit.

AZ: The Format. If you're into lyricism, this is one of the CDs you need to pick up. It seems like a lost art these days to find some true mic warriors, but AZ is worthy if you haven't given him a chance ever.

Fat Joe: Me, Myself, & I. There are only 12 tracks on this album, but it's very good in my opinion. I've always liked Joe's stuff and he has a few collabos on this one worth checking out. The first is the one released now with Lil Wayne called Make It Rain (Wayne is also on The Profit). The other collabo is called Breathe And Stop featuring The Game. Benedicion Mami has a strong message, it's good too.

Ghostface Killah: More Fish. In the mood for mellowing out to some Wu Tang? Probably the most unique of the Wu Tang Clan, this CD is worth checking out if you're into his stuff. Some great lyrics and he features a big cast of characters on some of these songs. Josephine is the single out now with Trife Da God on it, very catchy. For some reason, Cappadonna is the only other Wu Tang guy on this CD.

Lil Scrappy: Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live. Some Dirty South music here at its finest. You won't get a lot of flow, but the beats are good and it makes for some mean raps. I've always liked Scrappy's work.

Project Pat: Crook By Da Book - The Fed Story. One of Three 6 Mafia's members. If it's impressive lyrics you are after, Pat isn't your man. If you want some head busting music then you know what you're getting here. It'll get you pumped up if nothing else. My personal favorite song on this one is Great Googly Moogly.



It'd be a lot of work, but The_Freak gave me some ideas to try a 2006 Awards Blog here soon. One of his creations would be entitled "Birdie's Dirties" as it'd be our yearly collection of the world famous Dirty Thug Ho of the Week. It'd give those filthy girls the space to honor them for being what they are. We know they're dirty, but we can't help but look, even the girls that read the blog even take a peek, it's true. So you have to respect that.

Bird's Video Moment of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dmVU08zVpA (This was courtesy of a TyLaw find in #basketball. Give it a little time to get good, but it's a SNL type deal and it's the dick in a box. Enjoy.)

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/naynay_so_seductiive



3 Quick Thangs:

1. I was sitting at work today and dropped my sandwich on the floor. I'm sure it was filthy, but I manned up and went for it. Dusted it off and figured since it didn't pass the 10-second rule, I was going to eat it. Needless to say, it was pretty good.

2. It might get old to say it, but this is my space, so I'll say it: Drop off a comment in here. At the end of each post, you'll see a number beside "comments". Click that, write a quick message. Easy as that. I'm always interested in your thoughts on the Blog, whether they be good or bad.

3. Quick thoughts on Iverson to Denver? I personally think, even with AI's baggage, that he seriously wants to win as much as anyone out there. I also think Denver made out like bandits in this one. Enough balls to go around between him and Melo? Definitely. People crack on AI for being a gun, but look at his assist numbers, he gets it done. Sure, he's a gun, but he lights up assists as well and I look for him and Melo to be quite the duo. I'm excited. "We talkin' practice mannnnnn!"

Paul Likes To Chug

What's going on to all of my peeps out there? Things are fine and dandy as they normally are in my part of the world. I've been keeping along with having one blog per week and that seems to be going fairly well. I'd like to write a bunch more, but this is what we're rolling with recently. You never know when I might change things up on you all, so be prepared for the usual ride I take you on.



You know one thing that gets me? I'm not a bar guy at all, but if you go in one for 2 minutes, you come out smelling like a filthy dirty stripper or something. I don't care how nice of a place it is, if people are smoking in there and whatever else, you come home a mess. That's fine, that isn't my biggest gripe with that. It's when some of these people come home from partying like rock stars and they go to bed without getting a shower. Come on people, clean your self up. It's these same people that probably don't change their sheets on their beds for months at a time. I know I'm a neat freak, but that's my opinion on that subject.

The Christmas tree is up at my house. We got it on Saturday morning and things are ready to go. As a tradition at the house, we have to put the Larry Bird ornament on first and in the center. I mean, he's only the Basketball Jesus and a godlike figure, so he has to go in the center. Other than that, we have a ton of different ornaments with good meaning. I have a ton of sports and wrestling bulbs, then we have the old school stuff. I'll try to get a pic of the action once everything is official. I get into this time of year, maybe I'm weird. Also on the Christmas scene, the card writing process is going smooth. I hope to send those out late this week or early on the week of the 18th, either or. So if you're wondering when those are coming, just be patient. Santa Bird will hook you up if you are on the list. And if not, I'll say once again, hit me up with a message and I'll get you on the annual list, bird33@gmail.com.



Some were asking me where my Real World reviews have been. I'm not sure why I have been forgetting to get that in this very space, but now is as good of a time as any. Three weeks are down in the books and I'm as hooked as ever on the show. I'll give opinions on each character for now and then we'll add more each week. This season is in Denver for those who haven't started watching yet and there is a new day. It's on MTV, Wednesday nights at 10:00 EST. You can also watch it on the MTV website through Overdrive if you want to go that route and miss it when it comes on TV. It's time to give some thoughts on the people in the house this season:

Jenn is 22 and from California. She's a former Raiders cheerleader. As of right now, I'm classifying her as a fake. She's hot, but she's also a dirty slut. She stole Alex from Colie in one of the early episodes. Then we get Tyrie. He's the 23 year old thug from Omaha. He had a huge incident with Davis last week and scared Davis so bad that he went to stay at a hotel room for the night. This guy is all jacked up too. Third, we get Alex. He's 21 and from Houston. He'll be our resident drunk (then again, they probably all are) and pimp, or manwhore if you will. So far he's been all over Colie and Jenn both, even getting some off Jenn already. Up next is my favorite on the chicks side of things so far out of 3 weeks. That would be Brooke, who is 24 and from Tennessee. She has black hair, is smokin', and has the hick accent which I'm into. I'm sure I'll end up hating her in a few weeks for something, but who knows. Stephen steps up next. He's 22 and from Sacramento. He was the Howard University Student Body President and is a hardcore Baptist who hates gays. He seems to be controversial so far, but he'll have some good arguments for TV. Davis is 22. He's from Georgia and also Baptist. However, he's gay, and Stephen lets him know to his face that he's not down with that. Nice, we got some drama already. Now after Tyrie got all up in Davis' face, they're boys after making up and it seems that Stephen and Davis are able to coexist too. We'll see. Last, we get Colie. She's 22 and from Jersey. She's too skinny and is annoying with compliments to herself way too much. She wanted a relationship with Alex, but he pulled the "just friends" thing on her and then went to get some off Jenn. Now supposedly Jenn and Colie are girls and have put the Alex situation behind them. That's your quick recap. Confused enough? It's starting out to be a decent season, you better jump on board.



I normally go to church on Saturday nights (Catholic) since I'd rather not wake up early on Sundays. I've always been that way. Anyways for the locals, I've been going to Monongah's church some and my church in Shinnston some as well. This week I hit up Monongah. They have a priest from India who will be there for a while on a mission. He was interesting and did a good job. The reason I write about this was that I compared him to Kumar from the excellent Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle movie that I've hyped up a bunch in here in the past. How can you not pay attention to Kumar if he's preaching to you? My thoughts exactly. It's good stuff. And why did I put that in here this week? You know I'm random, that's why.

