Google Game

So I was reading B-Side Blog which is one of the funnier things on the internet, when I read about this new google game. it's pretty simple - just go to Google and type in quotation marks around your name and then "likes to" (Ex: "Joseph likes to"). Type in the first ten things that come up and re-post in your own note.

The results are in bold, my comments are below:

1. Joseph likes to sing!
(Especially "Glamorous" by Fergie! That way I can work on my spelling too.  G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S!!)

2. Joseph likes to play sports.
(Since I played baseball nonstop til I was 23, not a real breaking news story, but do go on)

3. Joseph likes to watch.
(Dammit, that was supposed to stay secret.)

4. Joseph likes to party.
(I like to party. I like, I like, to party. Good luck getting that song out of your head)

5. Joseph likes to socialize and will use any excuse to celebrate with friends.
(I mean, ANY excuse! Groundhog Day. Arbor Day. Monday. A Tax Law CLE, etc.)

6. Joseph likes to play sports...
(...in bed. Oh the fortune cookie game - the gift that keeps on giving.  At least if you have a maturity level equal to that of a 10 year old, like me)

7. Joseph likes to party.
(I apparently am 25 again and living in DC with Johnny Mac and Kosak.  My poor overmatched liver)

8. When he is not taking part in outdoor activities or hanging out with his family, Joseph likes to read John Grisham novels.
(It's true, that man could never win enough Pulitzers in my eyes. "Playing for Pizza" is our generation's "Ulysses")

9. Joseph likes to be beside the seaside.
(I hope my penchant for rhyming doesn't become known to my friends in the voyeur world. How embarassing!)

10. Joseph likes to slide.
(This is either about my baseball playing or about my liking to watch. Either way I agree)

and just because I'm having way too much fun with this:

11. Joseph likes to play video games but enjoys outdoor sports as well.
(Google knows me better than I know myself!)

12. Joseph likes to play sports.
(This includes such sports as "play hide and seek with Clancy", "gua sha Jessica's neck and back", and "see how long you can hide in his tree before John Grisham catches you watching and calls the cops."

13. Joseph likes to eat it all.
(Every last inch, er, bit.)

14. When not outside Joseph likes to color and is currently working on staying in the lines, which he is doing great at!
(Thanks! I've really been working on that!)

15. A big hitter at 6-feet 3-inches, 235 pounds, Joseph likes to cause havoc in opponents’ backfields.
(To be perfectly honest, I like to cause havoc everywhere I go. I'm just glad I do it in opponents' "backfields" and not their "backsides.")

16. Along with singing, Joseph likes to tell a story or two, a talent he picked up from listening to Elders, storytelling tapes, more Elders and reading short stories.
(Look, bottom line - you can never listen to the Elders enough. They give it to you straight AND give you smarties to eat!)

17. Joseph likes to roam from his protection pocket.
(I think they meant that I like to roam WITH my pocket protector. Simple mistake.)

18. Joseph likes to help with chores around the house
(If that chore is peeping, eating it all or partying, then YES I DO!)

19. Joseph likes to travel too.
(Well duh, how else would I get myself to the houses where I peep into?)

20. Joseph likes to remain in a military uniform with gun holsters on each side, carrying two identical loaded revolvers.
(This is how I cause havoc in opponents' backfields)

Lil Wayne?

Lil Wayne is on "Around the Horn".  Not only can I not process this information, but my head is going to explode.  And as bad as he is, he's still 100 times better than Woody Paige.

U2 Albums #4

#4. War

Votes:  53

Highest Rank: 3rd (2)

Lowest Rank: 9th (1)

After the tepid success of October, U2 came roaring back with this balls to the wall, flat-out rock album.  Possibly the most "rock" album of their career until How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb came out over 20 years later.  Containing some of their most identifiable and anthemic songs of the band's career ("Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", "40") this album solidified U2's position as a young band to be reckoned with in the early 80's.  It also established them as a band that wasn't afraid to touch the realm of politics and let you know just what they thought.

