we think we've climbed so high

Last night's UFC event in Columbus was an entertaining one, with a couple big highlights. Obviously the headline of the night was 43-year old UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture coming out of retirement to not only win, but completely dominate, Heavyweight title holder Tim Sylvia to become the UFC's first five-time title winner. Few people thought Couture had a chance, but he proved why he's a legend and completely controlled the fight. My own personal highlight was seeing Cincinnati's own Rich Franklin have an impressive win over Jason McDonald after losing the middleweight title to Anderson Silva in October. Franklin looked impressive throughout the fight, and McDonald took such a beating that his corner threw in the towel after the second round. Actually, I lied. The highlight wasn't just Franklin's victory; the highlight was Franklin conferring with UFC President Dana White after the fight and then announcing that White had agreed that the Franklin - Silva rematch would be held in Cincinnati!! Needless to say, our house erupted in cheers of astonishment and joy when he announced that. We didn't manage to get tickets to this event in Columbus but there is no way something will stop us from seeing Franklin's middleweight title rematch here in Cincinnati. I can't wait for them to announce the official date.

Yahoo has launched its 2007 March Madness pick'em. I created a group that you can join here. The group number is 30858 and the password is cincinnati.

If you thought that naming all 50 states in ten minutes was tough, you probably don't want to try naming all 245 countries in the same amount of time. The only problem is this is that there are errors (the commonly accepted tally of countries is 193) because they include too many places that aren't real countries (Greenland and the U.S. Virgin Islands, for example) and because some of the names are too picky (while it accepts "United States", it does not accept "North Korea"; instead it wants the "Democratic Republic of Korea").

edit: Thanks to Rob for this article from the Enquirer on the Franklin bout.

there's calm in your eye

NFL free agency has opened today and there's been a fair amount of news surrounding the Bengals. Predictably, Eric Steinbach wasn't re-signed, and he'll probably be signed early on for a huge paycheck by another team. I was really shocked that the Bengals cut Brian Simmons, and frankly I don't understand that decision, so I hope Ahmad Brooks is ready to play middle linebacker this season. Reggie Kelly and Kevin Kaesviharn are two of the more popular free agents and are receiving some interest from other teams. I have a bad feeling that Kelly may end up in Atlanta, but hopefully we can resign him. I don't expect Tory James to be back, and although I've said it for the past couple offseasons, I'm sure this is the year that Kelley Washington goes somewhere else. Hopefully deals can be worked out with other free agents like Kenny Watson and Marcus Wilkins.

There were some big names cut by other teams, including Joey "the Jackass" Porter from the Steelers, Jamal Lewis, Joe Horn, and Keenan McCardell. Also a number of players that were not re-signed, including Ashley Lelie and Adalius Thomas. There seems to be a good number of free agent tight ends out there, so it will be interesting to see if the Bengals go after any big free agents after creating some salary cap room by cutting Simmons.

edit: Why did Steinbach have to sign with the Browns? That's disappointing. The Patriots cutting Corey Dillon isn't that surprising, but Jake Plummer retiring instead of being traded to Tampa Bay is.

while you're hiding in the trees

I've been long overdue for an update, which I blame on the last two weeks of this quarter being way too busy. Next week looks even more daunting.

Chicago was a lot of fun. Unsurprisingly, UC lost to DePaul, but we had a good time hanging out in the city for the rest of the day (even when Doug and I were wandering around downtown lost at night in the freezing rain for two hours). Chicago is a nice city. It's amazing how nice everyone is in person; they see someone holding a map and leap for the chance to give them directions. But then if you put them in their cars, they honk over the slightest transgression.

UFC 68 kicks off tomorrow night. Too bad we won't be there. I hope Franklin comes back strong after his loss to Silva. Jess leaves for the Ukraine tomorrow and she'll be gone for a week and a half.

Here's a fun little game for you all: Name all 50 states in ten minutes. It got around 45 in the first few minutes (the hardest pat is spelling some of them, like Connecticut) and then it took some thinking after that. Some of you probably know some lame song from grade school that will make it easier, but I did it with my gland full of knowledge.

i can swallow it down

I don't think I've ever taken the time to formally rant about the FCC on here, and since I have a paper due tomorrow that still needs to be finished, obviously now would be the ideal time to distract myself by doing so. If you were to ask me the top three things that have most bothered me during Bush's tenure in office, I can say with almost complete certainty that one of those things would be the transformation of the Federal Communications Commission into the moral Gestapo of American society. Ever since that moronic Super Bowl halftime show we've been subjected to a Puritan FCC crackdown on all the things that might possibly offend anyone.

Of course the political system is at the heart of this entire problem. Take, for instance, the recent rumor that the FCC will look into curbing violence broadcast on cable television. Ever desperate for any useless issue that might garner more votes, regardless of how many taxpayer dollars are wasted in the process, Congressional representatives are the real people behind this moral policing and giving the FCC the authority to carry out such worthless tasks:

A draft report from the Federal Communications Commission raises the possibility that the FCC may act to clamp down on violent content on prime-time television—provided it gets the green light from Congress. Currently, the FCC has the authority to regulate sexual content and profanity on television, but most of the commissioners would like to see their power extended to cover depictions of violence.

"The pressure to do something on this is building right now," Commissioner Michael Copps told the AP. "People really feel strongly about this issue all across this land. This is not a red state or a blue state issue."

The report comes in response to a request from a bipartisan congressional group and will be submitted more two years past the original deadline of January 1, 2005. In their request, the congressmen asked the FCC to determining whether it could define "exceedingly violent programming that is harmful to children" in order to regulate it.

Naturally, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is hardly satisfied with the amount of authority he already holds, and in a quest for yet more power, has argued that "(The FCC) can't just deal with the three or four broadcast channels. We have to be looking at what's on cable as well."

Once again, the whole thing boils down to the fact that certain groups in America simply cannot leave the responsibility up to the parents to raise their children (or maybe it's that many parents in America refuse to be held responsible for raising their child). Quit assuming that we're all too dumb to take care of ourselves.

That said, I actually like Martin's idea of an "a la carte" cable selection, where the household picks and chooses the individual channels they would like. I'd say I watch between 5-10% of all the channels we have at our house here, so this is really an intriguing option. Of course, there was a study that the cable providers cite as proving that an "a la carte" system would make channels cost much more than they do, but guess who funded that study: the cable providers. Gee, that doesn't exactly sound like an unbiased inquest to me.