Many out there played the awesome Nintendo Wii yet? Anyways, there's some funny things happening with the remote for this system, the Wiimote if you will. It seems like the strap is either not being put on tight on their wrists or it just snaps off and causes chaos. Windows have been broken, TVs have had holes put in them, and kids have been busted in the face. You think I'm kidding? Well, I'm here to show you some proof of that. You're going to love these stories to see what all the Wiimote has damaged. So far, I haven't torn anything up. My buddies said it's bound to happen sooner or later as much as we get into games. Here is a link, check this out: http://www.wiidamage.com/



Road trip time and this one will be on my birthday, January 6th. We got a big time battle happening at Marshall University that day. It features arguably the best high school basketball in the entire nation (OJ Mayo) as his Huntington High crew takes on one of the nation's best ever b-ball programs in DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Maryland. Tickets go on sale for this on Thursday, with season ticket holders getting first dibs, and then our crew is going to load up and take a bunch of people. It's about 3½ hours from here or so, should be a good time. More on that over the next few weeks. It should be an easy sellout.

For the rap fans who have asked me about the latest with Thug Chuc, hold tight. It's still in the works, I just have to fit it in since me and Chuc are working on a few things with that about how we want the interview to go down. And like I said before, if you have some questions you want to ask him, email me up and I'll see if I can get it in. Just something different for the blog to branch it out a bit, you know how we do.



Bird's Video Moment of the Week: Thanks to Kasher of #basketball fame for finding this gem for us. It's a failed backflip off a vending machine and the guy gets blasted: http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/3658

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: We're going local here, one of the girls on 6'6" 240's (WV rapper) page. I don't know her, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the readers in the area knows her. I'd almost lay money that The Governor himself, Clark Riley, would have an idea. http://www.myspace.com/kristaselene

3 Quick Thangs:

1. Let's blare out the birthday trumpets for Monday, December 11th. Nicki Sixx of Motley Crue fame is now 48. Former Pittsburgh Pirate Jay Bell hits 41. Willie McGinest of the Patriots is 35. Shareef Abdur-Rahim of the Sacramento Kings is 30. Maybe I shouldn't have done birthdays today, that's a joke of a list. In #basketball news, we have King Rahl celebrating his 25th, so wish him a big one if you see him online.

2. This part of the 3 Quick Thangs comes courtesy of The_Freak's findings. Dumb and Dumber: http://www.jayp.net/humor/dumb.htm. Lots of funny stories in here if you're bored and have time. I'll post this one from 1993 in Texas (like that Yvonne?) : "In December near Mineral Wells, Tex., three men who were attempting to steal copper wire off live electrical lines for resale were electrocuted. Copper wiring is a valuable scrap metal in Texas but is usually stolen from electric cables that are not being used."

3. It's time to start getting pumped up for Rocky Balboa, a.k.a. Rocky VI!

Goetze's Caramels

Another week in the books and we're back for some more action that you simply can't resist. What's in store for this edition? There's no mind blowing stories that went down, but that doesn't mean that I still won't be able to come up with something for the legions of readers out there. Or so I wish I had legions, hah, but I appreciate the ones that I do have, which is a good crew. As I type this, we're 22 days away from Christmas. I'm tempted to live old memories and make one of those paper chains the kids make that counts the days off. Snip a link off each day. Yes, I'm that bored.



Speaking of Christmas, Blog Headquarters in Shinnston is working from daylight to dark to get all of the cards ready in time for the big day. Once again, if you want on the Christmas card list, all you have to do is get a hold of me somehow. If not on the chat programs, just fire off an email to bird33@gmail.com. I also like to get cards in return, so we should be able to work some kind of regular plan here. I always say, you can't just write Merry Christmas on the card and sign your name. That's being totally lazy. You have to make each card different in that you write a little story or something inside to make it different than every other card you send out. I know it sounds weird, but I know you agree that you'd rather have an interesting card to read rather than some bum level card. That's what I'm here for.

What's up with my town and basketball? Take this past week for example. We get a big crew lined up and everyone is excited to play, even out of town guys. First, that doesn't happen often that it's this easy to get a crew in my town ready to play. Usually people are lazy bums and won't get out of the house to play for a few hours a week. Thursdays we're back to ball at The Lighthouse. Well, this week there was a Christmas bazaar in there. School Square has Jerry West going on, so no go there. Lincoln had some kind of fan fest thing. We considered going out of town and didn't have any luck with those places either. Believe me, we tried everywhere. For the locals, getting Big Elm back would be ideal. That's the perfect gym for us. Hopefully we're back on track this week though to play somewhere.



I was working away at my old middle school the other day. I had to cover a gym class since one teacher came in late. Anyways, since WV is a bunch of fatties, a year or two ago the state had a thing that lets all middle school gym classes in the state have access to Dance Dance Revolution. Yeah, the game. Well, it's a pretty good concept. I've only played with the controllers before, never the pad, but I got to see the pad the other day. You got some b-ball playing on most of the court, with some DDR battles on the side. The kids weren't like the little Chinese kids you see in the arcades who simply dominate DDR, but it's a cool idea either way.

On the Thug Chuc news, I hope to get that interview up sometime in December. That's my goal anyways. Just trying to bring something a little different around here every now and then, you know how it goes. If you got any questions you want to ask him, go for it, fire off an email and I'll try to get it in there for you.



Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury. This CD took ages to come out. It kept getting delayed and actually was supposed to be out a few years ago, no lie. These guys, as I've said before, are the best live rap act I've seen in person. A nice CD here, check Virginia's finest out.

Ying Yang Twins: Chemically Imbalanced. Some very good beats on this one. You know what you get with the Ying Yangs. You either like them or don't. Sure, they scream a lot and aren't lyrically as good as most, but I still didn't mind the CD and thought it kept the vibe going.

Bird's Video Moment of the Week: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1727681 (This is courtesy of my boy Cork. I don't know how many times I've watched this, but it cracks me up good every single time. It's a dude and his buddy rapping their McD's order at the drive-thru and screwing the people all up. Pretty creative I thought.)

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/ActionPhoebe



3 Quick Thangs:

1. I'm a candy freak, I can't help it. Candy this week sitting around my desk that I've been tearing up? Sprees, Blow Pops, candy corn, and the underrated Goetze's caramel things with the cream center.

2. How about some birthdays for Monday, December 4th: Game show host Wink Martindale goes for 72 if he's still alive and he's probably not. I'm too lazy to check. Actor Jeff Bridges turns 57. NBA baller who was king of New York in the mid 1980s, Bernard King, Happy 50th! Sergei Bubka, pole vault legend, he's 43. Marisa Tomei, one of my favorite hot older chicks, is partying for her 42nd. Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn, 37. Model Tyra Banks struts her stuff to her 33rd. My buddy Cassie down in Mississippi, Happy 22nd!

3. Just as I'm ready to post this, I see a story of this woman who tried to microwave her 3-week old baby. What?! And they said that it's "only" the second time this has ever happened in the US. It's happened before? That stuff doesn't even happen in movies, just dirty.

Flu, Wii, & Monopoly: The Excitement!

Whew.. the flu tore me up the past few days. I've been a mess, but now finally starting to get my appetite back. You know I'm feeling bad when I got online Friday for about 10 minutes and that was it. The rest of the time was spent in bed, throwing up, and all of that fun stuff. But we're back in action now as it's time for another edition of the blog. I have some interesting topics to get through this time, so let's bounce around and see what happens.



