Life on the Pop Music D-List?

I believe myself to be one of the few left who enjoy the world of Music Videos. I still think Music Videos when done right can make or break a song. (Like OK Go's "Here It Goes Again).

That said, I watch Fuse and MTV Hits alot when doing shit around the house. If anyone watches MTV Hits... I'm sure you've seen the video for "Damaged" by Danity Kane. I've seen it a bunch... and it raises just one question from me:



When the hell did Kathy Griffin join a pop group?

Thankfully her singing isn't nearly as annoying as Ms. Griffin talking.

A conversation with my neighbor...

So my neighbors apparently have been evicted for failing to pay rent, or even acknowledge that the landlord even exists. It doesn't matter to me... other than burning a bunch of trash and making my house smell like crap... and occasionally having people come and go at all hours of the night making me think they were dealing drugs, they were quiet people who didn't bother me. Until one day when I had a quick chat with one of the neighbors:

Scene: In front of our houses, a sunny afternoon, as I hop in my car to go to the gym. I see my neighbor walking down the driveway waving his hands to flag me down.

Neighbor: "Hey! Quick question. Have you seen anyone go in or out of the house recently."

Me: "Not that I can think of. It's been pretty quiet over there recently.

Neighbor: "Oh. Well, I just got out of jail and I can't get in the house..."


From there, I politely brushed him off, double checked the locks on my doors, and went to the gym hoping that he wasn't there when I got back.


Maybe it's better they were evicted.

Weird fears:

We talked on the air this morning (6/18/08) about weird Phobias you may have, or have had in the past, sparked by this list of the Top 10 Most Common Phobias in the world.

Listeners admitted to random phobias such as Fear of Crumbs, Fear of being Coughed On. Another anonymous listener sent this e-mail:

When I was little I was scared of dentures. My uncle used to take his out and clack them at us. I would hide from anyone that I thought had dentures and I wouldn’t get close to my uncle unless I was sure that his were safely in his mouth.

Traumatizing for any youth. I admitted on the air that when I was younger... I think I heard on the news a story of a house fire, in which the fire started in the walls of the house. I couldn't sleep facing the wall for a few weeks, scared that a fire was going to break out. (Of course, I didn't think that if a fire broke out, I'd be screwed anyway).

What weird fears do YOU have? Adds yours to the blog in the comments section. And you can remain completely anonymous!

An open letter to the NHL:

Please don't turn into douchebags.

You guys are coming off some GREAT ratings for the Stanley Cup finals, and a great year overall to help build back the populairty of the NHL. But let's not take things too far. Apparently you're trying to capitalize on merchandising right now, buy issuing Pittsburgh Penguins- Pennsylvania State Champs!" hats.


Pennsylvania State Champs? Seriously? Sure you beat the Philadelphia Flyers, the ONLY OTHER TEAM IN PENNSYLVANIA in the Eastern Conference Finals. I figured you'd like to focus more on being better than ALL the teams in the Eastern Conference, not just one.

Plus, how liberal are you issuing state champ titles? The New York Rangers went further than the Buffalo Sabers and the New York Islanders, so they win the title in New York. The San Jose Sharks should get the California title.

Let's see who else...well The Phoenix Coyotes automatically win the Arizona title every year. Same goes for the Minnesota Wild and the New Jersey Devils. The Carolina Hurricanes? We'll give them North AND South Carolina, and throw in Connecticut since Hartford is still mourning the moving of their Whalers. And hey! How about crowning Montreal as the Canadian Champs? That could work for them.

And the Detriot Red Wings? Who cares about being Stanley Cup Champs. They own the state of Michigan bitches!

It was a good season NHL, please don't too far with it. But I must say, I can't wait for next year's battle of Tennessee!

Back when I was a kid...

It's never good when I start a blog post with that statement. I'm only 25. Am I allowed to even think that statement?

Either way, I was checking out the news from the homeland of Philly this morning. The east coast is in the grips of a pretty intense heat wave for the next few days. Upper 90's temp wise, wring-out-your-underwear humidity. Cities could see 100+ temps today. It's pretty intense.

