I've been caught in the 70's for the past few weeks listening to a lot of David Bowie and Paul Simon.
As far as Bowie goes, it's like trying to learn a new language, deciphering all his crazy-ass androgynous behavior and whateverthefuck Ziggy Stardust is about. I mean YOU read this and tell me what the hell is going on. I can't understand anything.
But the music is awesome.
With Simon, I have always been a fan but I have not really delved deeply into his solo 70's stuff. I've really been enjoying it. He tells perfect little stories in his songs. Sometimes you forget to listen to the music because you are trying to listen to the story and sometimes forget to listen to the story because you are listening to the music. When it all blends together in your brain is when you really get transported. Good times.
Here are some random marbles rolling around my head that I need to write about before the hockey season starts.
-Baseball. I wanted to write about all the craziness that happened last Wednesday night (the last day of the regular season AKA the greatest night in the history of regular season baseball) but who am I kidding, I don't really even like baseball that much. Yes, I am technically a Cubs fan but I didn't watch one of their games this season. I am now at the point where I find fantasy baseball much more compelling that the real thing.
Bill Simmons and Scott Van Pelt were talking about this on Simmons' podcast last week and Van Pelt was talking about how he thinks that baseball will eventually sink down to the status of boxing and horse racing, both sports which were once dominant on the American sporting landscape and now exist on the periphery of our consciousness.
Raise your hand if you can sit through a four hour televised baseball game. I am not talking about going to Wrigley and ogling the eye candy (pictured left).
No, I am talking about sitting down in your living room for four hours and watching the steaming pile of armadillo feces that the Cubs call a baseball team "compete" for fours and then lose.
Oh by the way, this isn't a weekly commitment like the NFL, no we're talking about ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO games. Unreal. How? Just how?
So yeah, I don't give a shit about baseball.
-Fantasy Hockey. I guess I am going to do this thing. I started a league for the upcoming season which means that I am the commissioner in a 12-team football league and a 10-team hockey league. Did I mention my wife is playing in the hockey league? Because, um, she is. This will probably end badly.
In a heartbreaking turn of events, the only Blackhawk I was able to draft onto my team was Steve Montador. I did pick up Nick Leddy as a free agent and for old times sake I drafted Marty Havlat (although he may start the season on the IR with a shoulder injury. That's such a Marrty thing to do).
-Walter Payton. The last time I really cried hard was a couple years ago when I was down in Florida visiting my grandparents. They are both in their 80's and not in the greatest of health so saying goodbye is always awful. Thankfully, they are both still alive and I will be seeing them again this upcoming Christmas.
Prior to that, the last time I cried really hard was when Walter Payton died in 1999. I had graduated from college that summer and then he died in November. I was living at my mom's house and I just remember bawling that whole day. I had no idea I would be so affected by his death but the emotions just overwhelmed me.
That's the pain of losing a childhood hero, someone I had placed on a pedestal above all others in a way that only a kid who loves sports can.
Today, it is odd to think about that player/fan dynamic. I am 34 years old and my favorite Blackhawks player is probably Marian Hossa. I think of him as this crusty veteran type player who has been fighting in the NHL trenches forever but Hossa is actually 32 years old. He'll be 33 in November. I am 22 months older than Hoss and I still get warm, gooey feelings thinking about how cool it would be to meet him. What the hell is wrong with me?
Anyway, back to Walter. I hope you'll excuse me using his first name there like we were buddies or something. We weren't. I never met the man. But I felt like I knew him and I think that's how most people in Chicago felt about him. You felt like you knew him, like you could just go up to him and chat with him. Because that's the way the guy was. He always made time for the fans. The combination of his play on the field and his openness with fans off it created this aura about him that was almost impossible to see beyond.
It turns out that Walter was just a mortal man after all. We should have realized that when he was claimed by cancer and a rare liver disease, but as so often happens to figures who transcend their particular arena of influence (Jimi Hendrix, Van Gogh, etc.) and then die early, their legend and stature grows exponentially after death.
Now there is a new book out that details Walter's life and the initial excerpt is of course filled with the most lurid and salacious aspects of his life (drugs, suicidal tendencies, affairs). I can understand why the author and publisher have decided to go that way as it has generated a firestorm of controversy and publicity over the last week. I don't necessarily respect that route, but I understand it, they are trying to sell a book.