Early Saturday night/Sunday morning, I made my journey to Target to wait in line for a Nintendo Wii. I got up there around 4:00 AM and I was #15 in line. They had 24 to sell, so I was in business. The weird part is that everyone was freezing their nads off. Snow was spitting, people were in sleeping bags, etc. There was pizza, people would make hot chocolate runs for everyone, and whatever else. Also, mostly everyone there had a Nintendo DS so we battled in a lot of that stuff throughout the night. Yeah, we're nerds, hah. At 7:00, the Target guys came out and gave us our "ticket" so we'd be able to get in the store at 8:00. So I got my system, fought for a copy of Zelda: The Twilight Princess, and was on my way home. After all of that, I can easily say you need to load up and buy a Nintendo Wii. I won't bug everyone in this post about it, but it's great. Zelda is scary for how good it is so far.

For the first time in quite a while, we got a Monopoly night going. We did that on Wednesday night after ball. We roll to Posey's for the festivities. Only a 4-person game, but it still rocked nonetheless. Cork and Scherri were in attendance, but they just watched this game. Coming in 4th Place was the man of the house, Posey. I came in 3rd. I always say, Monopoly is a game you can have a bad night in and still have a blast playing. Maybe I'm weird. Our next placements were a couple tandem as Spank took out his girl Alicia in a heated battle. Spank is tough to beat in Monopoly, always has been. Our game lasted about 2½ hours, it was good times. If anyone is interested in Monopoly ever, definitely count me in.



I figured out the cause of my flu symptoms. That was from Posey and Scherri's baby girl, Kirsten. I'm sure I mangled that spelling, but it'll have to work. Scherri had the same thing that I did, except hers was a day earlier. It also didn't help that I played ball this week 3 days out of a 4-day span, plus I'm up at all hours of the night on here. I guess I never learn. But I'll be back on my feet. I hate missing some days of working out, but that happens.

Thanksgiving was a good time. You can't go wrong with turkey and all the chocolate pie you can eat. Spank joined the family for the action, as he's family anyways, if that makes sense. After watching football and being bums, Cork stopped over to battle in Wii with me and Spank. I think I have Posey and Spank convinced to buy a Wii in the very near future. I know I'm biased towards Nintendo stuff, but trust me on this one. It's the real deal and all the reviews out there seem to be very high on the system. We'll see.



I've talked about a rapper a while back in a CD I got by the name of Thug Chuc. You probably don't remember that, but it's not a big deal if you forgot. Anyways, he's from Shreveport, Louisiana and I chat with him a decent bit online for whatever that's worth. Nothing too crazy, but in an upcoming blog, I'll be doing an interview with him to get some plugs out for his new single, his website, and whatever else I or anyone can think of to ask. It should be something different to add to the blog space.

Since it's holiday season, it's about time for me to start getting Christmas cards ready. I don't send them till the middle of December, but it's one of my favorite things to do, I'm weird like that. I send a crazy amount out and it's not just a Merry Christmas card with my name on it. That's too boring. I go all out by putting in a big writeup, blog style, to make it special. If you aren't on the Christmas list from the past and want on, just fire off an email to bird33@gmail.com. I'll hype this up again I'm sure, so be on the lookout.



Real World: Denver has started and I have yet to give my thoughts. I'm behind on this one, but do have it taped. Even though MTV runs it every half hour it seems, I'll catch it soon and hope to have a review in the next blog. I've seen a bit so far, but I won't give my whole review until I get to see everything. Hopefully it's better than the last few seasons, although that won't take much to top at all.

Bird's Video Moment of the Week: This is a great one. I have to give credit to my girl Felisha for finding this gem. Check out Dora getting down, you won't be disappointed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKLU1BBTe40

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/jrsygrl



3 Quick Thangs:

1. As expected, my Irish got smacked around by USC. Still, my boys end the year on a nice note, with an 10-2 record, I'll take that. At the beginning of the year, with our schedule, I said we'd lose a few games at least. We'll still get a big bowl. BCS? Who knows. Possible matchup with WVU? I doubt that, but at least a lot of people in this area are quiet after the South Florida game. It could be worse.

2. Let's try out some birthdays. Monday, November 27th. Dang, it's almost December. Bruce Lee would be 66 if he were still around kicking heads off. Jimi Hendrix would be 64. Bill Nye The Science Guy turns 51. Baseball manager Mike Scioscia goes for 48. Robin Givens turns 42. NBA baller Nick Van Exel is celebrating 35th. Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) goes for 30, wow. And in local news, Kari Southern hits 28, so if you see her around, wish her a good one.

3. Clerks II comes out on DVD this Tuesday, pick this one up. Just take my word on it. It's one awesome movie.

Santa Riding A 64 Impala

We're officially into the holiday season of the year. I love the holidays as much as the next guy, but can't we wait until Thanksgiving is here first before big action goes down? Take for example this one: I was watching TV last night after work and I see a Christmas parade going on in Wheeling, WV that they were showing live. You kidding me? That was November 17th. Thanksgiving isn't until the 23rd, yet we've already had a fat boy Santa riding through the streets in a 64 Impala? You get my point anyways. Or how about people who put their trees up insanely early? Oh well. I'm definitely in the spirit though, but let it get here first.



It's new video game system weekend and people are getting rowdy. Friday was the first sale day of the PlayStation 3. These are going for $600 and very few were being released in stores. That led to some people getting shot over being in line (true story) and fights breaking out like mad. Now that is some good entertainment. I'm not getting the PS3 though, you guys know I'm much more of a Nintendo guy. So that's Sunday's release of the Nintendo Wii. People camped out for the PS3, so I assume the same will be said for the Wii. However, more of a stock will be released for the Wii, so maybe I'll have a chance for the first day they are out. I'll be there in my bulletproof vest and ready to be in line for this madness. I'm pumped to get my hands on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. If not on the first day, hopefully very soon afterwards.

Last Saturday night it was more ping pong action and it was classic times. We started around 10:00 PM and ended after 3:00 AM. Straight pongin' and we all had good games. The funny thing this time around was that everyone was beating everyone. Not one single person seemed to be consistent all night. The first tourney was won by Buck. He plays the second tourney and is the first guy out. Go figure. Also, Mudcat only won just one game all night and he's usually one of the better players of the bunch. I left around 3:00 with just a few guys left, so I'm not even sure who won the second tourney. I wasn't on my game, but when you still get to play pong all night, watch some games on TV, and just be an all out bum, that doesn't get much better.



A quick update on local ball for those reading. We've been playing at School Square on Thursday nights, but that has ended. Why? The Jerry West kids have it booked the rest of the winter, so we have to move our operation. That means it's The Lighthouse time and we'll get back to that on Thursdays from 7:00-9:00 or whenever we end. This week however, we're changing it up. Thursday is Thanksgiving, so we're moving it back a day to Wednesday. I know Sidell is in town for the madness, so we should have a nice crew that night when we get it situated. Nolan will be in too, but he gets in late Wednesday, he'd be good to play on Friday.

