Crazy

Whoa! Are other people out there liking the Gnarls Barkley song Crazy as much as I am? Best new song I've heard in a long long time. The album itself I'm not as sold on, especially the first song which is kind of startling. They seem like they might be the poor man's Outkast. But there are worse things you could be and that one song...

But it got me thinking. Is it the best song ever with Crazy in the title? Here's my ranking of the first Crazy songs that came to my mind.

1. Crazy (Patsy Cline): Simple, beautiful, great lyrics, great voice. Sorry Gnarly.
2. Crazy (Gnarles Barkley): But you guys do come in (a distant) second.
3. Crazy (Seal): I've always really liked this song. When it came out and now.
4. She Drives Me Crazy (Fine Young Cannibals): Does anyone else find the Fine Young Cannibals as strange of an occurrence as I so? They remind me of retro 50's music. And why would that be popular in the late 80's? To me they are a strange blip in the music universe that never should have made it.
5. Crazy Train (Ozzy): Sorry for putting this so low, but I have never been a metal fan
6. Crazy on You (Heart): Really a horrible horrible song that sticks in your head and tortures you for whole weekends after hearing it.

Iron Cage Match #13

Hammocks versus
The Chase Lounge

Now, I know everyone loves a hammock. But I think you need to ask yourself, do you actually love lying in hammocks? Or is that you love the idea of a hammock, what a hammock represents?

I too, before owning one, could have waxed poetically about reading in a hammock on a sunny day as being the pinnacle of relaxation. But, you know, maybe I'm just balancedly-challenged, but I found my hammock a little stressful. First, you have to get on by landing somehow in the middle, and then while lying, you are constantly in danger of having the entire thing flipping around and dropping you on your face. Now, that never happened to me, but it could have.

On the other hand, The Chase Lounge has all the relaxing aspects of a hammock (one can read on it, it's outside, you're lying down), but with a much more sound structural base. Additionally, you can move it around easier, you are lower to the ground + thus closer to your drink, and it won't rot + fall apart if you leave it out in the rain (oops). All in all, I think The Chase Lounge kicks the much overhyped hammock's ass.

NBA Draft: How Portland Did

Wow, 6 trades later, what do you say? The ESPN guys ripped on PDX, fans were upset, but did they do so badly?

In the end I think they did well. I think the ESPN guys were focused on the seemingly needless trade up to #2, and then couldn't really see where Portland was going. But if you look at the moves as a whole, they came out with Roy, Aldridge, Raef, and a British Grocery Bagger and lost Telfair, Ratliff, and Krhyapa (no clue how to spell it). I was worried about losing Telfair, but the move for Roy was great (sidenote: I heard that Minnesota planned to trade the pick to Houston for Foye, Portland heard this, and drafted Foye themselves. Makes up for the #2 trade). And, as much as I wanted the mustachioed diabetic, Roy looks like a better NBA player and they got more size with Aldridge. I'm also psyched to see them willing to pull the trigger so much. In the end next year's current line-up

PG: Jack and Blake
SG + SF: Webster, Roy, Outlaw, and hopefully not Miles
PF + C: Randolph, Raef, LaMarcus, and unfortunately probably not Pryzbilla.

If I was the general manager...

The NBA draft is here! And here is a quick (yet overly long!) overview if what IMO teams should do today and this summer.

Denver: Trade Kenyon (for AI or Steve Francis?) if you can. Resign Nene. Be prepared for the team to implode under Karl next year.
Utah: Don't trade Boozer. His value is at a low point and if (big if) he and AK47 are healthy next year this looks like a young playoff team.
Minnesota: Trade KG. Very risky, and trading a star has historically been a disastrous idea, but the NBA has changed. Teams need more players that are good and fast guards are ruling.
Seattle: Kind of stuck in the 8th - 10th playoff seed spot. Don't blow things up yet. Resign Lewis and don't overpay for Wilcox.
Portland: So much. Trade Miles. Don't trade up in the draft, but draft the stache if he's available. Keep the 3 point guards and see who wins out over the season. Get rid of Randolph and Ratliff if possible, but don't count on it.