There also may be some hope for some members of Congress, after a recent report announced an upcoming hearing with the FCC over numerous issues, including their lack of investigation of into the NSA wiretapping scandals and how the FCC plans to improve America's lousy high-speed broadband setup when compared to most developed nations. It's nice to see that some people are focusing on issues that actually matter, but we'll see if anything comes
of it.

bloated belly's still not full

So the Year Zero hype machine keeps on rolling: The first single, "Survivalism," has hit radio and the internet as of this morning. As a first impression, I'd say I feel about the same towards this song as I did towards "The Hand That Feeds." It sounds a little too much like it was made for radio. In fact, the guitar riff in the chorus sounds almost exactly like the riff from "THTF." But the good news is that of the two songs I've heard so far, the album is at least on the same level as With Teeth, maybe even a little better.

the marching of the feet

Well I ripped on the Bush administration the other day and now it's the Democrats' turn. So, Ted Strickland is refusing to allow any of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees being brought to the U.S. into Ohio. What happened to the Democrats supposedly being the party of the people? I thought they cared so much about the poor, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, blah blah blah. Apparently when it comes to poor, noncitizen refugees (meaning they can't vote), the Democrats don't give a crap. This just shows that they really don't care about people at all. They care about votes. Why do the Democrats support raising minimum wage? Not because they actually care about people trying to live off of minimum wage. It's because that when the minimum wage is raised, labor unions, a Democratic-voting base, get a raise in their salaries or pay. Whenever Republicans counter legislation from the Democrats for raising minimum wage with their own legislation to raise the minimum wage but include provisions that prohibits the wages of union workers from increasing as well, the Democrats vote it down (sorry, I lost my source on that). Now I'm not arguing that raising the minimum wage is necessarily bad or that Republicans actually care about people. I'm saying our political system is rubbish.

the deepest shade of mushroom blue

I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the level of tension between the White House and Iran right now. The last thing we can afford right now is to start another war, especially in the Middle East, but there's part of me that can't help but think the administration is intentionally agitating the situation. There's no doubt in my mind that the Iranian regime is up to no good, and there probably is a good chance that they're aiding insurgents in Iraq. However, we're clearly stretched thin as it is, so we can't afford to get in a spitting match with Iran. That and, considering how good our intelligence was when it came to Iraq and WMDs, maybe we should be a little careful about throwing around accusations. Obviously it would not be a good thing if Iran continues pursuing its nuclear program, but the recent success with North Korea proves that there is not any reason to go running in there guns blazing over it.

into fire you can send us

A very complicated viral marketing campaign for Year Zero, akin to Halo 2's I Love Bees, has been underway for a few days now. It started with people connecting randomly highlighted letters from the new tour shirts that led them to a website, which has been followed by more websites. The latest development is that one of the tracks has been leaked, allegedly acquired from a flash drive left in a bathroom at Monday's concert in Portugal. I'm not sure I believe the story, but the track is certainly NIN, and the pixelation around the song's name on the Year Zero website makes it look like it was legitimately leaked, and not stolen. the Echoing the Sound forums are following the whole thing a lot closer than anywhere else, but I don't have the time to sit and keep up with the whole thing. The whole campaign is very interesting, as NIN fan's are obsessive enough without Trent drumming up with kind of frenzy, but it has certainly hooked people.

get behind the wheel again

It has been an exciting week in music news this week. First there was the official release date for Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero on April 17. Then today Billy Corgan announced that the Smashing Pumpkins' sixth studio album, Zeitgeist, will be released on July 7th (7-7-07). Already this year is looking like it could have some quality releases. However, my expectations for Zeitgeist are remaining very reserved, and I'm anticipating Year Zero to be about on par with With Teeth.

On the other hand, it was announced today that Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (along with Team Fortress 2 and Portal) would be delayed again(!) till Fall 2007. Now, Valve Software, correct me if I'm mistaken here, but wasn't the purpose of episodic content so that the public would not have to wait as long between releases? Still, I suppose that when you release video game sequels as frequently as the old Trent Reznor used to release Nine Inch Nails albums (Half-Life: 1998, Half-Life 2: 2004), eighteen months isn't really that bad. Valve proved with Half-Life 2 that their games will be worth the wait, and I suppose I shouldn't berate them for taking their time to perfect their product, instead of rushing a game full of bugs and flaws. I have no doubt that Episode 2 and it's accompanying games will be fantastic, polished masterpieces. I just wish I didn't have to keep waiting on them.

last chance to lose control

Congratulations Colts! I couldn't be happier for them. I was really afraid they might choke again after that kickoff, but they ended up playing a solid game. It's so nice to see the Super Bowl won by such classy people as Manning, Dungy, Marvin Harrison, and the like. It was a fairly sloppy game but still a fun one. Congratulations to the Bears for their good season, too. I have nothing against them and they played well in the mediocre NFC. But they should be proud of their season , and Lovie Smith seems like a good man as well from what I hear.

There weren't too many memorable commercials this year. As usual a lot of companies tried too hard. I still think the Kevin Federline commercial by Nationwide was the best. The Coke spoof of Grand Theft Auto was another favorite. As usual there were some good ones by Budweiser too.

edit: Oh yeah, the one Sierra Mist commercial where Jim Gaffigan had a beard comb-over was good too. He was hilarious last month when Jess and I saw him at the Taft Theater. I never got to talk about that but here's the picture we got with him:

some kind of sign

With all that's been going on the past couple of weeks, I never get to talk about how glad I was to see the Colts make it to the Super Bowl. Plus it's always fantastic to see the Patriots lose. Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy seem like two first-class guys, and it's nice to see them finally achieve the same success in the post-season that they have for so many regular seasons. Even if the Bears end up the victors tonight, at least there's not a team I hate in the Super Bowl this year. That hasn't happened in awhile.


I did have a dream the other night that the Bears won the Super Bowl. Although, I think over the course of the dream the Bears turned into the Giants, so who knows.

UFC 67 was fairly entertaining last night. Except for when the Pay-Per-View cut out halfway through before coming back, causing us to miss an entire fight. Time "Satan-in-Cable-Company-Form" Warner can expect an angry phone call from us later this week demanding our money back. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filpovic's UFC debut was as dominant as I had hoped. I really hope they take the Anderson Silva route with him and give him a title-shot after one fight. Watching Mirko stalk Eddie Sanchez around the Octagon while systematically picking him apart was the highlight of the night, but the best overall match was probably the undercard fight between Frank Edgar and Tyson Griffin which was a back-and-forth brawl until Edgar won by decision. Quinton Jackson's debut was not nearly as impressive as Cro Cop's, although Marvin Eastman may have been a tougher opponent, but I don't see him taking down Chuck Liddell just yet.

on heartattack and vine

Alright Dad, you wanted to know if you'd made the blog, so here you go.

It has been a crazy week. Dad seems to be doing really well after his heart attack on Monday. I think we all kinda figured the food at Phil's could be lethal, but we still didn't see this coming. Considering the severity of the heart attack itself (he went into actual cardiac arrest), that he was about as close to death as you can get without actually dying (as Dad said himself, or said quoting one of his doctors), it seems like he has made a fast recovery. The first twenty-four hours were pretty tense, especially Monday evening, but a lot of that was simply the shock and thinking about what could have happened. Maybe it was just me being naive, but I never felt too worried about things getting worse; once I found out about it, the heart attack had already happened and he was in the hospital. My impression was always that he was stabilized, and barring some random unforeseen complication, it was just a matter of taking time to recover. Although considering the heart attack itself was a pretty random occurrence, maybe I should have been more concerned. But now the only worry is that it could happen again. It is a little disconcerting that the doctors themselves seem surprised that it happened in the first place and aren't sure what caused it. We're praying that means there's little chance of it happening again in the future. Anyway, Dad is scheduled to come home tomorrow (Friday) and hopefully he'll take it easy and not hop back into things too quickly.