To this day one of the best live songs I've ever seen was on the PopMart tour in Houston in 1997 when the Edge sang "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" by himself - just him and his guitar.  When one thinks of U2, "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" is one of the first songs that come to mind.  Using the 1972 massacre of Irish known as "Bloody Sunday" as the medium to tell their anti-war message, Bono wails "I can't believe the news today, I can't close my eyes and make it go away."  However, instead of using the song as a pro-Irish, pro-IRA song, the band made clear that the song "was not a rebel song" - it was a song written to argue that there was no right side in the Troubles.  On top of that, it happens to be a driving, hard-hitting song that plays as well in concert today as it did in the 80's.  When I saw U2 in NYC in October of 2001, I could hear many concertgoers singing "Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday", referring to 9/11 - further proof that this song speaks to any situation where grief has outweighed hope.

This was the band's first mature, complete work in my opinion - focusing who they were and what they were to become.  Songs like "Surrender" and "Seconds" have their moments as well - their are no real clunkers (such as the handful on Unforgettable Fire) to be found on this album.  War established a band that was not afraid to play their instruments "under a blood red sky."

Named one of the top 250 albums of all time by Rolling Stone, War has stood the test of time and would be a best selling album if it came out today - there will always be wars to rage against.

U2 Albums #5

#5.  Rattle and Hum

Votes: 52

Highest Rank: 3rd (3)

Lowest Rank: 9th (1)

Despite being an extremely popular album, the failure of the accompanying movie (and the hype that it brought along) left this is a critical black mark on the band. Only grossing $8.6M, the movie was a bit of disappointment, and the tour led to the band decide to "dream it all up again."

However, despite the critical issues with the movie, the album is still a really, really good one. The third of their American influenced trilogy (U. Fire, J. Tree and R. and Hum), the band digs deep into embracing American blues, soul and surrounds themselves in red, white and blue. First, the live songs are outstanding - "Helter Skelter" kicks the album off with Bono announcing "Charles Manson stole this from the Beatles...we're stealing it back." "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" becomes a soul anthem and "All Along the Watchtower" also bristles with Edge's guitar strokes bringing out everything Bob Dylan intended.

As for the new tracks, there are some real gems. "Desire", "All I Want Is You" and "Angel of Harlem" have become live staples, with "All I Want Is You" becoming the most prevalent song added to all mixtapes given to significant others made in the past 20 years. The duet "When Love Comes to Town" with BB King is a keeper as well - BB is the man. Finally, I happen to love the bassline and drums of "God, Part II" and the heartfelt emotion of "Van Diemen's Land" rings true as one of the best ballads the band has ever done - even with Edge singing instead of Bono. Actually, the first time I ever saw U2 in concert, in Houston on the PopMart tour, the Edge sang "Sunday Bloody Sunday" with just his guitar and it still to this say is one of the best live songs I've ever seen. I love Bono, but Edge has a great voice too.

The rest of the album isn't necessarily bad at all, it's just...kind of dull. "Hawkmoon 269", "Silver and Gold", "Love Rescue Me", "Heartland"...instead of capturing the soul of America, the band comes off as trying to BE an American band...big difference. Unlike nearly any album up to this point, they just have some dull songs. Other songs before this didn't work, but not from a lack of creativity like here. Still, not only is Rattle and Hum a very good album, the dissatisfaction with the direction of the band resulted in one of the best albums ever made - Achtung Baby.

BCS Championship and My FInal Poll

First of all, kudos to cnnsi.com for having the headline "BCS Champions" (as pointed out to me by valuable Ramblings reader Jack Skaggs) instead of "National Champions", because this year we aren't even close to having a national champion.  All we are left with is a muddled mess of very good teams with imperfect resumes - each of Florida, Texas, Utah and USC can rightly argue that they were the best team in the country...but the glittery football is heading back to Gainesville (motto: At least we're not Waco).

You can't tell me that after the national title game, each of Utah, USC and UT didn't think they could have beaten each of the 2 teams playing in the championship.  Neither Florida nor Oklahoma played badly, but neither put on a show that made anyone think "Wow, that is the best team in the country."  Thus, we now have a host of teams claiming that they are the best team in the country..and how can anyone tell them they aren't.