Now I'm on Thanksgiving break and I'm pumped to have 9 straight days off. I'm sure it'll fly by, but the relax time should be quality. That means I ended my 6 weeks of student teaching with the little kiddies. Going in, I thought I'd hate the elementary setting, but it rocks. Those little kids are funny times. Now that I'm fully certified in all levels of special education, it's time to get back to subbing until something opens up full time. If not this year, then next fall for sure. I should be in business, we'll see. On my last day, all of my 3rd grade kids that I was in a co-teaching/inclusion class with all wrote me these cards and read them aloud. It was unexpected. As soon as I walked in, they were busting out these cards from their desk, but I didn't have a clue. At that age, you get some entertaining cards to say the least, it was good.



CD time once again. Even after the big set I added last week, this time I needed some more to fix my addiction. What'd I end up getting?

The Game: Doctor's Advocate. Wow.. That's my first reaction. Miss the days of early 90s gangsta rap? This one is for you. First, The Game tells a great story with his rap as he's not just rambling along. Second, you get big respect to the man, the myth, the legend, Dr. Dre in this one as the CD is named based on him. It's too hard to pick a #1 favorite, but I couldn't see any bad sections of the CD. Ol' English is a very good track. Also, we get the return of the mean/gangsta Snoop, circa 1992. That's in the track called California Vacation that also features Busta Rhymes. It's been a long time since I've seen Snoop bust out a verse like this, so I'll post the lyrics on it after the CD reviews..

Snoop Dogg: Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. I haven't listened to this one yet, but I'm excited for it. Snoop hasn't been the same recently, but he still has the potential and talent to bring it back old school style. One track alone that I've listened to has me excited enough. Since I'm biased towards anything Dr. Dre, he's on this CD and actually spits out a verse on the track Imagine that also features D'Angelo. It's gold.



We haven't done any lyrics in a while, so I'm due. As promised, here's the Snoop verse from California Vacation:

Check game
I'm gonna show you how to bang
Uncle Snoopy is it true you from that game
All the time neph
I gotta let my nuts hang
A chest full of chains
Left hang with a pinky ring
I'm in a Steeler cap
Swisher Sweet, pillow back
My little hood rat, baby got that mini mac
Baby got that 20 sack
Baby got plenty dat
Whatever you send us my nucca, we gonna send it back
I'm in the club getting with this snub gettin love
With 20,000 crips and 20,000 bloods and
We don't give a fuck about none of ya'll
And when you hit the city, you betta holla at the Big Dogg
I done seen niggas hit LA and get their chains snatched
Then they call me up beggin me to get their chains back
What I look like, da muthafuckin po-lice?
There's certain rules you gotta follow when you in these streets.
Especially when it comes to this Cali shit
And I ain't talkin' bout hangin in the Valley bitch.
Gangbang niggas all up in the alley crip.
On some real talk nigga
We the real West.

Bird's Video Moment of the Week: You're going to love these little thug kids going at it as the adults just let them battle. It's wrong, but you know you'll enjoy it. The language in this one will crack you up too. Kasher found us another to use. http://www.tampabays10.com/video/news/?aid=35177&sid=43603

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/jill_g



3 Quick Thangs:

1. Birthdays.. Sunday, November 19th: Calvin Klein is our oldest mention today and he's 64. Ahmad Rashad goes for 57. Meg Ryan hits 45. Actress Jodie Foster celebrates her 44th. 1992 and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers is partying for her 40. Another 96 gold medalist, Kerri Strug, happy 29th.

2. Ohio State vs. Michigan for the National Title, even though OSU won the first matchup today. And Troy Smith for Heisman. My Irish have an outside chance, but we'd need help, plus Michigan already beat us. Then I doubt we play well with USC at USC, but you never know.

3. At 7:50 PM on Saturday night, it's 40 degrees for whatever that is worth to the fans out there.

Shinnston's Excitement

I'm bringing the pain in this post. So many things to talk about that I wish I was able to spread it out better. That's how it goes in my world at times. Too much excitement for the regular person to handle, it's quality, or so I like to think anyways. Get ready for a fairly long post and we'll get this baby started..



I'll jump from day to day here, so it won't be in any certain order. Friday night was action though. It was road trip time with the crew. A crew of eleven of us (Me, Spank, Cork, Sickles, Kari, Fortney, Abbey, Swiger, Mudcat, Ozzie, and Matt Mills) roll to Uniontown, Pennsylvania for some Red Lobster feasting. Luckily for our crew, they had the all you can eat shrimp deal going for $17. You can't beat that one. I'm not a big eater, but I still was able to get my money's worth. Spank, Fortney, Mudcat, and Ozzie can straight put away some food. Thumbs up from my meal for sure. We had to wait 45 minutes, but that's no biggie when you're getting some good chats in with the crew. That's part of the entertainment. We took 3 cars for the trip. Fortney drove, which there's nothing wrong with. However, the other 2 drivers were myself and Kari, easily the worst drivers of the group. We made it back home safely though surprisingly. Also, on a sidenote, we saw this older dude wearing some MC Hammer pants from back in the day. Yep, the Zubaz ones for those in that era. Our crew laughs in his face pretty much with Mudcat being the loudest of the bunch and they got all fired up calling us hillbillies. That's good entertainment.

Also on Friday night, after we roll back from Uniontown, we stop in Morgantown. Not all eleven of us. That crew by that point was myself, Spank, and Cork. We go to the midnight showing of Borat as it finally comes to my area. And boy, was I ever pumped to see this. It was basically a sellout in there. If you haven't seen it yet, you need to jump on this one quickly. No joke here, it's way over the top, but one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. We turned down a trip to Lil Vegas to see Borat and made a good choice. Our trio joked about how old we're getting when everyone in the theater seemed like little kids. I'm sure a lot were, but that's when you know you're gaining up there in age. It's cool though, you're only as old as you feel or act. In that case, I feel like I'm about 12 years old. This dude sat by me made the movie even better. I compared him to an And1 fan you see on the DVDs of them going wild and running onto the court after a fancy play. Well, this guy would laugh like crazy at the big parts and then would turn to me (who he didn't know) and would keep asking if I heard what Borat just said. I want to see this movie again and soon.



On the video game front, we finally beat Bully for PS2. An awesome game and one that you'd be hard pressed not to be hooked to. It definitely consumed me and I put some hardcore time into playing that one. Also, we're a week away from the Nintendo Wii (and lesser news to me , the PS3) from being released. It looks slim that I'll get my hands on a Wii on the very first day, but I'm sure going to try my best to get it that day. I'm too loyal to Nintendo and I know what they bring to the table, so that's where my heart is going to go with the new systems coming out. More on that when I finally get the system.

Ping pong! Monday I stopped at Fortney's Funhouse (that'll be the working name until we find something more creative to call the hangout) for a ping pong tournament. You kidding me? That's some solid fun there, especially when there's a crew of good players and we had a football going on TV at the same time. Who all played that night? Spank, Mudcat, Ozzie, Fortney, Abbey, Matt Mills, Buck, Sweet Pea, and myself. We also had Mookie Talerico stop in the house for a few minutes so he could leave with some good luck on his side. I won both tourneys and I always say pong is like riding a bike, you get a few games in you and you're back on your game. Nothing fancy with me. I get a paddle, rip off the padding on both sides and sandpaper it down all over to make it smooth and as light as possible. Then out comes the power game. I can't stand back and play defense in pong. I'm coming straight on offense. If I lose that way, so be it, it happens. I can do the spin stuff if I have to, but that's no fun to me. If you keep your opponent backing up and having no idea where you're going to hit it, you get results. There wasn't a bad player in the house, this could be something regular that'll get some nice competition.