We love you Dad, and we're glad you're okay.

The 2006 Davie Awards

Looking back at last year's awards, there were some trends that continued into 2006. This past year saw an even stronger movie crop than 2005, and there was a handful of movies I didn't get a chance to see that, from the look of them, had a good chance of making the list. Another thing that continued from 2005 was the presence of several good albums, but as in '05, there wasn't really one dominant, extraordinary CD. There also wasn't a huge number of video games that appealed to me, although video games are the group that suffer the most from time constraints. Games require such a bigger investment of time to play through and enjoy them thoroughly, so there's a much smaller selection to choose from. This is also where I'll put my disclaimer in that I don't own a Wii, so don't expect to see Wii Sports or Twilight Princess under the Best Video Games category, as my experience with both games was limited. But without further ado, I present to you the probably much-overhyped and very late 2006 Davie Awards:


Movies:

Best Movie: The Fountain
Runners-up: The Prestige, Children of Men, The Departed, Stranger Than Fiction, Casino Royale

As I said before, there was a slew of great movies this year, but The Fountain really stood out among the rest. You could arrange the likes of The Prestige, The Departed, Casino Royale, or Stranger than Fiction in whatever order you'd like, as they're all exceptional movies. I thought Children of Men was fantastic and it was a clear-cut second place over the others.

Top Ten Movies

1. The Fountain
2. Children of Men
   
3. The Prestige
4. The Departed
5. Casino Royale
   
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Thank You For Smoking
8. Babel
   
9. The Illusionist
   
10. The Proposition

Biggest Let Down: Snakes on a Plane

Runners-Up: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Miami Vice

I still think Snakes was really, really stupid. Borat was okay, but like Snakes, it too was overly hyped. I love Michael Mann's films, but Miami Vice suffered too much from a boring storyline.

Music:

Best Album: Tool - 10,000 Days
Runners-Up: Muse - Black Holes and Revelations, Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways, The Killers - Sam's Town, Beck - The Information, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas

A strong group of albums this year as well. None of them quite stood out to me as much as 10,000 Days. Tool bucked the trend of established bands releasing sub-par albums. While not quite as strong as their two previous works, it was still a fantastic CD.



Top Ten Albums

1. Tool - 10,000 Days
2. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations
3. Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
4. The Killers - Sam's Town
5. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
6. Beck - The Information
7. Neil Young - Live at the Fillmore East
8. David Gilmour - On An Island
9. BT - This Binary Universe
   
10. Tom Waits - Orphans, Bawlers, Brawlers, and Bastards

Best Soundtrack: Clint Mansell ft. Kronos Quartet & Mogwai - The Fountain

The movie would not have worked without the wonderful soundtrack from Clint Mansell. After the Requiem For a Dream OST and now this, he's making quite an impression.

Biggest Let Down: Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Runners-Up: Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist, Incubus - Light Hand Grenades,
Audioslave - Revelations

I expected more from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's first solo album than what amounted to a short, minimalist electronica album. I had reserved expectations for the new Deftones, Audioslave, and Incubus, as all three bands seem to be on the decline as far as quality goes, and sadly my fears were realized in two mediocre albums. The Eraser is certainly the best album of the four, but also the one I had the most hope for. Light Hand Grenades just sucks.

Best Concert: Nine Inch Nails in Indianapolis

Runners-Up: Tool in Columbus, Nine Inch Nails in Cincinnati, Alice in Chains in Cleveland

It will be pretty difficult for a concert to top Nine Inch Nails July 3rd at the Verizon Ampitheater in Indianapolis. Doug and I were about three rows from the front of a jam-packed pit. The crowd was so amazing that it drew praise from the normally reserved Trent Reznor. The set list was almost as good as it could have been and the band played with reckless abandon. There was some stiff competition from Tool, Alice in Chains, and the first NIN concert, all of which were awesome shows.



Video Games

Best Game: Company of Heroes
Runners-Up: Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,
Prey, Civilization IV: Warlords

Company of Heroes was the runaway hit this year. Not only was the single-player campaign good but Doug and I have had a blast over the LAN. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 moved the franchise's story along nicely and set the stage for what should be a fantastic game in Episode 2. Lego Star Wars II was the other big hit this year.



Television:

Best TV Show: The Office
Runners-Up: Scrubs, Top Gear, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, My Name Is Earl,
Late Night with Conan O'Brien

It's pretty obvious that I think NBC is doing something right, as every show but the hilarious British series Top Gear is from the network. The Office continues to be the best show on television and the show is sandwiched between two other great comedies NBC's Thursday nights, My Name Is Earl and the resurrected Scrubs. The ill fated Studio 60 was surprisingly clever; it's not normally the type of show I'd watch. Conan is still the funniest person on television.



Sports:

Most Disappointing Sports Event/Moment: Bengals' mediocre season
Runners-Up: Steelers win the Super Bowl, Rick Franklin loses UFC Middleweight title, U.S. World Cup team fails to win a game, UC's basketball team is robbed of an NCAA tournament berth

The failure of the Bengals to live up to the expectations set last year by claiming the AFC North title was easily the most disappointing aspect of sports this past year. Watching the Steelers march through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl was a close second, as was seeing Rich Franklin get picked apart by Anderson Silva.

Best Sports Event/Moment: The (continued) Rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Runners-Up: Georges St. Pierre wins UFC Welterweight title, UC upsets undefeated Rutgers

Obviously it was a lot easier to think of disappoints in sports this year than things that went right. It has been great to see the continued rise in the popularity of the UFC, and of MMA sports in general. Things are still looking up going into 2007, with some landmark names coming to the UFC, and more Pride Fighting events in the U.S.



Alright, well I'm sure we're all glad that's finally over. Here's to 2007!

on the backs of the bruised

Something besides Ohio State's BCS Championship performance had me irritated last night, and that was hearing about the San Diego Chargers' third-string tight end being arrested for a DUI. Actually, it wasn't the arrest itself that ticked me off, but that fact that this is this San Diego's seventh brush with the law this season. That's right, only one less than the Cincinnati Bengals. Where are all the pundits and talking heads now? While the Bengals are supposedly nothing but a bunch of criminals and thugs, nary a word is spoken against the Chargers. I wonder if it has anything to do with them being the top team in the NFL with a 14-2 regular season record. Everyone wants to point out the Bengals' off-field problems and label them a bunch of convicts, but the reality is that at least 35 NFL players have been arrested this year, so it's obviously a league-wide problem. Not that the media will care.

My annoyance continued today as we failed to get tickets for UFC 68 in Columbus. I can't believe how fast they sold out. Hopefully this will be a sign of how popular MMA events are here and the UFC will host more in Ohio in the future.