Phoenix: Cross your fingers about Amare's knee. Don't pay Diaw a ton of money.
LAC: Resign Cassell and Kaman. Also, Radmonovich if his cost isn't too high. Trade Maggette for cap space. They can do fine without him and they can use his money on other guys.
LAK: Trade Odom, if there's a good offer- value is high after playoffs and he's not a good fit with Kobe.
SAC: Don't spend much money on Bonzi. Please. Think about this guy's history.
GS: Try to compile their multiple players into a star (although they missed their shot with Artest).

SA: Still a top contender. Maybe try to get some youth. Try to trade for JR Smith again?
Dallas: Terry's a tough decision. They will miss him and he's been so good in the playoffs. But he's going to be overvalued after these playoffs and they have so much depth... Don't know what I'd do.
Memphis: Don't overeact. They had a solid season, they're just cursed in the playoffs. Need to get a big guy. Magloire?
Ok City: Give JR Smith a second chance, what is he, 20? Use both picks to trade into top 7 (Boston? Minnesota?).
Hou: Not draft JJ. Just get more depth, from draft and some veteran free agents. Get Roy if possible.

Miami: Sit back and enjoy their improbable run to the championship
Washington: Resign Eddie Jordan and Jeffries. Keep adding small parts
Orlando: Trade for Roy if possible. Wait, next year after Hill leaves they can make a big signing (like they did with him before - oops).
Atlanta: Don't draft Williams. Please. Draft the best payer available, or get Roy and trade him to the many teams who want him. Also, trade for AI. It would be the perfect fit. He'd create excitement, be gone in three years, and he might even get these young guys some playoff experience.
Charlotte: Pick between Gay, Roy, and Morrison. All good for different reasons. Make a decent signing over the summer, but still leave flexibility for the future.

Detroit: Pick up veterans who just want a chance to win a title. Sign Ben Wallace. They have to.
Cleveland: Jordan Famar seems to make a lot of sense, not sure why. I guess stay with Gooden, who else could they get that's better?
Chicago: Have positioned themselves pretty incredibly. If they can, trade some of these picks and a young guy or 2 for a proven player. Garnett please? Lot's of room for different moves. I trust in Paxson.
Indiana: What happened to this team? I've always hated Jermaine O'Neal, so I'd be happy to see him traded, but please not to the Bulls. Resign Peja.
MIL: Be patient. I'm not sure the rush in trading Magloire, it seems like Bogut could use another year figuring it out nest to him. Maybe trade Mo Williams because he could start for a lot of teams (Atlanta? Make an offer)

NJ: I don't know who they would give up or how they could afford it. But if they could bring back Kenyon that would be nice.
PHIL: Trade AI I guess. I mean they aren't winning a championship with the Iverson/Webber combo and he still has value. But don't trade him just get rid of him.
Boston: Lots of rumors. For the draft they should stay pat and take whichever good player drops to them. Trade for AI? Interesting. I guess why not, but it seems like an odd fit.
Toronto: Draft Morrison. Only resign James if his value doesn't get crazy. If so, trade for Mo Williams or Brevin Knight. Trade Villanueva, I think his value is at a high.
NY: Wow. I guess they should give the Francis/Marbury duo a chance, maybe they could do something with the no hand-checking rules. How about they just sit tight for once?

Afghanistan and Albania

Neither country is very well-known for their cuisine, but they do have one thing going for them - they are #1 and #2 at the beginning of the alphabet! For Afghanistan (capital Kabul) I made Afghan Chicken (login: IWMS password: wolverines). The most striking think about this dish, was that you made a lemony yogurt sauce and then marinated the dish for 1 1/2 days. That's a long time. And although the finale wasn't very exotic, it was well-flavored and very tender. Gave it 7 out of 10.

