Song of the Week

"Don't Mind" - Kent Jones
I'm not saying it's not stupid. I am saying it's catchy.
Konichiwa!

What Do You Give Me For? Heidi Cruz and Anna Gasteyer

What do you give me for Heidi Cruz and Anna Gasteyer?

The Beginning of the End

"Chalk it up to Swiss affluence. Voters here will decide next month whether all 8 million citizens and legal residents should be guaranteed a generous monthly income, something no country in the world has ever done.
On June 5, Swiss voters will weigh in on a radical proposal that would mandate the government to guarantee $2,600 a month tax-free to every adult citizen and legal resident, and $650 to each child.
The payment would be provided to everyone, regardless of work status, income level, or wealth. It is a benefit few countries can afford. But then, Switzerland is among the world's richest nations, with a per capita income of about $85,000, 40% higher than that in the USA."

This is going to happen. It is going to start in places like Switzerland, then move to places like Finland and Norway, then the UK and Canada and eventually to the U.S.
And when that happens we're done. Why would anyone ever work when a comfortable living wage is provided with no effort required.
Hopefully, I'll be long dead before they start paying everyone just to be alive.

Song of the Week

"7 Years" - Lukas Graham
I hate growing up, and songs about growing up make me sad. But this one stays with you.
But his father may have been a little demanding, telling him to find a wife at 11.

What Do You Give Me For? David Letterman And Sweaty Department Store Santa in the Offseason

What Do You Give Me For David Letterman And Sweaty Department Store Santa in the Offseason?

It's a trick. This is David Letterman. This is what he looks like now.

Song of the Week

"Am I Black Enough For You?" - Billy Paul
I only went with this one because his classic "Me and Mrs. Jones" (SOTW, 1/26/11) already earned this honor. This song was actually the next single released after his first smash hit and, its departure in sound and significance may have prevent Paul's career from really taking off.
Either way, Billy and Paul mourn the loss of Billy Paul, even though his real name was Paul Williams.

What Do You Give Me For? Ted Cruz and The Lady from Maury

What do you give me for Ted Cruz and Searcy Hayes, a guest on the Maury Povich Show?

The internet went nuts after an episode featuring Hayes aired, questioning which of man was the father of her baby, because some think she bears a striking resemblance to Presidential candidate, Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

And if you need to see more of Hayes before making your decision, good news, she's apparently going to make a sex tape.

Nazi vs. Jew Beer Pong

The town of Princeton, NJ is an uproar after a it was revealed that students at the local high school have a long standing tradition of playing a beer pong variant called Jews vs. Nazis.

The cups are set up on one side in a swastika shape, and a Jewish star on the other.
The Jew team can "Anne Frank" a cup, to hide it or take it away.
The Nazis can "Auschwitz" their opponents and force them to skip a round.

It's not clear if there is any true anti-Semitism here, Jewish students may even have been part of it.

But they are certainly guilty of not understanding the seriousness of World War II and the Holocaust.
Though they should be commended for their creativity, and at least a cursory understanding of history.

Doves Are Crying

Prince died Wednesday at the age of 57 under circumstances that are still unclear. We knew he was on a flight that had to be diverted because of a medical emergency. And we knew he spent a time in the hospital, reportedly for the flu, but we still don't know exactly what killed him.

Prince was an enigmatic figure, whether gender-bending or turning himself into a symbol, or litigiously enforcing his copyrights (which is why no youtube clips will accompany this post).

But there's little debate that he was a musical genius who could not only sing, but play several instruments as well, demonstrated here (in a youtube video I can show you) as he plays along with legendary guitarists for a version of "My Guitar Gently Weeps."

He was a big sports fan and always stayed true to his hometown teams, unlike other front-celebs, and he was often seen on TV and Vikings games.

He also always stayed true to his music, a true artist, always adapting to the times, going from 70s funk to 80s pop to 90s R&B and soul.

My favorite Prince songs are "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (SOTW, 3/28/12), "Call My Name", "Adore" & "7."

Prayers For Pearl

Syracuse legend Dwayne "Pearl" Washington died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. Pearl was 52.

You saw this year's team wearing shirts bearing his name during their surprising run to the Final Four, as part of the fundraising effort to pay for his medical care.

He played for Syracuse from 1983-1986 and was the first real star the school had. His battles with Patrick Ewing and Georgetown were part of what helped build the Big East into the best conference in the country.

It was Pearl who helped blaze the trail of top recruits like Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens to make their way to cold, snowy Syracuse to play for a curmudgeonly coach.

He never reached his potential in the NBA, playing only three years of the Nets and Heat.

It was with the Nets that Pearl played alongside Duane Washington and due to their similar names, they were often confused.
People thought Pearl had a drug problem, but that was Duane.
In fact, ESPN.com ran a picture of Duane with the article announcing Pearl's death.

Even though he never had the pro career he wanted he was always remembered fondly at Syracuse, and became a fixture around the program.