Carson Palmer is one of three finalists for the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year, but it'll be tough to beat Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

my head is unraveling

The new quarter of school has begun and my first impression is that it should be better than last quarter. My "Communism in Europe" and "U.S. & WWII" classes both look the most promising. I don't have my "Writing Columns and Reviews" class till tomorrow night, but hopefully that will be worth taking. Maybe it'll help my writing on here. My Spanish class only had five people in it which does not make me optimistic for that class. I also started the my two-quarter history senior seminar, and although the subject matter we're dealing with isn't something I'm too interested in- spiritualism in the 1800s (meaning things like psychics and talking to spirits, not religion and spirituality) - I do like the professor. I also like the way my schedule is set up: on Monday and Friday I have class 10-12, Tuesday I have nothing, Thursday I only have a night class 6:30-9. Wednesday is the sole exception, when I have class 10-12, 3-5:20, and then 6:30-9. I set it up that way to give myself time to work on every day but Wednesday. The problem is that the whole finding a job thing hasn't panned out so far. But since I don't have a job right now I hope I can use all that free time to get some of the many things I done that I didn't do over break and get ahead on my work for this quarter, which there will be a lot of.

I often have trouble getting a good, full night of sleep. I'm much more of a night person and not a morning person at all (you can tell by the fact that only one posting in the last month has been done before midnight). Which explains why I'm up at 3am, even though I have to take Austin to the airport tomorrow morning. Over break I think there were very few nights that I went to bed before 2 or 3 in the morning and I don't remember having much trouble sleeping at all. Last night I went to bed earlier (granted, it was still around 1) and didn't get to sleep for at least an hour. I'll admit it could have been due to some nervousness/anxiety over the new quarter starting. Once I start going to bed around midnight, we'll see how my sleeping compares to when I go to bed later.

Speaking of Austin, the reason he's going to the airport is because he'll be in Chile (and Argentina a little) for the rest of January. The Asylum won't be the same this month without him.

I think it's astonishing that Child's Play has almost raised $1 million this year. What a fantastic cause. They're making a final push to try and reach the seven-digit mark, so if you have any inclination towards helping out, do so now!

Still working on the Davie Awards. I don't continual mention them with the intent to build them up into something glorious, because there's not going to be much to them. I'm just waiting because there's one or two more things I'd like to watch or play first. I think I'm starting to ramble, and I do need to get some sleep before morning.

like shackles on your feet

Rich Franklin. Matt Hughes. Tim Sylvia. UFC 68: The Uprising. March 3. Columbus, Ohio.

This announcement just made my night. It already looks like Daniel, Rob, and I are going. If anyone else wants in, tickets go on sale Tuesday, Jan. 9. It won't be cheap but it'll be worth it.

a loaded gun won't set you free

Some big gaps in updating again from me that I could blame on the holidays, which would be partially true, and also on the fact that I've enjoyed being lazy the last few days. In my defense, I have accomplished some of things of my winter break to-do list, but not as many as I'd like. Revamping the layout of this site is one of the things I still hope to accomplish in the next few days, but if I don't, the first couple weeks of the quarter should still give me some time to do it.

I'm also working on the 2006 Davie Awards. I'm sure you all just breathed a great sigh of relief after reading that. Rest assured, you can sleep easier knowing you'll get to find out all my favorites from the past year. I know you've just been dying to find out.

you won't like what you see

That sure didn't look like a team interested in getting into the playoffs. It looked like a team trying to give away their wild card spot. Sure, the Colts game was the one game out of the final four that the Bengals could most afford to lose, but tonight was just pathetic. Nothing was clicking on offense. Not even the running game was that great, all though I had the bad feeling going into the game that after their terrible week against Jacksonville, the Colts' run defense was going to be out for redemption. The main problem went back to the offensive line, who were getting absolutely dominated. Losing Willie Anderson was one of the final nails in the coffin; Whitworth was getting schooled all night by Dwight Freeney on the right, but with Willie out we couldn't count on the right side either. Palmer had no time whatsoever to do anything. He had four fumbles, for crying out loud!

The wide receivers weren't looking too hot themselves either. The number of dropped passes is just inexcusable. And can we just go ahead and cut Chris Henry now? The guy obviously has no interest in playing because he never puts forth any effort. Chalk up another drop in the endzone for him, and how many times did he make a half-hearted, one-handed attempt to catch the ball? He seems to think he has better things to do, so let's not hold him up.

Some terrible coaching tonight too. Why, oh why, did we call a timeout on what was obviously a questionable catch by Chad early in the game?! Even if they needed to take a timeout to sort things out, snap the ball and spike it. It wasn't worth the timeout or all the lost yardage. Granted, I actually think it was a completion and the referee was wrong to reverse it (yes, initially it went through his hands but he caught it against his leg. It still never touched the ground) but it was clear that it was a close call. I couldn't believe we took a timeout and gave Indy all that time to decide on whether or not to challenge.

Plus, I don't know what Marvin was thinking in leaving Palmer in till the end. It was obvious that they'd already conceded the game when they kept punting instead of going for it on fourth down, so why leave your quarterback in to take more shots? He'd been getting pounded all game, and it was a stupid risk to take. In fact, Palmer's fourth fumble came late in the game when Anthony Wright should have been in instead. If you're going to admit defeat, don't take unnecessary risks.

Lastly, Chuck Bresnahan should publicly apologize for that defensive gameplan. Apparently he thought it would be a good idea to give the Colts a free 10 yards on every play. Just as long as we didn't give up a pass of 20 or more yards, it doesn't matter how many times they catch it short and run for extra yards. It was maybe a nice idea to start off, but we should have abandoned it after Manning had his way with us on short passes. I don't know how many times I saw the linebackers or safeties running away from the running back coming out of the backfield because they were afraid of a deep pass, only to have Manning dump it off and the back runs for a first down. The pass coverage was pathetic.

We can clinch a playoff spot with a win at Denver next week and losses from Buffalo and the Jets or Buffalo and Jacksonville. But more likely, we'll have to win at Denver next week and at home against Pittsburgh. We're going to need major adjustments.

like a halo in reverse

I have now been on break for over a week and I've still been too busy to post anything till now. Okay, either too busy or too lazy. Part of the reason I've been busy is that Jason Burkee dropped in to stay with us for a few days while he's back in the States. It was great to catch up with him and hear about how things are going in the Army. Thankfully he's out of Iraq and shouldn't have to go back again if everything goes the way it should. Now he's back in Germany for the 14 months he has left. The four or five days he was here went by too fast, but I'm really glad he gave up some time with his family in Denver to visit us.