The lesson is (to me at least): Walter was just a guy, just a flawed human, just like all of us are flawed. The book about Walter opens up a new way for us to look at the man and honestly, I feel an even greater affinity and connection towards him than I did before. He was on a pedestal, now he's down here next to me, dealing with the same problems that you and I have had to face.
-Moving. After moving approximately seven times in the last eleven years (including this past weekend) I can tell you this: hire movers. What a blessing those people are. All you do is stand around looking bored while three dudes move all your shit for you. Hiring movers is one of the very few things in life that you would actually pay more for than what it actually costs.
Of course after the movers leave you are left with a mountain of boxes and that is what I am dealing with now. "One box at a time" is the mantra I have been repeating in order to retain my sanity.
-PS3. I was really hoping that I would be able to get DirectTV at this new place we are living so that I would be able to order the NFL Sunday Ticket and the NHL CenterIce packages. Alas, our unit does not have a clear view of the south east which is the direction the dish needs to be pointed in order to receive the DTV signal.
We had Comcast at our last place and the CenterIce package on Comcast is garbage. They only show two games in HD each night, one early game and one late game. On DirectTV, every game is in HD. Also DirectTV is the only provider that carries the Sunday Ticket (which allows you to watch every NFL regular season game)...or so I thought! After doing some research, I found out that one can stream the Sunday Ticket package via a PS3. Who knew? I consider myself pretty sharp when it comes to this kind of stuff. I mean, as a sports fan who lives two time zones away from where my teams play you become intimately acquainted with the intricacies involved in being able to watch those games. So I was shocked to learn that I didn't need DirectTV to get the Sunday ticket. I don't know why Sony hasn't gone all-out marketing the hell out of this. There are a shit-ton of fans like me who would open a vein for the Sunday Ticket via an alternate platform from DTV. By the way, don't think that just because you are streaming through a game console that you are going to save any money. Hell to the no! They still rape charge you the same amount ($349) as DirectTV but still, no satellite dish needed! And! as a bonus, there is ann NHL GameCenter app available on the PS3 (only $10 as opposed to the $180 that Comcast charges for CenterIce) that will allow me to stream every NHL game live in HD (with maybe a minute lag from real time from what I have been reading). Eff you Comcast and your diarrhea-like CenterIce package.
Anyway, a couple of nights ago I went to the store and procured myself a PS3 as well as a copy of NHL 12. So excite! (FYI, "So excite" is what I meant to say, not "excited". I did not forget the "d". "So excite" is an insidious expression that I picked up on the Twitters from my pal Katie [@KatiePambu] and have now incorporated into my daily syntax.)
I am more than a little daunted by the prospect of the PS3 controller. I mean look at that thing! There are like eighteen buttons on it. That is a long way from the Atari 2600 I grew up playing on. Did I mention that I am not much of a gamer? I like to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero on the Wii (something Kaner and I have in common!) but I never really got into heavy gaming with these newer systems. (Full disclosure: I played the shit out of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii. Awesome, awesome game.)
-Gambling. So many hockey things to gamble on before the season starts! I think I am going to go with Kaner for over 75.5 points, the Hawks to get over 102.5 points, and that the Hawks will qualify for the playoffs (at -290 on the money line, there's not a lot of money to be made on that last one). I will update this further on Twitter after I make my wagers.
-The Beatles. I have been listening to a lot of Beatles lately, particularly the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. I'm not breaking any new ground or anything here but I just want to say how much I admire this album and their music in general. I have really become fascinated by the John/Paul relationship. I don't know a lot about it and I plan on reading up gain some insight but I am totally into this right now.
Paul seems like this lovable goofball and John seems like this melancholy loner. If The Beatles were around today you know that there would be an internet meme about whether you are on Team Paul or Team John. My personality is definitely more John but there is no doubt in my mind that I would be on Team Paul. Paul does not seem to take himself too seriously whereas John always has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The bottom line is that John comes across as a self-important twat and Paul is all like, "Hey John, have a laugh once in a while."
Confession: I really like Wings and I love to play "Band on the Run" on Guitar Hero over and over.
All of that is not to say that John wasn't capable of writing some amazing music, because obviously he was, it's just that his personality really irritates me. But I guess that's where the band's genius lies in the chemistry of John and Paul's relationship.