The Albanian meal was a bit more of an escapade. Partly because I intended to make three courses (Baked Lamb and Yogurt, Bean Jahni Soup, and Stewed Dry Fig for desert), and mostly because I still am working on reading directions. Well, after I noticed it was supposed to cool for 2 hours, the bean soup was the first to be thrown out, . The others were made, but the lamb was accidentally already ground and I got figs, but they were fresh figs (I had never even imagined I would need to differentiate). Fortunately, the baked lamb kicked mother fucking ass. As it was being made it looked truly horrendous, as the 2 pounds of yogurt I was told to use bubbled and turned funny colors, but in the end the grounded aspect seemed to add flavor to the yogurt, while the lamb was quite good as well. Overall a 9 out of 10.

The Stewed Fresh Fig was a bit more difficult. Wife and friend Melissa came to my aid and used all their cooking wiles to make this work (corn starch and flour were involved) and the end product didn't taste bad, as in anything with milk, sugar, corn starch, and flour does not taste bad. But it certainly wasn't the dish the recipe had intended. Still, it was all worth it for the Baked Lamb and Yogurt (which needs a snappier name).

And if you were in need. Here are some fun facts about those ever whacky Albanians!!!
1. Between the world wars, their leader was named King Zog
2. They were communist after WW2, but chose to follow the Chinese style for some reason
3. Come from a trib pre-slav, called the Illyrians
4. In 1997 there were mass revolts over a failed pyramid scheme that the government was somehow involved in.
5. "Young people might show strong approval by quickly moving the hand horizontally, while at the same time bringing the thumb and index finger together and clicking the tongue."
6. Ismail Kadare is their most famous author and I read a book by him called Broken April. Crazy crazy book that you think takes place in Medieval times until you realize it's modern rural Albania.

Recipes: A to Z

So, as most of all you already know, I am a teacher. And as such, have vacation time that you can only dream of. Yes, after a year where I've already had a x-mas and spring break, I get another 10 weeks off. Read it and weep.

But alas, all this free time isn't always so easy. Yes, I know, "Fuck you," you all are thinking. And you have every right to do so. But there is something patently weird about working 50+ hours a week for most of the year, in a job where you are always on, and then be given a ridiculous amount of free time. Perhaps it would be different if I was into home repairs.

I did pledge that this summer I would be more structured with my time. But I'm in a bit of a limbo because I'm applying for high school social studies' jobs. If I am to get one, my uninhibited summer will be replaced with preparations for 5 new preps. But if not, I have very little job-related anything to do.

But I have added one component to my summer to help give me direction. My lone responibilty in summers past was being the house husband. Now, this is a fairly easy job when you have no kids and are not allowed to clean the bathroom. But I did keep up with the meals and dishes every night. I was happy to help out in this way, but I also am someone with few tastebuds and fewer opinions on food. I never knew what we should have. So this summer I have decided to go international. I discovered this web site called culture grams, where you can get a recipe for every country in the world. And I am going to start at A and just go from there. Thus far we've eaten Afghani and Albanian food. This week Algerian, American Samoa, and Antigua (the Carribbean Island that has St. John on it) are scheduled. I'll start to tomorrow with updates. Just 190 meals 'till Zimbabwe!!

New Music Requested

Well, I have been supremely lame of late with keeping up with new music. Other then The Nationals, Band of Horses, and Gnarls Barkley (all which were given to me by others) I've listened to nothing new this year.

So, I thought maybe my superior-music-tasted commenters could help me out here. Please, no shame in your game and don't worry about whether I would like it. Just want to hear some new band names that I can try out. Non-superior-music-tasted commenter are welcome to comment as well.