While he was here we saw Stranger Than Fiction, which was fantastic. It's the best kind of comedy; it's funny, sincere, and has a deeper message at the same time. Will Farrell really showed how great of an actor he can be when given a part that demands it. He's a perfect blend of funny and emotional, and it was a refreshing change from his usual roles in movies like Talladega Nights or Anchorman.

from ethers tragic i am born again

I can understand why a lot of people would not like The Fountain. I can see why the idea of three parallel storylines involving a Spanish conquistador searching for the Tree of Life in order to save his queen, a brain surgeon trying to cure his dying wife's cancer, and a monk or Zen master floating with a tree in some sort of space-worthy bubble on a journey across the cosmos several hundred years or so in the future would not appeal to many individuals. By the way, the conquistador, brain surgeon, and Zen astronaut are all the same person. Or are they? (don't worry, this all becomes apparent in the first 10 minutes of the movie, so it isn't really a spoiler) Does that sound pretentious to you? Well that's because it is; it's a Darren Aronofsky film and he's all about being ambitious and pretentious. The answer to whether or not you should see the movie is if the pretentiousness of the plot intrigues you or turns you off. Personally, I'll take the pretentiousness of The Fountain over something like Apocalypto. But I'm not too surprised that it's doing poorly at the box office.

Almost all of the special effects were done without the aid of CGI, and the result is fantastic. The images of the space odyssey are some of the best I've seen in a movie. Clint Mansell's score is fantastic. I think he must be one of the most under-appreciated film composers today.

see us together chasing the moonlight

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis on Saturday issued his thanks to Cincinnati fans for their support during Thursday’s victory over Baltimore at Paul Brown Stadium.

“On behalf of everyone in our organization, I want to say how incredible our crowd was at the Ravens game,” Lewis said. “The noise was particularly outstanding. A number of our defensive players commented to me about it, so I know it gave Baltimore’s offense a difficult situation to deal with.

“The fans came out in great numbers,” Lewis continued, “even though it was a very wet night with the threat of storms in the area. They stood up for our team and came out and gave us the atmosphere we always strive to have in The Jungle. I want them to know how much it’s appreciated and how we look forward to the same level of support for our last two regular-season games against the Raiders and the Steelers.”

Nice to know my screaming-till-my-throat-was-raw was appreciated. I thought we were a great crowd too, and it was a huge win. Seven scoreless quarters in a row? Both sides of the ball are picking up steam at a crucial time. The Bengals need to keep this momentum rolling to win at least three of the next four, especially the game in Denver.

the coldest blood runs through my veins

There have been lots of things to talk about lately, but I just haven't had time with everything I've been working on for classes. I'm lagging way too far behind on my history research paper, so I'll keep this short. After this week all I'll have are exams, and then I get going on posting more and finally revamping my blog layout.

Casino Royale is easily the best James Bond film since Goldeneye. Since the three after that were terrible, I guess that statement isn't necessarily a huge compliment, but take my word for it: it's just what the Bond-franchise needed. Sure, the plot requires you to suspend a certain amount of belief and doesn't hold up to any deep scrutiny. But it's a James Bond movie; you're not supposed to take the entire thing seriously. There's a difference between making it so unbelievable that it's just stupid (like Die Another Day) and making it believable enough as long as you don't sit down and analyze it too deeply afterwards. Of course, anyone who expects something deep from a James Bond movie is missing the point entirely. Daniel Craig is fantastic. He may not be quite as sophisticated as Pierce Brosnan, but he's much more rugged, which is exactly what this movie calls for. James Bond is a man who isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty. The film is the grittiest entry into the franchise in a long time, which is one reason why it's so enjoyable.

they tortured and scared you for twenty odd years

As far as sports go, things don't get much better than this past weekend. The Ohio State game ended up a little closer than I wanted it to be, but that did not matter in the end as the Buckeyes were victorious and are going for their second BCS Championship in five years. I really wish I'd gone to the Cincinnati-Rutgers game but I was just too exhausted to be out in the cold. I did watch a lot of the game while napping, and it was just what I hoped it would be. The defensive played admirably against a good Rutgers offense, and our 92nd ranked offensive did their part as well, especially on that fantastic 83-yard touchdown reception by our tight end Celek.

In UFC 65, Georges St. Pierre had his way with defending Welterweight champion Matt Hughes en route to a second round TKO. It was fantastic to see St. Pierre get redemption for the sole defeat in his career and win the belt. Unfortunately, Heavyweight contender Jeff Monson could not overcome 11-inch height and 10-inch reach disadvantages to beat title-holder Tim Sylvia, losing in a five round judges' decision. It was almost sad to watch Monson struggle to get inside Sylvia's reach, only to get stuffed on the takedown attempts, and the one time Monson did get Sylvia on the ground he was unable to submit him. Sylvia was surprisingly impressive on the ground, but his lack of motivation to finish an obviously dispirited Monson on his feet was very disappointing. But St. Pierre looked spectacular as he systematically picked Hughes apart on his feet while defending any takedown attempts. The fight would have ended in the first when a huge left from Pierre put a stunned Hughes on the mat, but the bell rang as St. Pierre pounced to finish him off. But the fight didn't last long in the second round as St. Pierre put Hughes down for good with a great kick to the head and then finished him off with some punches and elbows before the fight was stopped.

The game against New Orleans was a must-win for the Bengals, and while it wasn't pretty, the team put up big plays when it needed to. Chad Johnson has just been phenomenal the past two games: 17 receptions, 450 receiving yards (an NFL record for consecutive games), 5 touchdowns. He and Palmer have really turned around what had been a down year for both of them and Johnson now leads the NFL in receiving yards. And yes, give the defensive credit for the big turnovers, but something has to change. The defense is now dead last in the NFL in passing and total yards allowed. We can't count on those turnovers to always come at the most vital moments; they didn't against San Diego and that's the more likely result if this defensive play continues down the stretch. Every game is a must-win still and this week's game at Cleveland likely won't be a cakewalk, and then we face a short week with Baltimore next Thursday. Injuries are still eating us alive on the offensive line and nearly every position on defense. By the way, Palmer is up for Fed-Ex's Air Award for his passing against New Orleans (but to be fair, can someone explain to me how Drew Brees could throw for over 500 yards against us and not be up for this award?!).

down by the river

Bored at work? Got some time to kill? Check out this live streaming web cam from a watering hole in South Africa. Why? Because it's Africa; you might see something cool.

when we bleed we bleed the same

The good folks at Penny-Arcade have launched their annual Child's Play charity drive again this year. It's a great charity where people donate toys, video games, and money to different children's hospitals. This is the fourth year for the charity, which has expanded to cover twenty-nine different children's hospitals in five different countries. Last year the charity raised over $605,000 for the hospitals. Cincinnati's Children's Hospital is not featured, but there ones in Akron, Indianapolis, and Louisville. I would definitely recommend checking out the site; I think it's a great cause.

i'll just wander my own road

Alice in Chains played a phenomenal two-hour set at Cleveland's House of Blues last night. The band played a fantastic set that did an excellent job covering all the albums and EPs from their catalog. They covered almost all the hits and played so many songs that I can't complain about the one or two that were left out. The venue was small enough to provide an intimate setting for the show, especially during the acoustic set in the middle of the show.