I remember some of those east coast heat waves. The worst ones are like this one. It's the VERY end of the school year. (For those mid-westers who are already out of school... the last day of school for most is this Friday.)

Now, most exams are completed. No one is going to be able to learn a damn thing in heat that intense. My grade school, AND high school were not air-conditioned, and being Catholic schooled, I was required to wear the uniform. (You know the deal. Same shoes for everyone. Crappy slacks. The school sweater made from a fiber that burst into flames with the slightest bit of friction. We were REQUIRED to wear this uniform. 100+ degree heat? We were STILL required to wear this uniform. I remember at the end of 5th grade, the last week of school, there wasn't a day where the temperature was below 99, yet we sat in the classroom, with the lights turned off praying that the two working fans would keep us from getting heat stroke. We suffered through it. We HAD to.

But I'm checking the local Philly news, and they're saying that a ton of schools in the area are CLOSED today because of the extreme heat.

Are parents worried that their precious little snowflakes are going to melt? It's school! It's supposed to be miserable and insufferable! Send them with an extra juicebox to stay hydrated. Kids these days are wimps if they can't stand the heat, and it's probably their parents to blame for it. When I was a kid, we were tough.


Plus when I was a kid, Pluto was a planet.

Great moments in stupid advertising...

Facebook has taken to having sponsored advertisements mixed in with the mini-feed on the homepage. One there today caught my eye:



Hey! It's Ben and Jerry's Birthday this year!

Wait. This year? Not this month, or this week, or today.. but this YEAR.

My birthday is March 20th, and it falls within the boundaries of the year 2008, so I guess I can get away with saying it's my birthday this year?

And guess what?!?!

IT'LL BE MY BIRTHDAY NEXT YEAR TOO!!!!!!!










Buy me presents.

An anniversary almost missed...

I'm sad to say that I completely forgot about a major anniversary that occured a few days ago. An anniversary that weighs heavy on my heart. An anniversary that would have gone completely unnoticed by me if it hadn't been for a text message I recieved from my friend Dave. It read:

"Congratulations to Philadelphia on 25 years of futility!"

That's right. May 31st, Philadelphia... um... celebrated? 25 years without winning a major sports championship. 25 years. Sure, some cities have suffered longer, but none of those cities have all four major sports (Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey).

May 31st, 1983 was the last time Philadelphia celebrated. The 76ers swept the L.A. Lakers in 4 games. Prior to that, Philadelphia had had a great recent sports run. The Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 70s, the Phillies won their one and only World Series in 1980. The Eagles made it to the Superbowl in 1980 (losing to the Raiders), and the Phillies made it to the World series in 1983 (losing to the Orioles). Things were going great in Philadelphia.

Then, the drought started.

--The Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1985, and lost in 5 games to the Edmonton Oilers.
--The Flyers fought into the Stanley Cup Finals in 1987, and lost in 7 games, and again, lost to the Edmonton Oilers.
--The Phillies surprised the baseball world by going from worst in 1992 to the World Series in 1993, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays.
--The Flyers showed promise again in 1997, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals vs. the Detriot Red Wings, but were swept.
--The Eagles were turning into an NFC dynasty, making it to the NFC Championship game 4 years in a row (2001-2004), and finally to the Superbowl in 2004, before losing to the New England Patriots.
--The Sixers proved they could be a good team for once, making it to the NBA finals, only to lose 4 games to 1 to the L.A. Lakers.

And let's not forget numerous playoff berths by all Philadelphia teams in that timespan as well.

What makes this streak so heartbreaking is that the Philadelphia teams haven't been BAD. The Phillies haven't seen major success, and the 76ers had a slump, but overall, most of the Philadelphia teams have had good shots at winning championships, but alas, none have come for 25 years now.

There is promise in the future. The Flyers battled back from their worst season in team history to make it to the NHL Eastern Conference finals this year. The Phillies made it ot the playoffs for the first time in 14 years last year (and currently sit in 1st place). Even the Sixers found their way into the playoffs. We just need that championship. Whenver it does come around, it will be sweet, and the parade down Broad Street will be a sight to see.

I just hope it doen't take another 25 years.