NBA Aftermath

Well, the Miami Heat won, and although I was rooting for the Mavericks, in the end I don't care that much. But here are some reasons why the Heat should not have won

1. Pat Riley "replaced" his coach midyear. Poor poor Stan Van Gundy. Did he even watch the finals? Where is he?

2. As much as I enoyed watching Shaq fall towards irrevalance (the highlight being him getting sat at the end of the 4th quarter), I really hate his style of play and did not want him getting another championship

3. Alonzo's only on the Heat because he refused to honor his contract after a trade to Toronto. Lame.

4. Gary Payton, whom I used to like, has been championship team shopping for the last couple of years. This should not be rewarded.

5. Dwayne Wade is a great player, but some of the new rules (no hand-checking, calling more touch fouls, calling the playoffs like the regular season) are making it much easier for him. Yes, it was a Jordanesque performance, but if Jordan had those rules? It is incomprehensible what he would have averaged.

6. Riley made retarded off-season moves (getting Walker, Williams, and Posey) and, again, should not have been rewarded.

But in spite of all of those reasons, the Heat prevailed. Perhaps it was Cuban's (deserved) penance for all of his complaining about officials. Regardless, it was a great playoffs.

New Releases on Video

1. Match Point: A
Great great movie. It would definitely make my top 5 for movies released last year (along with Capote, Brokeback, Good Night and Good Luck, and Debbie Does Dallas VI). I loved that it managed to have believable dialogue, but still move the plot along. A lot of people have said they were surprised it was done by Woody Allen, probably because there was very little self-analysis and no homely 50 year-olds dating young women. But it reminded me a lot of my favorite of his movies- Crimes and Misdemeanors. Might even be a perfect movie, other than that horrible ping pong scene. Oh, one question. Is Scarlet Johansen a good actress? I'm mixed.


2. Murderball: A
Awesome documentary about wheelchair rugby. Very interesting characters and great sports scenes. It had that Hoop Dreams effect where, because it's real, you really don't know if they're going to win. You aren't meant to feel bad for the characters, but you do anyway (I think my wife cried for half of the movie, which isn't saying much actually).

3. Syrianna: B-
I don't know. For the first half of the movie I was there. I loved the way it was filmed, the multiple stories had me confused yet intrigued, and the politics made it seem important. But when they tried to bring the plots together it just didn't work for me. Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention or should have taken a Middle East Politics course beforehand. Maybe it was just me. Or maybe this movie made absolutely no sense. I do have to admit that I saw it at the Laurelhurst and it was about the midway point when the beer buzz reformed as beer-hazed tiredness, but it just doesn't seem like a good sign when a movie makes less sense the longer you watch it.

Some Stats

1. Suicide rates have fallen by about 15% since Prozac went on the market.

2. Between 2004 and 2005 in the U.S. violent crimes rose by 2.5 % and the murder rate increased by 5%.

3. Only 3% of students at America's top colleges came from the bottom 25% (By S.E.S.) of the population.

4. Since 1980, income disparity has steadily decreased (oops I meant increased, as in the rich got richer, poor poorer). Oddly, during that same time the belief that you can start poor and become rich has risen by 20%.

5. Bush's approval rating is on the upswing. He rose to 38% last week.

Draft The Stache?

The Portland Trailblazers draft fourth in the coming draft and are faced with an interesting dilemma: how much do they want Adam Morrison? Some people think we should go as far as to trade up to guarantee it. I feel split.

The General Manager Side Of Me: It would be a stupid move to trade up. This actually is a good draft to have the fourth pick. There are 6 different players (Bagnini, Thomas, Aldridge, Morrison, Roy, and Gay) that are all being considered fairly equal in terms of future NBA success. At fourth, we not only still get one of them, but our pick of the 3 remaining that we like best. Morrison could very well still be available without a trade, and if we do trade up, we endanger giving up something to get a worse player (like not drafting Roy, who is more complete and better fits the NBA game).