The band seemed to be having a great time and there was a lot of interaction with the audience. William Duvall did a remarkable job filling the very large shoes left by the late Layne Staley. It's remarkable how similar he sounds to Layne, and he had no problem performing any of the songs. Jerry Cantrell was fairly stoic and mellow for the majority of the show, but his performance was amazing. Duvall may have adopted the role of frontman and Mike Inez was the most playful, pulling out goofy props and attempting to distribute cans of beer to the crowd, but Cantrell was obviously the quiet force driving the show. I'd also argue that he's probably one of the most underrated guitarists ever. Anyways, the show was well worth the trip.

Set List:
Again
Bleed the Freak
Grind
It Ain't Like That
Junkhead
Nutshell
Them Bones
Dam That River
Rain When I Die
(Layne Staley video tribute)
Don't Follow (acoustic)
Brother (acoustic)
Killer Is Me (acoustic)
No Excuses (acoustic)
Got Me Wrong (acoustic)
Down In A Hole (acoustic)
(Alice in Chains video montage)
Sludge Factory
We Die Young
Angry Chair
Man In The Box
(encore)
Rooster
Would

how the mind does shout for rest

Never let it be said I don't listen to my readers. All six or seven of you.

What to say about last week's Bengals loss? They look like the mediocre team their 4-4 record says they are. Yes, we all know that deep down the Bengals are more talented than they are playing, but so what? It doesn't matter how much talent you have, in the end all that matters is whether you have a "W" or an "L". The offense looks sloppy, the defense couldn't stop a team of girl scouts, and the roster is riddled with injuries. Emotions are running too high right now: everyone from Rudi to Willie to T.J. to Carson is getting frustrated and upset. The team needs to mature and step up when the game is on the line, because we're about to go 4-5 when the Chargers come to town this weekend.

Yes, we should have had a pass interference call on that play near the end, but by now it has become apparent that those critical calls are not going to go our way. Poor officiating cost us the game in Tampa Bay and possibly in Baltimore as well. So yes, without the terrible calls (or lack of) we should be 5-3 or 6-2, but we should never have been in those situations in the first place. If the team was playing up to their potential, Tampa Bay would never have been that close that late in the game, and we would not have been trying to dig our way out of a 14 point hole after five minutes in Baltimore. NFL referees are terrible, but the Bengals need to not let the game get in a position where the refs are going to make or break it. Now as we all saw in the Super Bowl, sometimes the officials will be so terrible that it doesn't matter what you do, but poor performance by the Bengals has been as much of a culprit as bad calls.

Now on to the Wii... I'm not sure what else to say about it, Kel. I certainly think it will be the victor of the next generation console wars, with the Xbox 360 in second and the PS3 flopping and taking Sony down with it. The price tag is much more consumer friendly; I think Nintendo made the right choice in focusing on affordability and gameplay over the most technologically advanced system with cutting-edge graphics. Yes, Gears of War looks absolutely amazing, but I don't want to pay twice the cost of the Wii to get a 360 in order to play it. That said, I'm not one of the people lining up the buy the Wii when it comes out. I intend to wait and see how the games are that will be coming out for it (like Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Red Steel), and most importantly, how I like the Wii-mote controller before I'll think about buying it. Since Craig is getting one I'll get to try it hands on for awhile before I make any decision.

I desperately need to fix some things with my PC. First of all I need to replace this crappy default Dell case. Why you would ever design a case that opens up like a book is beside me. To open up the case you have to unplug everything connecting to it, pick it up, lay it on its side, and pull it open. That makes it far too much of a chore to take a look inside the PC, when on most cases all you need to do is pop open the side. I also need a new cooling fan; my current one keeps sputtering and sounds like it will croak at any moment. Figuring out why my excellent Zonet wireless adapter won't reinstall is also gaining in priority. The Belkin one I'm using now is nice as a backup, but the signal is weak and it cuts out far too often.

come ye masters of war

The Gears of War hype is kicking into full swing. I'd say the decision the release the best game for the Xbox 360 around the same time as the Wii and PS3 was a pretty smart decision. GoW is going to be the Halo of the 360, at least until Halo 3 comes out. It's the first game released for the 360 that makes me want to own it. Madden 2007 seems to have been the only big draw to the 360 until now, and my boycott of that game and most things Electronic Arts isn't going away, no matter how pretty you make the field turf look.

Company of Heroes, a real-time strategy game centered around the Allied invasion of France in World War II, is one of the top computer games I've played this year. I used to love RTS games like Starcraft, Red Alert, and Total Annihilation but over the past few years there have been few games in the genre that piqued my interest. The WWII setting has been beaten to death in first-person shooter games but is less cliched in RTS games. CoH combines the right amount of RTS-style action with tactical and strategy elements from typically more realistic turn-based WWII games. Take all the historically accurate units and thrown in a great physics engine with fully-destructable environments, and the game delivers gritty combat straight out of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. The single player campaign comprises 15 extremely challenging missions and also allows skirmishes against the computer for extended play. Multiplayer consists of skirmishes either against human opponents or team games against the computer AI. Doug and I have had a couple good battles teamed up against the computer.

Heading up to Cleveland tomorrow to catch Alice in Chains with Dougie and Justin. Throw in Navs Fall Conference this weekend, and it's going to be a good weekend.

crucify the ego before it's far too late

When our forefathers were laying down the foundations of this republic, I don't think they intended for us to feel as dirty after voting as I do right now, having finished filling out my absentee ballot. That said, Vote-Smart is a really good site that Justin had pointed out on his blog. Most candidates didn't answer the NPAT questions, but for those that did, it is a really helpful guide.

How did I ever use the Internet without RSS feeds? I know that this isn't exactly new to all the uber-savvy web geeks out there, but its something i just ignored until the other day. Now instead of going to twenty or thirty different websites checking for updates (or forgetting to check many sites) all I do is go to Bloglines to get all my updates at once. It's amazing how much simpler it makes checking updates and getting news online.

I had no idea that Nirvana's Live! Tonight! Sold Out! VHS video was coming out on DVD next week.

I'm planning a major overhaul of the layout and content of this blog when I find the time. There's a good chance it won't be till after this quarter ends in December, but we'll see.

i will dream within the night

Trick or treat, kids.

Been pretty busy lately and haven't had a lot of time to update. I had been playing a lot of Company of Heroes which is a really good game for anyone who's a real-time strategy fan. I've also been listening to new stuff from Beck and The Deftones; The Information is the best Beck album since Sea Change. Thank You For Smoking is a very funny movie if you haven't seen it. I have a headache and I'm too tired to type up anything more eloquent or extensive than that.

I like it a lot. I've been starting to get work done on my research paper for my junior history seminar. Since our topic in the class is nineteenth century London, Paris, and Vienna our research paper has to follow the same idea, so I'm doing opium use in nineteenth century London. Thrilling, I know. But it's better than doing the working class, prostitution, orphans, or any other topic during that time range that has been covered to death.

