Tiger For Real???

This past Friday pro-golfer Tiger Woods decided to finally hold a press conference in which he would make his first public statement, months after an incident in which it was revealed that Woods had been involved in multiple extra-marital affairs and tarnished his reputation with everybody except Nike. In this conference Tiger admitted wrong-doing and apologized to his fans. He also stated that his apology to his wife would come through his actions and it would be something that's between him and her. While he made this announcement in front of cameras and reporters, they were not allowed to ask him any questions, which begs the question of what the point is in having a full press conference for just that apology? As former ESPN sportscaster Pat O'Brien said, it could have been done on YouTube. O'Brien as well as many others in the media criticized him for not having a Q&A format of press conference. Even more, many in the media do not take his apology to be sincere. I also wonder, why did it take him nearly 3 months to apologize? To say anything to the public? This long delay is not going to help him. In fact it makes this apology seem like something he had to do out of necessity than something heart-felt. In the end only time can heal these wounds and in my opinion nothing that Tiger does will persuade the public. It will be their own choice as to whether they will ever forgive him. But ask yourself this. How many other public figures have cheated on their wives? Was Clinton ever forgiven for his behavior? How many average family men have also cheated on their wives? Is it human to make a mistake like cheating? Is cheating on somebody a mistake? Only time may be able to answer these questions, and that is something that the PGA might not have.

Palin vs Family Guy

Former "half-assed" governor of Alaska Sarah Pailin is at it again, fighting what she perceives to be an attack at her family. This time her fight is with popular TV show Family Guy after an episode in which a character with down syndrome claims to be the daughter of the former governor of Alaska. Palin was offended as was her daughter Bristol who called the writer's "heartless jerks." Now everybody might remember her fight with David Letterman after he made a joke about Bristol during his episode a few months ago. Something completely blown out of proportion and made to look like it was an attack on America's freedom. I would not be surprised if next we get a bunch of brain-dead Tea Party members protesting Fox to pull the show. If you are a celebrity like Palin, you have to be able to handle what the media throws at you. Clearly the show took a quick swipe at Palin, but its not worse than many of the things that show has done with other celebrities. Being a former governor who couldn't even finish her job does not automatically shield you from that. I wonder what would have happened if they would have made fun of a Democrat?? Or a homosexual?? Would that have been "crossing the line?" Clearly Palin has double standards as do ALL politicians. Take Rhom Emmanue's use of the term 'retard' which enraged Palin, yet when that blob, waste-of-space Rush Limbaugh used the term, Palin's camp was relatively quiet about the incident. How about Ann Coulter's derogatory vocabulary? Obviously nothing is said because of a little thing called "freedom of speech" which everybody enjoys including Palin. Palin has the right to show anger about the show, yet somehow I feel like like she uses these little moments to make herself seem more like the 'good guy' fighting all the evil liberals and communists.


On a side-note. Apparently Conservatives and Liberals can still agree on one thing and that is the fact that the US Supreme Court made the wrong ruling in allowing corporations to spend as much money as they want on political campaigns. This ruling basically gives corporations the same rights as a citizen. It's a corporation, not a person!!!! If we allow corporations to do as they please, how do we stop them from controlling our lives?? Conservatives who worry about the government interfering with their lives need a wake up call and realize that at least we have a choice as to who these people are. We put them there, we can kick them out. Who's going to control a CEO? We can at least decide what the government does, WE control the government, WE choose who is in it, WE can show our discontent. Can we do that with a corporation? How long are we going to allow corporations to decide what is best for us? How can we allow the CEO of Anthem or Blue Shield decide whether we are "profitable" enough to be covered for medical expenses?

We are letting corporations take control of our government!!! We are allowing huge companies like Exxon make decisions in our government. In our democracy. How can citizens compete with the millions and millions of dollars lobbyists bring into Washington?? Democracy is dying and its not coming from "government take-over" but from our inability to see the role cooperations are playing in our government.