I saw him once at the bookstore, Dick Vitale was doing a book-signing there ahead of broadcasting a Big Monday game, and Pearl walked in. Vitale stopped his canned speech about young people and began to talk about Pearl as a player and as a person. I skipped class that day.

Song of the Week

"Trumpets" - Jason Derulo

"Is it weird that your ass remind me of a Kanye West song?"
Kind of a silly song, but I like the sentiment expressed here.
I also like the music, the melody, a good one to listen to as an instrumental.

Song of the Week

"Written All Over Your Face" - Rude Boys
This songs features vocals from the late, late great Gerald Levert who was something of a musical mentor to the members of the group.

Get Out of My Dreams

Last night I got home late and didn't eat a proper dinner. I had Fritos and some spicy dip.
That night I dreamed I was at an amusement park and I got separated from my family so I walked around with TON and Lowercase E. And Lowercase E was complaining about the humidity.

The Wall Street Journal explains why this happens:

Everybody dreams, though many recall their dormant fantasies better than others. Some report that their subconscious stirrings appear to be more vivid after a spicy meal. Science is a long way from understanding all the nuances of the resting brain, but one expert, Emmanuel Mignot, director of the Stanford University Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, explains how a pad thai dinner might seem to bring on nightmares.

Dreams have two functions, Dr. Mignot says. One is to relax the most primitive part of the brain. “When you are in REM sleep,” he says, “you cool down and are essentially paralyzed, and the lower part of your brain is almost switched off.” While that’s happening, the second purpose of dreaming kicks in: the cortex, which controls higher-order executive function, switches into overdrive. “Dreaming fires your brain in random ways, forcing it to create unexpected connections that you wouldn’t logically make while you are awake,” he says. This is part of what makes humans smarter and more creative than other species.

If you’re a sound sleeper, you likely won’t recall your dreams, anyway. “Most people who remember their dreams have relatively poor sleep,” says Dr. Mignot. “They wake up frequently, so they have fragmented dream states, which allows them to remember more about the dream.”

No food has been shown to increase the vividness of dreams, the psychiatrist and behavioral scientist explains. During the night, people go in and out of the dream state numerous times. Various studies have shown that by eating certain proteins, like turkey, you will have more dreams. And some amino acids can increase the amount of REM sleep, when intense dreaming typically takes place.

While there is a lot of literature showing that eating big meals makes people sleepy, there are no studies that Dr. Mignot knows of that prove that spicy foods in particular induce nightmares or outlandish dreams. However, he notes, chicken tikka or too much sriracha could possibly be a culprit for some people. “Spicy foods increase your body temperature, so they may make you sleep less well—and as a consequence, your dreams may be more conscious,” he says. That doesn’t mean that you’ll dream more vividly or have more nightmares, he adds, but remembering them clearly may feel like the same experience.

Many types of foods—not just spicy ones—might have an impact on dreams because the gut and the digestive process are so complex, the sleep expert says. “Amino acids in food, for example, can be metabolized in the body into active brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine,” the professor of sleep medicine says. “They can enhance anxiety or pleasure, and that might affect your dreams.” But your grandma’s piquant meatballs have never actually been proven to give anyone nightmares (indigestion notwithstanding).

For people who often jolt awake from disturbing dreams, Dr. Mignot recommends keeping a food journal to see if there are any particular foods that might be triggering nightmares or shorter sleep cycles. He has his narcoleptic patients sometimes keep diaries to try and determine if specific foods make their dreams more ghoulish. “But I’ve found that the size of the meal is more important,” he says. And can any food create happy dreams? The doctor has doubts: “Unfortunately there is no food that I know of that can make you have funnier, more vivid dreams.”

This definitely makes sense because I am a very deep sleeper and I very seldom remember my dreams at all. Maybe the spicy food and heartburn wake me up, or keep me from getting into a deep sleep, and therefore I'm just more like to remember a weird dream after eating spicy food.

What a Difference Six Homers Makes

One of my favorite parts of the start of baseball season is when some young rookie comes up and gets off to a hot start and I get to go into the basement to see if I have any of his rookie cards to sell.

When Rockies shortstop Trevor Story came up and hit home runs in each of his first two at bats, his name immediately sounded familiar.
I remembered I had his 2013 Bowman Chrome Farm's Finest Mini Blue Wave refractor. Which is limited to only 250.

The card is currently listed on eBay, and whereas before the season it was going for less than $5, I am hoping it will bring in at least $15 now.

Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to have his 2011 Bowman Chrome autograph rookie.
That card could have been had for $25-$35 on Opening Day.

Six home runs later, more than 100 of them have been sold this week, and they are now going for nearly $150.

Often times these cards come plummeting right back down to earth, but one of those other times, I regret every day.

It was mid-November, basketball season had just started and the Warriors were hot. I decided I wanted to get Chase a Steph Curry rookie for Hanukkah.