On Election Day (it still amazes me that a ton of people are too lazy to get out of their seat and go vote) I went with Ozzie to the mean streets of Fairmont to a legendary spot. Yep, that's right, Yann's hot dogs. You go to this place and you can either tell them you want onions or not. That's the only request you're basically allowed. The old man that runs it is a hot dog nazi and he runs a tight shop. You can't get ketchup on your dogs or he'll flip out. You go to this place for the experience alone, not just how great the food is. You're guaranteed to have the old guy be pissed off and ready to bust your head up. For what it's worth, Spank ate 18 of these one day. Anyone in the area who hasn't been to Yann's, where have you been hiding at? It's time to pull your head out of the sand and get moving up Route 19 and roll into West Fairmont.

How's pickup basketball been going? Two big nights of play this week, Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, we played at my old high school's gym. We rolled with 10 guys exactly. Who all was in attendance? I know you don't care, but I'm typing it up anyways, so there. Me, Ozzie, Fortdog, Little Sinclair, Barron, Lil Romeo, Ski, Sweet Pea, Buck, Parsons, and Sponge. I love this court since it's straight up run and gun. I had one of my worst shooting nights in quite some time though, but still had fun that I got good runs in. Thursday night was where it was at though. This will be our last Thursday at School Square. For those reading in the area, we'll be back at The Lighthouse on Thursdays from 7:00-9:00. Anyways, the Thursday crew? Me, Ozzie, Sweet Pea, Fortdog, Spank, Big Barney, TJ, Sonny, Posey, and Buck. I rocked it out that night or felt so anyways. The team I had was Spank, Fortney, Big Barney, Ozzie, and myself. We ended up winning the series, 4 games to 2. I like to get out and go. My theory is to make the other guys tired. Take off running as fast as you can or press defense in their face and they're bound to mess up or get mad. I shot well here too, but my favorite is getting steals and getting a fast break going. 2nd hour you really can run and gun when some start getting tired. Our team had everything. We had Fortney and Ozzie dominating the paint like no other. They're a force down there, they need to shoot more. Barney is always on, he plays half speed and still nobody can touch him. I also never complain about being up on defense with Spank as the other guard as we get to use some press D.



I lost my voice over the past few days and it's rough. It started out with sinuses and a sore throat, but as I type this now on late Friday night, I can barely get a voice out. You never appreciate something until you lose it. Not that my voice won't come back, but maybe that's my body telling me that I ramble on and talk too much and it's shutting me up for a few days. Give it the ol' pimp slap if you will. It could be worse though.

My Bears lost, doh. I wasn't one of these crazy people who actually think they were going to go 16-0. I can't see a NFL team doing that nowadays, but maybe I'll be proven wrong eventually. My guys are now 7-1 and playing well, but it's early. I see them losing several more before all is said and done, but they'll still be playoff bound. My Irish have been getting things going as well. Currently they are 8-1 as they go into Saturday's game against Air Force and are a Top 10 team in the BCS. Air Force and Army are winnable games, but knowing my luck, they'll lose one of those. Then it's the season ended against rival USC, out there, ouch. You never know.

It's time to put more into my addiction. That time would be new CDs I've gotten in the past few days. Here's what we have added:



Ron Artest: My World. Yes, that Ron Artest of the NBA. You never know what you're going to get with him, so why not get this CD? You know if you're a basketball fan you're interested in this one just to see what he says or does.

C-Murder: The TRU Story - Continued. The brother of Master P is at it again as he's done pretty well after getting out of jail. He keeps his style the same and if you're after some mean rap, here you go.

Coolio: The Return Of The Gangsta. Another one I was curious about. Coolio hasn't done much of anything lately, so I figured I'd give it a try. Bad mistake. This is a brual CD. The only decent song on the CD is one with Snoop. Don't waste your time here.

The Dayton Family: Return To Dayton Ave. Shoestring and Bootleg are at it again. These dirty guys are from the streets of Flint, Michigan. They'll never be mainstream rap as they're too hardcore for that. If you're into some thug raps, here you go. They're very good.

De La Soul: The Impossible Mission. This is a mix between rap and R&B as these guys have been around for a long time. If you're into the smooth flows, don't sleep on this crew.

Flavor Flav: Hollywood. Flav's solo project here. He doesn't once talk about the Flavor of Love show, which was surprising. A very good CD here and Flav is probably the best hype man in the business. He has a few songs where he brings it with the lyrics as he can do, but he also has several funny pimpin love type songs. He still gets it done in the rap game, even at his age. You get a mixture here, pick it up.

Ice-T: Gangsta Rap. He hasn't done much lately, but he's still the same Ice-T. Most know him now as the actor, but he was real good back in the day. O.G. is still one of the most underrated rap albums. I remember being a kid when Cop Killa came out and they banned it from the stores.

Jibbs: Jibbs Feat. Jibbs. We're going with more of the club rap here. This kid has been rapping since he was 8. A St. Louis native who says, "I was murdering 21-year-olds, 25-year-olds when I was 11 and 12, Jibbs recalls with a laugh." The song everyone knows so far from him is Chain Hang Low.

Jim Jones: Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product Of My Environment). This one is worth the get for the street anthem We Fly High. It's blowing up all over. The New York Giants come out to it each game and you'll see all kinds of people doing the "Baaaaalllinnn'!" stuff made famous by Jim.

Tek: I Got This. When getting this, I thought it was the Tek of Real World fame as he's a low budget rapper. But this is the Tek that is a member of Smif-N-Wessun. I haven't listened to this one yet to give a review, but it can't be too bad.

Z-Ro: 1 Deep. If you haven't heard of Z-Ro, you need to. This Texas rapper can spit out the lyrics and does it in a big way. I have a few of his other albums and like all that I've heard so far.



Bird's Video Moment of the Week: http://nonk.nonk.info/pages/pool/pool.swf (This isn't for the weak at heart, but something the famed Rahl sent me a few days ago at random. It's messed up for sure, but you'll still check it out.)

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/ricanbaby84

3 Quick Thangs:

1. I haven't done birthdays in a while, so here we go. Let's go with Sunday, November 12th. First off, we'd like to wish my boy Cork a happy one. He gets to celebrate his 25th, one fourth of the way to 100. Charles Manson is 72. Singer Neil Young goes for 61 and so doesn't Hall of Fame announcer Al Michaels. Sammy "I cheat and use corked bat" Sosa turns 38. Tonya Harding of figure skating fame hits 36. That'll do it.

2. This video is so good that I had to include it. Heard about the deer that ran into a Target store in Iowa? Check this masterpiece out, it's great: http://www.wlwt.com/news/10284183/detail.html

3. For what it's worth, I just finished some chicken ramen noodles and a glass of OJ. Not bad.

Your Memphis Sounds

November is here, for whatever that's worth to the fans keeping track at home. I know I've been due for a new post, but that's how it goes sometimes. I'm not on a time schedule here, I just pump them out as often as I can. Realistically, I try to get a post in a week, but this time around it didn't go quite as planned. You win some, you lose some. Now we're back in action and it's time to break things down as only we know how to do in here.