Viral Video Mystery: iamamiwhoami

This is very interesting. Pitchfork recently brought to my attention a marketing campaign by a mystery band who are calling themselves, "iamamiwhoami." As stated by Pitchfork, the production quality is too good for this to be some ammature. Meanwhile speculation as to who it/they are rages. Some say it is Lady Gaga because of the "appearance" of the woman on the video; however this music style is nowhere near Lady Gagas territory unless Trent Reznor is involved in production. A more probable source could be Swedish band, The Knife who have the best aesthetic match to this video. Of course this could also be a brand new group who happen to have the capability to produce videos like these. The videos involve a lot of symbols such as animals and numbers for titles which probably mean something, but for now only speculation as to who the source is.

Follow the link to check out these really weird videos.

Viral Video Mystery: iamamiwhoami

Lollapalooza 2010 "Rumors"

It is nowhere near close to April, the month Lollapalooza releases its official line-up, but already the rumor mill is going full speed, especially within the last 24 hours when the first of the "rumored" headliners was announced by The Daily Swarm citing credible industry sources. The Swarm reported that Green Day, Lady Gaga, and Soundgarden had been confirmed to perform as headliners. The Chicago Tribune was next today in revealing that aside from those 3, New York rockers The Strokes, and Canadian super-group Arcade Fire's "negotiations were progressing" to head-line as well. The Tribune also mentioned that other smaller acts were confirmed, such as Yeasayer, The Dirty Projectors, and The XX. They will also be accompanied by other acts that have been "confirmed" such as the Flaming Lips, Phoenix, Cut Copy, and Hot Chip. Other acts being rumored today include MGMT, The Cribs, and Hockey. No official word yet but history shows that these "rumors" are mostly always true. There is still one more headliner spot up for grabs which could go to Muse, or The Gorillaz, or basically any big name act.

Bonnaroo

This Wednesday afternoon Bonnaroo released their lineup for the 2010 year. The festival will go down June 10-13 in Manchester, TN. Headlining this year will be Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Weezer, and Tenacious D. Other notables include The Flaming Lips who will be playing a cover of Pink Floyd's classic album 'Dark Side of the Moon.' The Dead Weather, Regina Spektor, Phoenix, The XX, and Norah Jones. Legends like John Fogerty, Jeff Beck, and Kris Kristofferson will also be performing. Despite a great line-up there are a few dissapointments and artists who are noticably missing. Muse, Yeasayer, Gorillaz, Pavement, Thom Yorke, Dirty Projectors, Fever Ray, and Spoon who will all be performing at Cochella this April are not in the line-up for Bonnaroo. Them Crooked Vultures are also missing from the line-up due to their European tour schedule. One top group who is missing from both Cochella and Bonnaroo is Arcade Fire who have announce a new album this year, and who were supposedly taking offers from music festivals to perform. Tickets for Bonnaroo are $234 plus fees.

Other summer festivals who have not yet released their lineups include Lollaplooza, All-Points West, and Outside Lands who are expected to release their line-ups in a couple of months.

Super Bowl XLIV

Well it seems Manning's reputation took a big hit Sunday night as he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and nailed the final nail on the coffin and killed what had been one great season for the Colts. Manning's interception came with 3 minutes left to play on the game as the Colts found themselves trailing in the 4th quarter, a place where the Colts had been in before, only this time they would not be able to comeback. After having dominated the first quarter, the Colts lost all steam going 3 and out twice in the 2nd quarter and allowing the Saints to score a late FG before the half. It got worse from there as the Saints kicked an onside kickoff to start the second half and managed to recover. The Saints drove down the field and managed to score setting the score at 13-10. Joseph Addai would be able to have a great day and managed to score in the third quarter keeping the Colts in the lead near the start of the 4th quarter. Unfortunatelly when the Colts had a chance to score once more, they were held back on a couple plays and Stover missed a 51yard FG attempt giving the ball to the Saints who quickly responded with a TD and a 2 point conversion to take the lead by 7 with about 5 minutes to play. Then it was Manning's turn. The legend who has been rock solid at winnning games on late drives. This was his moment to shine, his moment to make history. After a few plays in which he managed to reach midfield with 3 minutes left, he faced third and long in which he threw the ball at Reggie Wayne, unfortunately the ball was intercepted and returned for a TD sealing the deal for the New Orleans Saints. It was clear to see that the Indianapolis Colts were out-coached in the game with Payton of the Saints taking risks that eventually payed off whie Caldwell played as conservatevly as he could, in which screen passes were abundant but of little effect. On Saturday I said that one key to the game would be how well the Colts could get to Brees, and as can now be seen, aside from the first quarter sack, Brees had all the time in the world to pass. The short 10 yard passes killed the Colts CBs who could not cover the wide receivers and only managed to stop them after they had already caught the ball. The Saints won this game in convincing fashion showing domination on all sides of the ball. Brees had one hell of a game and out-performed Manning in the greatest stage of all. On the most important stage of all. It will be another long off-season for the Indianapolis Colts. Another season ending with a crushing loss. 6 more weeks of Winter ahead.