I checked eBay and noticed cards were going for $60-$75 when only a couple weeks earlier they were $40, and in the offseason going for $20-$30. Then Curry reached even greater heights, his popularity soared as the Warriors almost never lost and the cards shot up to $300.
Since then they have pulled back under $200, but I still haven't bought one, and I fear I may never get the chance.

Mrs. Poop's Favorite Hockey Player

Mrs. Poop's favorite hockey player used to be Hartford Whalers great Ron Francis, for whom she rooted (along with her French-Canadian grandmother), while wearing this jersey:

But now Mrs. Poop has a new favorite player:

Washington Capitals center, Jay Beagle.
She has ordered this jersey in 3 different child sizes.

Mrs. Poop once described herself as having been raised by beagles.

All Work No Play Makes Master Bates a Winner

For years Master Bates has been sending me his bracket just under (and sometimes just after) the deadline for our 3-man family battle royale bracket challenge. Unbeknownst to him, I have been entering him into ESPN every year. And while everyone else picks a different name depending on what's happening that season, he remains, for once and for always, the Overworked Accountants.
In this topsy-turvy year Master Bates prevailed, defeating his nephew Juju who picked the lower number seed in virtually every game.
The biggest story however was yours truly who was the only person to pick North Carolina to win it all. I would have been the easy winner had that miracle shot not gone in and UNC had prevailed in OT.
But it would have been a hollow victory, because that was not my real bracket. It was the bracket I filled out right after the brackets were revealed, with little or not thought at all. My real bracket is way down at the bottom, 14th of 16. I would have been the first to admit it wasn't my real picks, but we have always treated this tournament challenge, the way Chicagoans treat their elections: "Vote early and often."
But it was not to be, so Master Bates is the winner, once again proving that you need to watch college basketball, or to even knowingly enter, to win.

2015: Nat
2014: Billy
2013: TON
2012: Reissberg
2011: Mrs. Poop
2010: Vacated (I forgot to keep accurate records)
2009: Mrs. Poop
2008: Pa Beers
2007: Michael

Song of the Week

"Kids" - MGMT

I Can't Make It Song of the Week Again

I already made "Danger" by Blahzay Blahzay the Song of the Week back in March of 2009.
Being a Syracuse alum of a certain age, a great run by the basketball team always reminds me of this song which became the anthem for the team's run to the 1996 Championship game, with one minor lyrical adjustment.
"When the Cuse is in the house..."

It Was An Honor Just to Compete

So the dream scenario did not play out the Syracuse women's basketball team got decimated by UConn, just like everyone else.
It doesn't even make sense to analyze the game, because in a 31-point loss, 1 or 2 or 10 different plays wouldn't change the outcome.
But I do wish they had gotten off to a better start and kept it competitive for a while.
I also wish Syracuse's best two players, Alexis Peterson and Brianna Butler, hadn't played their worst games and the worst time, though surely UConn deserves a lot of credit for forcing them into it.
Peterson averaged 24 points per game in the tournament, but had only 11 in this game, on 0-6 from 3-point land. She also had only 1 assist and 4 turnovers.
Butler, who set the national record for most 3-pointers made in a season in the Washington game, added only 1 to her total, shooting 1 of 8 from the field.
But these ladies should be very proud of what the accomplished. They have set all kinds of high-water marks for the program, brought a lot of joy to the Syracuse community and put the program on the map.
Butler, Maggie Morrison and Cornelia aka Corn Fondren are moving on, but Peterson will be joined on next year's team by Isabella Slim, the Day sisters, and possibly Brittney Sykes, who could come back for a 5th season because she played in only 3 games last year after suffering a knee injury.

Hopefully the program will continue to build on the success of this year's team, bringing in more and better recruits and building a national power that can one day compete with UConn.

So You're Saying There's a Chance

Oddsmakers have Syracuse at +4000 in tonight's National Championship game against UConn. That means a $100 bet returns $4000. Also known as 40-1.
So essentially, if the two teams played each other 41 nights in a row, UConn would win 40 times, Syracuse once.
And that seems about right to me. This UConn team is great. They have great players, and they play great together. They have won 3 straight titles and 74 games in a row. Their average margin of victory is 40 points. They've played all the toughest teams and beat them, no, slaughtered, them all.
So that's the case for the 40 games, what about that other one time?
If tonight is to be that 2.5% chance come true, here's how it could happen.
UConn is thin, they really only play 7 players, and one of them, Katie Lou Samuelson broke her foot in the National Semifinal and will not play.
Syracuse is a great pressure team that routinely plays 9 players. It will be hard to press successfully with Moriah Jefferson running the point, but they need to force some turnovers and wear out UConn.
On offense Syracuse needs to attack the basket to draw fouls, and also to kick out for open 3s. Syracuse made 12 out of 33 3-pointers against Washington (36%) and 14-30 (47%) against Tennessee. They will need to shoot at least 40% to have a chance.
So if they can do that, press effectively, wear out UConn and get them in foul trouble, while shooting the lights out from distance, they may have a chance.