I watched this movie a few months ago, Nowehere Boy, about John's childhood and teenage years. I thought it was really well done and I highly recommend it if you are fan of the Beatles at all. Here's the trailer:
There is one moment on Sgt. Pepper's that really sticks with me. It's the seamless transition between Within You, Without You (a great George song about life and the Hindu perspective - it's all sitars and drugs) into When I'm Sixty-Four (a great sort of up-tempo Paul song - although the theme can be construed as a bit dark at times). The transition is so jarring and yet perfectly harmonious that it just feels right. It's like salty caramel or something, the way those two totally different songs butt up against each other yet still flow together beautifully.
I am really looking forward to reading more about this John/Paul relationship. I know I probably sound like a total novice just regurgitating themes that have been sliced and diced a million times over but it's new to me and that is exciting.
-Brandon Saad. Man, do I hope this kid sticks with team for more than his nine games (if he plays more than nine games with the Hawks, he burns a year off his entry deal so the Hawks would prefer that he only plays nine games or less this year - he'll probably be sent down after Stalberg comes off the IR).
I love his story (groin injury last season caused him to drop down draft boards from an early first round pick to the middle of the second where the Hawks scooped him up). What an unbelievable accomplishment for a second round pick to make the team out of camp and end up skating on the first line with Tazer and Sharp on opening night. I'll be rooting for the him to light up the league like a Christmas tree and and to force the Hawks front office to keep him around...as unlikely a scenario as that may be. Welcome to the show kid, and good luck.
PS: For more nonsense, follow me on Twitter @nCornick.
I haven't written anything in a while so I thought I would just take this opportunity to unload the accumulated crapola (both hockey and non-hockey) that has piled up in my brain over the last few weeks since the end of the NHL season.
First of all, congratulations to the Bruins for winning the Cup and sparing all of us from one of the more torturous summers imaginable. All the miserable, riotous, trolling toads that comprise the Canucks' fan base are once again safely ensconced in their underground holes, licking their wounds and writing 100,000 word manifestos spinning Luongo's playoff performance as something to build upon going into next season. Good luck with that, wing-nuts. He's only under contract for another solid decade.
As far as the Hawks go, it looks like Stan Bowman only has one move left to make before training camp and that is to trade Chris Campoli before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Maybe the Hawks will pick up a fourth or fifth round pick for him. I'm disappointed that the Hawks weren't able to re-sign Campoli. I thought he was a very serviceable defenseman who I didn't notice a whole lot. I guess when it comes to referees and bottom pair defenseman, the same axiom applies to both: the less you notice them, the better. Of course the last image Hawks fans will have of Campoli will be turning the puck over to end Game 7 in the quarter-finals so maybe it's better that he's gone.
StanBo has shown some pretty strong restraint in spending money this off season. No splashy signings (unless you count Carcillo) just adding depth and muscle for the most part and I am fine with that. For the most part. If you follow me on Twitter you will know that I have gone on more than rant about how Sharp should stay on the wing.
Sounds like the plan going into camp is that Sharp will continue to be treated like a penis in a gang bang and will be shoved into any open hole. I believe that is a fundamental mistake. I believe players perform better when they are able to concentrate on one thing. Sharp is a natural shooter and goal-scorer. When you ask him to play center you are asking him to take on defensive responsibilities that don't fit his natural style of play.
Not for nothing but Brandon Dubinsky is still out there, waiting for his arbitration hearing butI guess it's time for me to face facts and accept that B-Dubs isn't coming to Chicago. Sigh.
Love me some Andrew Brunette. Tough as nails. Underrated as hell. Toiling away in obscurity in Minnesota. I think he's going to be awesome on the Dubinsky-Hossa line. Wait, what? Never mind. He'll probably play with Tazer and Kaner and the second line will be Sharp, Hoss and pick a guy from amongst Stalberg, Bickell, Smith, Morin, Olesz, the list seemingly goes on forever. Speaking of Ben Smith though, I really hope he isn't relegated to the fourth line. The kid can play. It's going to be an interesting training camp seeing who sticks with the big club and how all these lines shake out.
Regarding Carcillo, I like the signing. I like his game and I like that other teams hate him. I also liked this post a lot, which demystified a lot of, the um, mysts?, mysteries? surrounding his style of play. Great value pick-up IMHO.