Until we have a playoff, here are my top 25 teams:

25. Rice (10-3) - I think we beat Georgia Tech head to head.  Thus, we get in.

24. Michigan St. (9-4) - Gave Georgia a tough game in the bowl.  Solid, if unspectacular team.

23.  BYU (10-3) - Really surprised they lost to Arizona.  Another program building season though out in Provo.

22. Florida St. (9-4) - Seminoles are rising once again.  Odds are their GPAs are not.

21. West Virginia (9-4) - Congrats to Pat White after becoming the only QB to start and win 4 bowl games.  Great, great college player.

20. Iowa (9-4) - Played so well down the stretch AND kept Penn St. out of the national title game.  An appreciative nation thanks you Hawkeyes.

19. Cincinnati (11-3) - You win the Big East? Whoop.  You got manhandled by a Virginia Tech team that hadn't looked that good all year.  Program on the rise though.

18. Oregon St. (9-4) - Despite winning the ugliest bowl game ever (3-0) I'm still impressed they could get a W in spite of the absence of top players.  Watch them in 2009.

17. Missouri (10-4) - Just never got it going this year.  A VERY disappointing season when you see what they were hoping to accomplish in 2008.  

16. Virginia Tech (10-4) - After a below average season by this program's standards, pulled out some serious whoop-ass on Cincinnati.  Just a great college football program year in and year out.

15. Oklahoma St. (9-4) - If only they had a defense.

14. Texas Tech (11-3) - Apparently thought the season was over after beating Oklahoma St. on 11/8, because they were terrible in the last 3 games they played.

13. Georgia (10-3) - Never lived up to preseason billing, but a good season nonetheless.  Lot of weapons are going to be lost to the draft.

12. Mississippi (9-4) - The only team to beat Florida lost their 4 games by a combined 19 points.  THE team on the rise in the SEC. Hey Hog fans, still think Houston Nutt can't coach?

11. Ohio St. (10-3) - Played a great Fiesta Bowl game despite Pryor not being able to throw the ball more than 10 yards at a time.  Tell the band to lay off playing the fight song though, k?

10. Oregon (10-3) - Just rolling at the end of the year!  Couldn't move them past Boise St. though, since Boise St. beat them AT Oregon during the year.

9. Boise St. (12-1) - Played TCU to a near draw...underrated team and underrated program.  Think a 12-0 regular season team wouldn't be interested in a playoff?

8. Penn St. (11-2) - If only they had gotten the memo that the Rose Bowl was two halves and not just one...might have set their wakeup call earlier.

7. TCU (11-2) - Beat a tough Boise St. team in the bowl after a great regular season.  Most underrated program in the country.

6. Alabama (12-2) - Only team in the top 10 to finish the season with a losing streak.  Manhandled by Utah which makes me smile, if only because Nick Saban is one of the least engaging and gregarious people in the country.

5. Oklahoma (12-2) - 45-35.  24-14.  Suck it OU.

4. USC (12-1) - Seriously, how did they ever lose to Oregon St.?  Great ballclub.

3. Texas (12-1) - Oh Blake Gideon....so close.

2. Florida (12-1) - Great team with an even greater coach.  

1. Utah (13-0) - Beat everyone in front of them, including 4 ranked teams. Dominated Alabama in the sugar bowl.  Do I think they are the best team? No. They are definitely top 5 though, and if their name was "Florida" or "Texas" they are in the title game.  Hats off to the Utes.

Florida vs. Oklahoma

So the "national title" game that doesn't include the team that beat one of the two participants on a neutral field (UT), a team that hasn't lost since September and destroyed Penn St. in the Rose Bowl (USC) or the only team to go undefeated, defeat 4 ranked teams and destroyed the #1 team in the country for most of the season Alabama in their bowl game (Utah).  So suffice to say I'm not certain you're seeing the two best teams in America playing tonight.

That being said, I have a hard time trying to see how Oklahoma wins this game.  They are going to have to flat out outscore Florida, and I think Florida's defense is too good to score 50 on.  I'm calling a good but not great game from Bradford, a key turnover or two by OU, and a Florida 48-38 win after a few late scores by OU.

Is Around the Horn the Worst Show on TV?

Yes.