I need to figure out exactly who and what I'm voting for. Like most people I'll be glad to see all the negative campaign adds gone from view when this is over. The sad thing is that this type of mudslinging between politicians is pretty much embedded in the fabric of American politics. You can go back to the election of 1800 between Jefferson and Adams, when they'd accuse each other of things like stealing cattle, being a closet-monarchist, or not being a Christian. I'm not saying it's good or okay that these crazy accusations continue to occur, but that's just the way it seems to go. One of many things about our political system that need to change.

if you ain't dead then sing along

Vote for the Bengals in Chunky's Click For Cans contest. The Bengals are currently the "Most Improved Clicks" and have overtaken the Steelers for first place.

sunday was a bright day yesterday

My disgust with the Bengals coaching and play calling took a 180-degree turn during the second half of Sunday's game. I was fairly livid about the conservative play calling going into halftime. I realize that the offensive line was having trouble giving Palmer time, but the Bengals were making no attempt to take shots down the field. I was especially frustrated with our last possession of the half; with 40 seconds and two timeouts, we had nothing to lose by trying to move down the field for a field goal or shot at the end zone, but the coaches simply let time expire. The camera's shot of Chad Johnson heading into the the locker room at halftime with his head slumped dejectedly said it all. Marvin Lewis did not seem to have any faith in his offense.

But as everyone knows by now, things turned completely different in the second half. It was great to see them taking shots down the field, even if I think they only completely the one on 4th-and-1. My hat is off to Marvin and offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski on that call, which took a lot of guts to make (and was maybe even a little reckless). I don't think it was a coincidence at all that the running game got going the same time we started going deep with the pass. When we stretch the field and make them worry about the long bomb, it's so much easier to run the football. I was impressed with the performance of our tight ends as well. Reggie Kelly did well and got a touchdown, and Tony Stewart had that crucial 19 yard catch-and-run on second down deep in our own territory to get us out of trouble. We'll need another big performance from them with Kelley Washington out again and Antonio Chatman banged up. Maybe we'll get to see our boy Glenn Holt line up at wide receiver. Willie Anderson had a big game too, yielding no sacks to NFL leader Julius Peppers Ahmad Brooks was impressive once again at linebacker. He could be the spark our defense needs without Odell Thurman.

fame, makes a man take things over

Rob, Jen, Doug, and I headed down to a sneak preview of The Prestige tonight. I can safely say that it is one of the best films I've seen all year. Nearly everything about the movie was fantastic. The casting really could not have been better. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are outstanding in the leading roles. Plus they are supported by a great cast including Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, and even the Thin White Duke and Smeagol themselves, David Bowie and Andy Serkis. The story is about two rival magicians in late-eighteenth century London who will stop at nothing to upstage and ruin one another. That's probably not a great summary but I'm too tired to come up with something better. The writing definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat with all the different twists and turns. It's also not the kind of movie that has a big twist at the end, but which fails to make any sense when you look at the rest of the movie. Everything fits very well. Christopher Nolan has done a fantastic job yet again; The Prestige will rate right up there with Memento and Batman Begins. I saw it for free, but it is certainly worth paying to see.

don't want me for a sunbeam

It's becoming difficult to not feel very pessimistic about the rest of the Bengals' season this year. With their tough schedule, they'll be lucky to finish at .500 if they don't stop playing at the sub-par level they have been. There are only three teams with losing records left on the schedule, one of which is Pittsburgh, who probably won't have one by the time we play them. There have been five problems that I think are most in need of fixing:

• The offensive line is not protecting Palmer and is not opening holes for the running game. How many times have we seen Rudi waiting behind his blockers for a hole that never opens or getting swallowed up for a loss as soon as he gets the ball? Palmer has already been sacked almost as many times as he was last year.
• The defense cannot stop the run. I guess some things never change. I don't think Sam Adams has quite had the impact they hoped.
• Poor pass rush. We have not pressured and sacked quarterbacks well since Week 1. Of course, we all know what happened the last time we sacked the quarterback...
• Palmer's inconsistency. Carson has obviously not been back to last year's form. There have been way too many times that the ball has either bounced at the feet or sailed over the head of receivers.
• Conservative play-calling. Anyone else tired of the Run, Run, Pass, Punt formula the offense seems to have perfected so well? We aren't taking enough shots down the field. That's the only way to spread the field and give Rudi room to run. Sure, there were the long bombs to TJ and Chad last week, but those were the exception. Sadly, we're stretched so thin at wide receiver right now that we probably won't have many chances to do so this week.
  

The most obvious culprit for these problems is the vast number of injuries this team has sustained. The team's depth at linebacker and wide receiver is now paper thin after all the injuries and suspensions have taken their tolls. The defense has suffered its share of casualties, losing David Pollack for the season, and being without Dexter Jackson, Brian Simmons, and Rashad Jeanty. Chris Perry has missed the first five weeks. Losing Rich Braham at center has been a huge problem and now it looks like we'll be without Levi Jones for several weeks. That doesn't bode well for an offensive line facing four of the best pass rushers in the next four weeks. With Chris Henry still suspended and Tab Perry and Kelley Washington injured, the team will have only Chad, TJ, and Chatman as healthy veteran receivers. Let's hope Palmer doesn't get hurt, with Anthony Wright out for several more weeks after an appendectomy.

But there is some good news. Antonio Chatman looked healthy last week after missing the first four games. Brian Simmons should be back and hopefully Dexter Jackson will be too. Chris Perry should return this week as well. I thought Ahmad Brooks made some good plays last week after not seeing much playing time. Hopefully we can figure something out with our skeleton crew of a roster and weather the coming storm of Carolina, Atlanta, @ Baltimore, and San Diego.

angry walls that steal the air

Wow, I never knew that you weren't allowed to tackle the quarterback in football. A roughing the passer call because we sacked the quarterback?! I've said it before and I'll say it again, referee calls need to be reviewed by a committee every week, and refs need to be fined for terrible calls. Poor officiating cost Seattle the Super Bowl last year and it cost the Bengals the game today. Yes, the Bengals played poorly anyway, but there is no doubt in my mind that Tampa Bay would not have scored had the Bengals not been called for that ridiculous personal foul. The Buccaneer touchdown call itself was a tough call and I could see it going either way. That being said, since it was ruled an incomplete pass, I don't know that there was enough evidence to overturn that call from the video. But that roughing the passer penalty was an inexcusable call, and ultimately decided the game.

What a horrible weekend for sports.

i'm a searchlight soul they say

I was really hoping I'd be able to report on Rich Franklin's marvelous fourth defense of his middle weight UFC title from Anderson Silva tonight, but sadly Rich was dominated and lost the belt. Needless to say, that was highly disappointing. I'm not going to complain about how dumb it was that Silva got a title shot after just one UFC victory, because what's done is done. Hopefully Rich will be back in the Octagon soon.