Not having a post in over a week, I should have some topics to dust off and different things to chat about in this go-round. I'm going to start off with Halloween. No reason I'm starting out with that date, but I'll keep everyone on their toes. During the day at work, since I'm still with the little kiddies, I got to see the latest fashions and what they were all wearing. I didn't have any idea what would be the popular costumes, but quickly found out. For the guys, I'd say the winner would be pirates as they're playing off the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, neither of those movies I've seen yet. Guess I'm missing out. There didn't seem to be a winner with the girls as no costume seemed to have a lot of people wearing the same thing. Then at home that night, I gave out candy with my boy Spank. We ran out of candy at 6:45 and had to shut down shop. My little area of town booms during Halloween time, it's a madhouse. I'm never surprised by how many of the high school kids still come out. These guys are twice my size and come up for candy, it cracks me up good.

Oh, you thought I forgot about NBA Opening Night and now that the season is here? You all know me way better than that. NBA is what I live for as when Celtics time gets here, I get crazy pumped up. Baseball and football rock, but it's no comparison at all to NBA. I realize I'm in the minority here, at least in my area, but for me it's all about being a hardcore NBA fan. There were only 2 games on TV for Opening Night on Tuesday, but Wednesday rocked it out. That's where my NBA League Pass comes in handy, the sole reason I've had my satellite for 10 years. I get every game for every team in the league, you can't beat that with a stick. I'll ramble on enough about NBA though the year, but I won't drown you in that so soon.



However, my other fantasy basketball league drafted this past Sunday. It's the league of all leagues for the #basketball crew. This is our 20-man keeper league that has been going on for a good while now. The message board for this league is like no other. I don't care how good of a fantasy league you are in, I'm laying huge bucks that your message board can't compare to ours. It's a fight you can't win. We each keep 5 players and then have a draft each year that lasts 7 rounds. Who did I end up with? My plan of action is usually to go youth and I'm happy with the team I have going into the keeper league. Surprisingly, 3 guys on my team are older than me. That's a lot older than I usually go, hah. Anyways, ladies and gentlemen, here is yourrrr 2006-2007 Memphis Sounds:

Keepers
1. Dwyane Wade: Miami (G)
2. Mike Bibby: Sacramento (G)
3. Charlie Villanueva: Milwaukee (F)
4. Andre Iguodala: Philadelphia (G/F)
5. Danny Granger: Indiana (F)



New Draftees
6. Rudy Gay: Memphis (F)
7. Andrew Bynum: LA Lakers (C)
8. JR Smith: Denver (G)
9. Francisco Elson: San Antonio (C)
10. Desmond Mason: New Orleans (G/F)
11. Jose Calderon: Toronto (G)
12. Travis Outlaw: Portland (F)



We're gearing up for Real World time again. Yet another crew is ready and this one will happen in Denver. What does Denver have to offer? It's different at least and the previews look real nice. A lot of drama and that's the reason to watch, simple as that. It has to be better than the last few seasons were, especially Key West and Philly. Real World: Shinnston. The characters in this town, that'd be gold for TV, people would eat it up. And you think I'm joking on that one.

I'm fired up over the Borat movie. I was getting excited to see this one. I'll have to check where the closest location is, but they took it out of a ton of theaters across the country due to complaints. Now, only 800 total theaters get it across the country and that's not many for those who don't know. Many of your big showings get around 3000 different theaters running for it. And yes, I admit to being in a fantasy box office league for movies with the #basketball crew. It's competitive and actually a fun thing to do, you'd be surprised. Each week we pick which new movie will make the most money and then we also predict the amount in millions that it'll do. Now back to Borat, it won't be shown in my area. Doh! We get screwed by not getting certain movies, it's bad times. We never get thug movies since this area is too racist and I doubt many people would go, but that doesn't mean that some wouldn't go see. Borat isn't a race thing, it's just more of a controversial storyline, but it's all in fun.



My thoughts on the WVU/Louisville game? I won't trash talk too much, but I will say that I'm way excited that some of the fans around here just got their mouths shut up. WVU has a great team, I'll even say that and I'm not a fan. However, no matter what their team is like, a lot of people around here think they are the world's best and all of this junk. I had to hear it all day at work on Thursday and how pumped everyone was and they were writing off Louisville. They got on me for not wearing blue and gold. Friday comes along and they're all crying in the morning over the loss. So I wear my blue and gold and come to work decked out in Notre Dame gear. I'm not going to trash talk them, but they got the hint. I'm not saying ND is the better team, who knows, but I know that they all have their mouths zipped. Good times in E-Town.

Bully is one awesome game. I picked up this game a few weeks ago for PlayStation 2. Maybe I've written about it before, I don't even remember. It's some addicting stuff and you need to pick it up if you're a video game person. I'm about halfway through it and that's playing nonstop for a while. It's a game that you'll never get bored playing and a ton of things to keep you busy. I just got done playing it for about 7 hours straight and my eyes are about to pop out.

It's time for my latest dose of CDs to add to the collection..



Lloyd Banks: Rotten Apple. Out of the CDs I got this time around, this ranks 4th, but don't let that fool you. This is a good CD and Banks usually delivers. I didn't say it was great, but you'll enjoy the listen from an underrated player of G-Unit.

Belo: The Truth. Straight fire. This is Belo from Do Or Die fame for those who know of that group in Chicago. I had to keep listening and listening to this one as it was that good. One of my favorites of the whole year so far, it's that nice. Pick this bad boy up.

Birdman & Lil Wayne: Like Father, Like Son. Another very solid choice. I didn't get any CDs this time around that I thought were subpar. The story here for those who aren't in the know is that Lil Wayne's Dad passed away about 10 years ago. Ever since, Birdman pretty much took him under his wing (no pun) and Lil Wayne looks as him as the father figure. Some songs I like on this one include Stuntin' Like My Daddy (the single out now), You Ain't Know, Leather So Soft, and Army Gunz.

John Legend: Once Again. You want pimpin' music? You might not be able to handle this one. A smooth vibe from this talented musician. Bonus points since chicks will be guaranteed to be all over ya if you bust out some John Legend. That's my advice for the day. If you don't want to try it, that's your choice.

Bird's Video of the Week: http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/3490 (This is just nuts. I bet I've watched it 100 times. Then again, I'm weird and go crazy over flippy type stuff, but this is the real deal.) Thanks to Kasher for finding this gem.

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/thecourtdog



3 Quick Thangs:

1. You know you spend too much time online when you get this scenario. I'm typing up this part at 4:15 AM on Friday night/Saturday morning. I'm now entering a Wyoming chatroom. I'm talking to my buddy DerekHood in Arkansas and I was joking how Wyoming gets less respect than even our states, so I figured I'd drop in to see the action. It was dead. Imagine that, but I tried.

2. Come on chicks. Isn't it about time the tramp stamp tattoos on your lower back have grown out of style? Get something original. I've preached on that a million times in here before. Or hey, better yet, get nothing at all. Imagine that. If I offend you, so be it. You're not original, so I'll call you out on it.

3. One more piece of advice for everyone? If you see loose change on the ground, pick it up. You're not too good to leave some money laying on the ground are you? It all adds up, yet most people will just look at it lying there and think it's garbage. And that's your third "imagine that" bit of the day, talk to you all soon.

