Hobo-spotting…

…through the university’s webcams are sweet. And this is the activity what three people (Me, Mike Travis, and Scott) who have been trapped in May Level since last night are resorting to. Yes, we just saw a hobo walk by and collect some trash from the trash can in front of Bartlett. It was awesome. More on May Level later.

-Jack

Flash Mobs

These events, demonstrations, or whatever you want to call them…are pretty interesting. A flash mob is basically a group of people who assemble in a public place (usually after meeting and discussing about it on the internet) and do something unusual for a brief period of time, then scatter. Wikipedia has a pretty description as well as a history of the flash mob. I had to look up what this phenomenon was after reading a post on the Shanghaiist detailing the gathering of a flash mob outside Sofitel in a busy district (Nanjing Dong Lu) of Shanghai - click through for video evidence. Standing still for 5 minutes? Pretty damn impressive. And yes, the shoppers were very confused by that unusual sight.

Anybody know of a flash mob happening in Chicago?

-Jack

MJ or KB? No contest!

Not that there was any substance to the debate that Kobe could ever be greater than MJ, but just in case people are still pondering that argument, here’s proof that MJ was (and always will be, in my heart) the best ever. A panel of 20 ESPN experts voted on the 10 best shooting guards, with all 20 naming Air Jordan as the best that ever played.

Here’s an excerpt: “Jordan had no real weaknesses; he mastered every facet of the game. He dominated a big man’s game and was the leader of the only dynasty in NBA history that did not feature a dominant center…The greatest player of all time.”

Game, set, match. Point…Jordan. Game over. End of game.

-Jack

A Few Thoughts…

1. Brawl is just about everything I would’ve hoped for. And more. Characters? Sick. Maps? Filthy. Skill level? Basically reset. No more gettin’ owned by Marth or Fox!

2. There’s a Max Payne movie? That I didn’t know about? Starring…Marky Mark? Let’s hope it doesn’t suck…at least Uwe Boll isn’t directing.

3. Dear Tennessee: You some snitches. Not my opinion, just the opinion of this guy below, who gives many reasons as to why his hatred for the Vols runs so deep:

Like the Deadspin post says, there are so many great lines, it’s hard to pick out a favorite.

-Jack

Jim Boylan is an idiot.

I know it’s been beaten to death already, but I just have to say it, after my anger in not winning a game today which would’ve given us a sweep over Detroit this season (not to mention we’re still in the East’s playoff “race”).

The following numbers are from today’s game:

Kirk : 18 minutes played (sure, some of that was foul trouble) and taken out of the game with 7:28 left to play…in the 3rd quarter. I guess when Boylan acknowledges that our defense “had so many breakdowns that they were just able to drive by us”, he means to say that putting Gordon in for Hinrich is a defensive move? Sure, BG was hot today, but why go with a combination of only Gordon/Hughes down the stretch in a close game? I thought Boylan said defense was the problem…

BG / Hughes : 3 pts, 1 ast, 1 TO, 1-4 FG, 1-2 FT in the last 5 minutes of the game. Not exactly clutch.

Gooden : 2-10 FG, 33 minutes played. If it weren’t for a lack of other options to play at power forward, I might be mad. Oh wait…

Tyrus : 4 minutes played. 4 minutes for a guy who should be starting right now. We got outrebounded 42-28, Gooden’s shots weren’t falling, and Boylan probably never had a single thought of putting Tyrus in. That’s our coach, everybody.

And now, Blog a Bull would like your attention. I believe they’re not big fans of Boylan either.

-Jack

The Hush Sound…

…is one of the best bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Their first two albums, Like Vines and So Sudden, are packed with some of the most beautifully uplifting, yet sorrow-filled, songs I’ve heard. Their new album Goodbye Blues drops on March 18th. I’ve already listened to a couple of the songs on Youtube and I’m very excited about it. The new songs that I’ve heard still have that good ol’ Hush Sound touch, but they have definitely undergone an evolution. If any of you guys out there are fans, you’ll know what I’m talking about (it’s not just in Greta’s voice, either). Either way, enjoy “Honey”, their newest single:

-Jack

HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray

The end of this format war does not necessarily mean that there are clear winners and losers in this case. Stephen Dubner over at the Freakonomics blog has a great post with expert opinions on what this means for Toshiba, Sony, and the consumers of next-gen disc players.

I would say that, knowing some of the differences between the two formats, Blu-Ray was not the one I wanted to see win. For one, HD-DVD was region-free, meaning that if I bought a player in Chicago, I would be able to watch any HD-DVDs from around the world (whereas this is not the case with Blu-Ray). Sony’s copy protection is also notoriously invasive (remember this?), although there was a much-publicized cracking of the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD encryption code. Nonetheless, I guess there is was just not meant to be a choice in media formats (DVD, VHS, CD, etc etc…), so I just hope that the BDA irons out their specifications for Blu-Ray soon, so that everybody can eventually start to benefit from the end of this long and costly format war.

Life in six words

I was just browsing through Amazon yesterday and stumbled upon this book. Not Quite What I Was Planning is a compilation of six-word memoirs from people in all walks of life (both famous and obscure). From some of the excerpts I’ve read, this book is already shaping up to be a unique and compelling read. It is amazing to find out what people can convey about their lives using just six words.

What would be my six word memoir? Not yet certain, future looks bleak.

-Jack

Not that anybody cares, but…

There’s been a lot of confusion about my nick, “XsteR” (which I use for everything…including the address of this blog). Such as what the hell it really means. So I’m here to give it to you straight.

Waaaaay back in the day, my AIM sn used to be “jackster” or something like that. But I thought that was lame (and it is). So, seeing as how my Chinese name starts with an X, I decided to combine the X (which sounds way cooler, by the way) and “ster”. And to top it off, sometimes when I write it I capitalize the first AND last letters. So it is written on the back of my May House IM Basketball shirt.

Boring, right?

-Jack

Stress Relief

Some people meditate. Some people read a book, squeeze a stress ball, or engage in a hobby. Some even rub one out. Nobody, however, does it like Stephen A. Smith. What’s his stress-relief method? Cheez (sp?) doodles. That’s right, Stephen A. Smith eats Cheez doodles when he’s stressed. And here’s the youtube video to prove it:

He really likes them cheese doodles.  Also, he uses the word “temerity” (correctly too)!

-Jack
p.s. I really don’t have a set thing to do when I get stressed. But cheez doodles sounds good.