In better news, I got another email from Pfc. Jason Burke from Iraq:

Dear Dave


Hey Dave how are you?  I am doing fine.  I am going
to try and swing by Cincinnati around the 9 of
December to the 14.  Do you all have anything going
on?  I have not bought the ticket yet.

My time here is almost done.  I should be home/
Germany in the beginning of next month.  Thanks for
the offer of sending stuff though.  I do not really
buy, or need much out here.  I bought quite a few
books on amazon though.  They pass some of the down
time, when I am not trying to get a bit of sleep.

Nothing to exciting going on here.  We just went
into the city, and cleared some where around 150
houses in 12 hours.  That was fun, but tiresome.  I
was pretty sore after it.  That is the most excitment
we have really had in a while.  That mission was
supposed to be dangerous but no one even took a pot
shot at us.  Someone tipped them off, it was probably
the Iraqi police.

That is about it.  I miss you guys.  Coming to visit
should be a nice change of pace though.  I will keep
you posted.

Your Friend

Jason N. Burkee

burning down the highway skyline

Let's face it, when it comes to music these days, I live up to my reputation as a bitter old man. I don't know what the big thing is about this "emo" the kids are all into these days. I'm not even a big fan of retro-rock like The Strokes or The White Stripes. So it was pretty unusual for me to get into a new-wave revival band like The Killers. I thought their debut Hot Fuss was a great retro-80s pop album, with synthesizers and poppy hooks galore.

The band's sophomore album Sam's Town sees them trading in their metrosexual, Duran Duran 80's retro-pop for Bruce Springsteen and U2 80's retro-rock/pop. Gone are the dress shirts, black eyeliner, and faux-British singing. In their place we have blue jeans, mustaches, and arena rock anthems. The Las Vegas natives aim for a much more American feel on the new album. Hot Fuss conjured up images of night clubs and busy streets; Sam's Town feels like the boys left the Vegas strip and are now cruising down the dusty highways of the surrounding desert.


The opening title track sets the tone for the album as a powerful, Americana-themed rock song that manages to stay true to the new-wave stylings of Hot Fuss at the same time. The remaining songs are bookended by "Enterlude" and "Exitlude" which really don't add or detract anything from the album other than that they're basically filler. The first radio single, "When You Were Young", is a clear homage to Springsteen. It's the type of song that seems most at home blaring out the speakers of a convertible soaring down the highway.

Despite it's absurd name, "Bling (Confessions of a King)" finds The Killers channeling U2. The song feels ripped from the same vein as Joshua Tree with vocals you can almost picture Bono doing himself and a riff that clearly was inspired by Edge. The fusion of arena rock and synth-pop continues on the energetic "For Reasons Unknown". "Read My Mind" is a strong, hook-laden pop song that just screams "future single". That shouldn't be seen as a slight, because with these hooks it's not the kind of song you mind popping into your head at random moments. "Uncle Johnny", a song about said uncle's cocaine habit, is one of the hardest rockers of the bunch. The guitar riff is excellent, which is good because it helps you ignore the mostly nonsensical lyrics.

Unfortunately Sam's Town starts to fall flat after the first half of the album. The love song "Bones" entertains by featuring brass instruments in the background, but once again the lyrics border on comically senseless (Don't you wanna come with me/Don't you wanna feel my bones on your bones?). Take a lot of time coming up with that one, Mr. Flowers? Still, the music is enough to keep the song entertaining. "My List" is a slow-burning anthem that has you picturing the singers rocking back and forth with their arms around each other's shoulders by the end of the song. The rough outdoor imagery appears again on "This River Is Wild", which is simply another poppy rock ballad. "Why Do I Keep Counting" rounds out the album before the "Exitlude", and really has nothing fresh to add to the album.

One tends to get the feeling that The Killers may be a gimmick band; it'll be interesting to see if the band makes a third transformation for their next album. But the group stays true enough to their original sound that most fans of Hot Fuss should embrace this offering. The first two-thirds of Sam's Town are strong enough that the album is a very successful pop album. That's exactly what one has to remember when listening to this album; it's okay if most of the lyrics are gibberish. The songs are fun enough and filled with such good hooks that it should entertain for awhile.

waiting like a stalking butler

I'm announcing the official launch of The Asylum blog, where Rob, Austin, Doug, and I (and Craig if he signs up) can post whatever crap we want. I guess it really has no point and will probably flounder and die within a month. It's also such a blatant rip-off of Justin Hall and Co.'s Wack MC's that they could probably sue us if they wanted.

convinced himself right in his brain

CBS Sportsline columnist Gregg Doyle wrote an article about how the Bengals' loss to the Patriots yesterday was "karma" and "justice" for all of our offseason problems. I sent the following response to Mr. Doyle. Yes, I realize the sad little man is just trying to get attention, probably because Mommy and Daddy didn't hug little Greggy enough as a child. But I just had to respond back:

Wow, your article about the Bengals "deserving" to lose to the Patriots because of their off-field problems is ridiculous. You were probably one of those moronic talking heads that said Hurricane Katrina was a punishment from God. You’re certainly following the same train of thought as those idiots.

You seem to think the Bengals aren't doing anything to punish these offenders. Well genius, that's because until the NFL punishes the players, the club can't. Otherwise they run the risk of double jeopardy - punishing the player twice for one offense. Henry was benched, what else can the Bengals do? Marvin Lewis had Odell Thurman's locker cleaned out and given to someone else. Since Thurman was suspended by the NFL, Lewis punished him the only way he could, and also sent the signal that these actions will not be tolerated.

"Bengals fans, who have largely turned the other cheek..." Have you actual been in Cincinnati or paid attention to fan reaction? Fans have constantly said they are sick and tired or these actions. People were calling for Chris Henry to be cut from the team months ago (something the club cannot do, as they would likely face and lose a grievance from the Players Association on Henry's behalf). People are glad to hear that Thurman is suspended for the year, and likely done as a Bengal. We don't want him here. A lot of fans did not think Nicholson or Rucker should make the team. So before you start making up your own conclusions on how the fans have reacted, maybe you should actually pay attention to how the fans have reacted.

You act as if Henry and Thurman are the only player makers the Bengals are missing. David Pollack is out for the year, starters Dexter Jackson and Rich Braham are out with injuries, special teams star Tab Perry is out again, and Chris Perry is out for the first six weeks. T.J Houshmanzadeh missed the first two games. Wide receiver Antonio Chatman missed three. All of these losses hurt the team; Henry and Thurman aren't the only factors.

As you pointed out, T.O. can act like a diva with his overdose, Ricky Manning Jr. assaults someone, but we’re the ones who deserve to lose? Or you've got teams like the Ravens with convicted cocaine dealers on their roster (did they ever so much as bench Jamal Lewis, or Ray Lewis when he was charged with murder?), but we're the bad guys.

Let's face it; the Bengals' loss had nothing to do with your warped sense of "justice" or "karma". It's just the way the game played out. Quit writing ignorant and offensive articles just to garner attention to yourself. I guess that makes you as good as T.O. No such thing as bad publicity, right?