Baby Makin' Music

Greetings fellow bums, what's happening? We got some stuff on the plate for you in this edition. A preview of the topics we'll go over? The EDDFL Draft with the storyline behind that, the finale of Flavor Of Love 2, sandlot football, snow, Mountain Dew, and clocks falling back. You know me, I like to hit up all kinds of interesting things, some more interesting to others, while some is complete ramblings. Either way, it's some good advice for you all to live by. :)



Since NBA season is right around the corner, everybody knows that is what I live for. Boston Celtics ball and fantasy NBA, it doesn't get much better. On Sunday, it was the annual EDDFL (E-Town Diaper Dandies Fantasy League) Draft. I've been doing fantasy NBA since I was about 10. I have the league information saved from at least 1993 or so, wishing that I had the beginning years, but that's close enough. What an interesting ride it was just to draft though, but more on that in a few. As stated a while back, we had 11 in the league this year. 9 were live in attendance, while we had 2 guys from out of state drafting. A staple to the league, ManDingo, is taking a year's leave of absence from the group, but he's back in to rock it out next year as his spot is saved. Of course, I'm providing you all with the group pic this year. Look at us doing our thing. In front it's me and Cork. Standing it is Mudcat, Fortney, Spank, TJ, Fleece, Ozzie, and Posey.



The plan? We were to meet at Bunny's Lounge in Fairmont at 12:30. We should've known better. Anyways, Sorine was supposed to hook us up, but the idiots that we are, we thought he'd be reliable for once. Nope, ugh. Dad laughed at us from the beginning for going through with that plan and he's one of Sorine's buddies saying that. He didn't show, so we had to move our camp, eventually to the old Smokehouse BBQ and what a choice we made. We had a big room to ourselves, a TV, booths, tables, just a ton of room to have some space. TJ had the duty of being draft central as he had a 3-way going through his cell between Riley (in Michigan and regular blog comment guy for those not in the know) and Sidell (in South Carolina).

I had 3rd pick out of 11. I am happy with what I did and here is your 2006-2007 E-Town Junkies.. Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is no longer!

1. Dwyane Wade: MIA
2. Joe Johnson: ATL
3. Adam Morrison: CHA (R)
4. Gerald Wallace: CHA
5. Boris Diaw: PHO
6. Charlie Villanueva: MIL
7. Josh Smith: ATL
8. Josh Howard: DAL
9. Jorge Garbajosa: TOR (R)
10. Drew Gooden: CLE
11. Sammy Dalembert: PHI
12. Stromile Swift: MEM
13. Damon Stoudamire: MEM
14. Darko Milicic: ORL
15. Jarvis Hayes: WAS



The first snowfall in Shinnston went down on Monday. That's great in my book as I'm a huge winter fan and not into the hot junk. We've had a few weak winters in the past few for our standards. I think we can be due for some big action as far as snowfall goes, let's only hope anyways. I crack up when people around here freak out at the sight of snow. It's not like we live in Florida or something, we're in a decent snow area. Get used to it.

Anyone get to see the finale of Flavor of Love 2 a few weeks back? You talk about a great show. If you're all about watching drama on TV (not in your own life, that's never fun), this show is for you. Flav ended up sending New York packing again as she flipped out on the final day and turned into her Mom. For those who saw that, you know exactly what I mean. The winner this year is Deelishus. Deelishus was on 106 & Park the other day on BET and she was looking nice, the show didn't do her justice. Also a rumor they said is that New York might be getting her own show called Flavorette. What guy wants to get hooked up with that piece of work?



Last weekend it was sandlot football time. The time before that time, we had 10 of us playing. This time we were able to round up 14 for bigger action. We started out on the main field at Lincoln and then got kicked off and had to go to the practice field. Almost 30 years old and getting kicked off fields, only my crew. The practice field is perfect size though. Who all was in attendance? Me, Spank, Fortney, Posey, Ozzie, Ferris, Jeffery Swiger, Bart, Linville, Buck, Sweet Pea, Slim, Albright, and Mookie. Guys aging from 16-28, not too shabby. I like playing D a lot more than offense. Play some corner and get a chance to lock someone down. Nobody can lock down Bart though, he's a machine. 6'4" with speed, just lob it up there, he's bound to get it most of the time. I think we'll have something regular going on Sundays, but you never can tell with the guys in this town to if you can count on them or not. Want to play? Let us know, you're in.

Even the non-wrestling fans will crack up at this one. If you've kept up with the news the past week or so, you know that K-Fed Kevin Federline has been on WWE Monday Night RAW. I was thinking the same as you were before seeing it. He just played himself and the crowd went nuts on him, he played the perfect bad guy and it has worked very well so far. The WWE is getting some mainstream media coverage of this and in process they are hyping up K-Fed's new rap CD coming out on Halloween. That has to be a disaster, but I'll get it just because I'm curious.



In a few random notes.. Don't pick up Puff's new CD that I mentioned in the last blog, Press Play. It's brutally bad I thought and Cork agreed with that assessment. Maybe you'll feel differently. Also, I'm due for a new pair of basketball shoes. Last week the bottoms started giving out on my And1's that I've had for a while, so it was time to load up today. I'm too fast for my own good out there on the court that I come out of my shoes, hah. Or something. Since I'm a Converse guy from back in the day, I got a nice deal on the Dwayne Wade 1 LE kicks. Red, white, and blue. They're pretty pimp.

Remember, clocks fall back this weekend an hour. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

Bird's You Tube Moment of the Week: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5YZuPFSkTgU

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/stephani3



3 Quick Thangs:

1. I've been on this huge Mountain Dew kick the past few weeks for some reason. I was never big on it back in the day, but I guess I am now. I still try to limit my pop drinking, but every now and then I gotta load up, you know how it goes. Do The Dew. It's no Cherry Coke, but it'll work.

2. I can't wait for the Borat movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That's going to be something else. For those who don't know of the Borat skits on Da Ali G Show, you're straight up missing out. Check out the previews online, you're going to love it.

3. Ever get so tired you're standing up being all dizzy? That was me at work all day today from being online till the wee hours and waking up with not much sleep. I never learn. They probably thought I was all mangled.

Real Mashed Potatoes

Yep, we're back in action. This past week has treated me rather well, so I can't complain. Then again, you guys know I always try to be in a good mood, no drama in my part of the town. Plus, nobody listens if you complain anyways, forget those whiners. A fairly long blog is in store, so I better gear up. Now onto important things for everyone to read..



We're now one week away from my favorite thing to do all year, fantasy NBA. Next Sunday, my crew will be drafting live from Bunny's in Fairmont thanks to a hookup from Sorine. We have 11 in the league this year, with 2 out of state drafting by phone on 3-way. Not 3-way Screech style, but you know. Our draft board came in the mail a few days ago and everyone is itching to get this draft underway.

I survived Week 1 of the little kids. Yep, the elementary level ones. As stated before, I have to do 6 weeks of student teaching in an elementary school to complete my masters degree. I have a mixture of ages, but most of mine are in 1st grade and they're something else. I thought I'd be hating elementary stuff, but it rocks so far. These little kids are funny cats, no doubt. Plus, I'm at a school with maybe 3 or 4 total male teachers, so how bad can that be? Then again, most of the chicks are MILFs so I have to stay away from that drama, but it can't hurt to look. We'll see how the upcoming weeks go with the kiddies, I'll keep everyone updated.