I want to unfollow Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiHawks) on Twitter so badly that it burns my soul. I need him for his quotes and reporting but his opinions are so dumb that when I read that he thinks it would be a good idea for the Hawks to re-acquire Adam Burish I get that same queasy, embarrassed feeling when wedding toasts go on too long. He is getting paid to opine on this team? Guh. Really, of all the Hawks beat writers the only one whose opinion I trust is Adam Jahns (Sun Times). While I am here, I just want to say how much I enjoy it when there is some bit of Hawks news that pops up on Twitter and how Sassone is invariably the last guy to tweet it out, usually a couple hours after everyone else and always like it's breaking news. Never fails to make me chuckle.
In my last post I wrote about some of the stuff that we should be doing to keep ourselves occupied during this off season. I am happy to report that I was able to drive over to central Washington a few weekends ago with my wife and buy a shit load of cherries. The wife made a kick-ass cherry pie.
The summer movies have been lacking to say the least. X-Men: First Class was a steaming pile of hot garbage. January Jones couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. Although she might be able to pout her way out. Thor was...like a cup of vanilla pudding. I got nothing from it. Not even the presence of Natalie Portman made me care. Bridesmaids had a couple funny scenes but was about 30 minutes too long, definitely didn't live up to the hype I had heard. Transformers 3. Saw that in IMAX 3D and it was...loud. The plot was terrible (as expected) and the effects were cool but I think I would have enjoyed the movie more if I hadn't seen it in 3D. I vow never to see a movie in 3D again. It's pointless and movies appears darker. And it's more expensive. So eff that.
I'll be seeing Harry Potter this weekend and it's supposed to be good although the end of the last book really pissed me off so I don't see how that is salvageable in the movie. My hopes are way too high for Captain America. I am really putting too much into the Captain America basket for it to be able to live up to my expectations. But really, the previews look so good and there are Nazis so how can it be bad?
Here's something that definitely did not suck this summer: Game of Motherfucking Thrones or as it is more commonly known, Game of Thrones. Holy shit was this good. The best new television show I have seen since Mad Men. Right in my wheelhouse of swords and medieval non-sense. The 14 year-old inside me was freaking out at every plot twist. The characters are so good. Plenty of people to love, plenty of people to hate, plenty of people in the middle who you don't know whether to love or hate.
Here's a clip of my favorite characters, Arya (the girl).
The second season isn't coming until Spring, 2012. Grr.
I gave The Walking Dead a spin over the last couple weeks and I bailed after two and a half episodes. Unlike Game of Motherfucking Thrones, I didn't care about these characters at all. I didn't give a shit whether they turned into zombies or not. There was no emotional connection for me, nothing for me to grab onto and care about. I'm not a horror guy to begin with so the gross-factor was not enough to keep me interested. Also, there was little to no humor. Zombieland > The Walking Dead.
What else? Still have not made it to Mt. Rainier but I will do so before Labor Day.
Weezer is coming to Seattle in August and they are playing a special concert in which they are performing their first two albums (The Blue Album and Pinkerton) straight through in track order. I will be attending said concert andthinking about it gives me a musical boner. I am not much of a fan of Weezer's music after Pinkteron but these first two albums are in my top ten list all-time, for sure. I have been listening to both albums almost non-stop in preparation for the concert. There is not one song on either album that I would skip past. It is a pleasure to listen to each album from beginning to end and I can't say that for more than a handful of discs that I have come across in my life. Here are two of my favorite songs, one from each album.
Only in Dreams is the last track off The Blue Album. You have to listen to the whole thing to appreciate the slow build and rock-out at the end.
And from Pinkerton I am going to go with The Good Life. You. Must. Dance.
My final bit of news is kind of ridiculous. The Museum of Science and Industry is accepting applications to live at the museum for a month this fall (Mid October-Mid November). It's called Month at the Museum 2 (they did it for the first time last year) and you can check out all the details here. I have submitted my application and as part of it they want you to create a one minute video. The application process is pretty freaking demanding. I think applying for a mortgage is easier. I'm half-hoping I win because there's $10,000 in it if you make it through the 30 days plus it sounds like an absolutely amazing experience. I'm half hoping I don't win because I would miss a month of both the Bears and Blackhawks seasons (there is limited contact with the outside world via internet, etc.) and I don't know how I would handle that. I guess I could make that sacrafice for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this. Here is my video, let me know what you think.
Oops. Forgot to update one other thing: books. I am reading both the ESPN book and Devil in the White City. Both enjoyable so far. I will report back in greater detail when I am done.
If you aren't already doing so, follow me on Twitter @nCornick !
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:06AM 