'The Big Game'

A winter storm has blanketed a huge part of the country with snow and rain; however this storm pales in comparison to the storm brewing in Miami this weekend between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. This week has been the longest week in a long time. Between having to wait on word about Dwight Freeney's status for Sunday, to hearing NFL analyst praise or trash the Colts, this last couple of days have really begun to feel like an eternity. Looking back at Super Bowl 41 I do not remember feeling the level of anxiety that I feel over this one. The Bears were the easiest matchup we could have hoped for, a defensive team with a weak offense. This year will be the complete opposite as the New Orleans Saints have the best offense and a mediocre defense. However, we will still have to be careful about the Saints defense especially Darren Sharper. Other than that however, the Colts will have to get at Drew Brees and force him to make mistakes. After watching the Saints play a couple of times, it became obvious that once the pressure gets to Brees he is very likely to fumble the ball. That was the one huge flaw I noticed about Brees. If Freeney is able to play, it will make it a lot more difficult for Brees to work. As for the Colt's CBs they will need to be on top of it and not allow those huge 20-30 yard passes that Brees is a master at throwing. For the Colts offense, I do not believe that it will be a huge problem for the Colts to move the ball. Payton will need to score TDs and lots of them. We cannot afford to fall behind like we did against the Patriots or the Jets, because once we fall behind by 17 against the Saints, it will be next to impossible to make a comeback. We need to get on the board and continue scoring. I hope that this matchup lives up to expectation as one of the greatest QB matchups in Super Bowl history and I hope that the Colts win this one in a shootout.

Key things to look for will be how Wayne does in this game. He's been getting covered very well in the last few games, it will be interesting if he is able to break out this game and get the yardage he had been getting in the first half of the season. Also how well will Garcon and Collie play in this stage? I do believe that the AFC championship game demonstrated both of their talents very well and playing against the top defenses in the game. I do not see the Saints being able to cover all the WRs and Clark and Addai. Finally the Freeney question and whether he plays, and if he does, how well will he play.

My prediction Colts 37 Saints 21
Super Bowl MVP- Payton Manning

'This Is It'

Well I finally watched the Michael Jackson movie/documentary "This Is It" and I was so blown away I went and bought it on Blu-Ray the next day. This movie demonstrates the preparations and rehearsals for Jackson's monumental 50 shows at the O2 in London. Throughout the movie there is a sense of sadness as you know how everything will eventually turn out. This movie gives good picture of the genius that Jackson possessed. It is incredible to see Jackson at work and so aware of the music. The movie includes a new Jackson song named "This is It." Though it is not a "classic" Jackson song, it is hard to imagine Lady Gaga, or Ke$ha put out anything close to that good. I recommend watching this movie if you get a chance. It is a window to what could have been.

Top 10 Albums, Songs of 2009

I know it's February and 2009 is a long distant memory for most, but with the recent Grammy Awards which reward record sales rather than talent, I decided to do my list of the top 10 Albums and songs in 2009. Coming soon, top 10 of the decade. But for now here's the best 2009 had to offer:

Albums:

1. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion


2.Fever Ray - Fever Ray


3. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca


4. The XX - XX
5. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
7. Various Artists - Dark Was the Night
8. Passion Pit - Manners
9. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
10.St. Vincent - Actor

Songs:

1. Animal Collective - My Girls
2. Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move
3. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
4. The XX - Crystalised
5. Bat For Lashes - Daniel
6. Fever Ray - When I Grow Up
7. Portishead - Chase the Tear
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
9. Silversun Pickups- Panic Switch
10.Röyksopp - Happy Up Here