My sleep schedule is a mess as everyone knows. Starting on Friday night, me, Spank, and Cork played 9 straight hours of NBA Live 2007 for PS2. We're getting pretty far in our dynasty with the Knicks of all teams. We're already into January and our record is a horrendous 2-31. Like I said, this game is super hard, but we're still into it regardless. Then on Saturday, we played 5 more hours. Between A's food and Chinese, we ordered an insane amount of stuff the past few days, it was nuts. Well worth blowing money on though, nothing else to spend it on. Yes, we're nearly 30 years old and spend most of our weekends playing video games. And we admit that, so be it. What else should I be doing? Hanging at some bar and trying to get some filthy greasy chick loaded up with tattoos and diseases that also smokes? Forget that mess. Then again, that's more than I'm with right now, but still. The single life rocks. Oh yeah, I went to bed on Friday night/Saturday morning at 8:15 AM, not bad.

I'm a neat freak and like things all organized. What does that have to do with anything? I was rolling home from work on Friday, minding my business. I was in front of Rite Aid for the locals and this truck was in front of me with the traffic around 3:10 or so. I'm surprised I haven't done it a lot before, but I had my first fender bender. This guy had a long hitch on the back of his truck and I didn't think I was that close, but apparently I was. I heard it scrape the front of my car and didn't like the sound. The dude pulls off into the Rite Aid lot and I follow. He gets out, is a really nice dude, and just wants to check if my car was ok. He said he could care less about his truck and knew I couldn't hurt it, which I didn't. I have to get the front of mine fixed though. I could leave if like that, but I'd be freaking out since it's not all perfect. Sure, I don't drive anything crazy, but I still take real good care of it. It happens though, no biggie. Plus, I'm a horrible driver anyways, so to those reading, it's not that surprising.



I don't get the whole wedding reception thing. Maybe it was just because I wasn't around my crew on Saturday night, but I'll set the story up. There isn't much of a story, but I like to talk about random things, so this is what you'll get. It was a reception at Village Square for a cousin of mine who got married. A nice setup and the food wasn't bad. It was mostly a family gathering, it didn't get rowdy, and I just wanted to eat and get out of there after making my appearance. I ended up staying longer than I wanted, but sometimes you have to do things like that. The chick scene was about slim to none and that's never good times at a wedding reception. Then again, I got to hang with the hottest chick in Shinnston for a good bit as far as my personal rankings go (not a family member you freaks that were thinking that since I said it was a family gathering and I'm in WV), so that helped the boring night if nothing else. And for the locals keeping track at home of my rankings, my #2 hottest chick in Shinnston, even if she doesn't live in Shinnston, is Betty the mail chick. But since she works here, she qualifies.

Is it new CDs you want? This time I went off as I have 9 to present to you. The collection is never ending and I have some rock solid stuff in this one. Here we go, as usual, in alphabetical order:



Frost: Till The Wheels Fall Off. I don't know anything about this guy, but he's a Mexican rapper in East LA. I saw his CD in a Bay Area room and figured I'd give him a listen since it got a few good reviews. We'll see.

Hi-Tek: Hi-Teknology - Volume 2 (The Chip). A legendary DJ here. His work with Mos Def and Talib Kweli in the 90s put him on the map. He's from Cincy, but he's pretty much labeled a NY DJ since that's where he made it big time in Brooklyn. You want some true hip hop? Load up on this action.

Layzie Bone: Cleveland. As I've said before, it seems like Bone members have a new CD out every few weeks. They go to work in the studio. I like the title of this one as well since it's simple and you know what you're getting. Plus on my trips to Cleveland, it'll fit the ride perfectly.

Ludacris: Release Therapy. Most are into Luda since he's kept his style of rap the same for years. A nice crew on this CD that features Young Jeezy, Field Mob, Pharrell, Bobby Valentino, R Kelly, Beanie Sigel, Mary J, and others. That's powerful. The track Tell It Like It Is, listen to that one. Interesting stuff in there plus he has a section where he rips into Chingy.

MC Eiht: Compton's OG. One of the most respected West Coast gangsta rappers. He's been around for a minute, that's for sure. Another who hasn't changed his style one bit. Into some mean rap? Eiht is your man.

P Diddy: Press Play. Puff is at it again as it's been a while since his last solo joint. Puff cracks me up more than his actual talent, mainly for his dancing. No rhythm for his dancing at all, but it's good entertainment to watch. I'm sure he doesn't care though, dude knows how to make crazy money. This CD is loaded up with people. That's one thing I'm not as big on with Puff as he can't really do many songs by himself. He likes to spread the wealth. You get Twista, Timbaland, C-Lo, Nas, Mario Winans, Keyshia Cole, Mary J, Jamie Foxx, Dirty Aguilera, and a bunch of others.

Skant Bone: 4 Seasonz. I'm guessing most reading don't know this guy unless you're a huge Bone Thugs fan. This guy was from the branched off Mo Thugs group they had a while back. He does his thing and of course most of the Bone Thugs crew is on the songs, so it can't be bad based on that you wouldn't think.

Webstar: Caught In The Web. This CD is making rounds and being famous for featuring Chicken Noodle Soup that has Young B doing her thing with Webstar. Other than that, you get a lot of NY DJ type stuff and check it out if you're into that type of thing.

Xzibit: Full Circle. X to the Z has been due for a new album for a while. I've always liked his raps since he just doesn't care and tells it how it is. On this one you get the pimp boss Too $hort, The Game, DJ Quik, and Kurupt.



Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/jrowm

Bird's YouTube Moment of the Week: Everyone is going to love this. Wrestling fan or not, you need to watch this. This is rare footage of a 1994 incident featuring manager Jim Cornette. He's in a car with a group of wrestlers and they pull up to a Dairy Queen drive thru. They order a ton of food and the DQ people don't believe they really want it and are messing with them. They pull up to the window and the DQ chick tells them they don't have it all ready. That's when Cornette flips. One of the wrestlers in the backseat had a camera and filmed the festivities. You'll be cracking up good. Anyways, here is Jimbo going on a cussing tirade on DQ, to the point where he gets out of the car and opens up the drive thru window. Enjoy: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Id4rZhN_LEg

3 Quick Thangs:

1. Let's go with birthdays for Monday, October 16th: First off, I gotta wish a happy one to Carolina who celebrated a birthday on the 15th. That's today as I write this, nice. She would've slapped me around good if I didn't mention her in the blog, so I'm top of my game today. On Monday? Suzanne Somers is 60, ridiculous. You're not supposed to look like her at 60. Then again, nothing on her body is real at this point. Actor Tim Robbins, born in WV, goes for 48. 7'7" Manute Bol turns 44 on this day. Flea of the Chili Peppers is also 44. Wrestling vixen Missy Hyatt, the first diva of wrestling is 43. You can easily find her bouncing around naked on the internet if you're bored. Kordell Stewart, the more than likely gay QB, is now 34.

2. Just heard a stat. WV has more kids die under the age of 18 than any other state out there. Ouch.

3. I'm a big mashed potatoes fan, but there's a big difference. Instant mashed potatoes are the world's worst. They gotta be the real deal for me to want any part of that.