The Fan Side Of Me: Get Morrison anyway anyhow. We need to get some interest here and Adam would supply that. Additionally, he screams a lot, and although he wouldn't be a Nate-like defender, he certainly has a Nate-like intensity. I also think he's a bit of weirdo (as evidenced by the stache) and that Portlanders would love him (I do wonder how much him being white is a factor to one of America's whitest cities). Another selling point, Portlanders are a sensitive lot, and wouldn't begrudge him crying before games end.

Corporations

Now, one of my favorite things about Portland is the plethora of small businesses and lack of national conglomerates. Still, that doesn't mean that all corporations are bad. Here is a list of corporations I like and then a few I can't make up my mind about.

Good Corporations

1. Starbucks: I don't even drink coffee, but I think Starbucks has been a good thing. What annoys me is people knee-jerkedly hating it just for being big. From what I hear Starbucks invests in their local communities, has great health care for its employees, and usually improves neighborhoods. If you're going to despise the corporations who actually try, what could possibly motivate the others to be any good?

2. Coca Cola: I'm sure Coke is evil and I can't really think of any reason to support Coke other than that I love it and would be most unhappy if it was to disappear from this earth.

3. Oprah's Book List: Not a corporation per se, but an institution at the least. I hate people who criticize the O. I don't really know what she puts on her lists, but I don't really care. In a country where 50% of the populace didn't even read a book last year, I don't think you can really blame her for dumbing our reading habits down. If Jonathan Franzen doesn't want her name on his book that's fine, I can understand it, but let's not criticize someone who actually is increasing reading habits in this country.

4. Quizno's: Hmmm, heated sandwiches, hmmmm pepper bar...

Corporations I'm Not Sure About

1. Borders: That this city of nerds has so few Borders is a testament to just how powerful the independently owned book store is in P-Town. But I'm not sure that Borders is necessarily a bad thing. Hey, they push books and music, 2 great things, and they do it without being too tacky. I think I like Borders, but am glad we have other options. But is Borders a reason so few other places have no other options? Or would they just have no bookstores if Borders wasn't there? Not sure...


2. Taco Bell: I don't why, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Taco Bell. I kind of wish the fast food empires would have a giant war and that only Taco Bell would come out on top. On the other hand, there are plenty of local Mexican joints that are also cheap and better. Also, I hate how all those meal deals insist that you get like a 40 ouncer of cola and give it to you in an unnecessarily thick plastic container that you're just going to throw out. I guess the world would be a better place without Taco Bell, but since its not going anywhere...

Portland's Google Trends

According to the Willamette Week, Google has started some new cool computer thang called Google Trends where can you find out Google searching habits by city proper. I tried to find it and couldn't, so I'll just repeat some of the things WW found.

#1 (in the world) - marijuana, meth, liquer, microbrew, Universal Life Church, impeach Bush, I hate Bush, assisted suicide, vegan, bike repair, unemployment, fairie

#2 - pretentious, nymph, anarchy, fascism

#3 - zombie, werewolf, pirate, bigfoot, Baha'i, kill Bush

#4 - underage sex

#5 - voodoo

#6 - cigs, wicca, eugenics

Best Restaurant in Portland?

What do people think? When my parents were in town I went to two pricey restaurants., Roux and Paley's Place. Roux is a kind of rambunctious New Orlean's style restaurant. The food was tasty and interesting, but not worth the price. I'm a sucker for the exotic and got the rabbit, which was pretty good, but really small. I know that's a very uncullinary way to rate a place, but I truly felt anxiety when it was placed in front of me, because I knew I would be starved afterwards. Fortunately, my mom's gumbo was huge so I ate half of hers.

Paley's Place, on the other hand, was expensive and incredible. Lady Lumps and I both declared that it might be the best restaurant in Portland. Now I still haven't been to Genoa or Higgins, but I'm not sure I need to. I think Paley's Place might be it.

A Fickle Fan

Being an obsessive NBA fan, but having neither of my teams (Bulls or Blazers) being that good (well one is above average and the other terrible) makes rooting for teams in the playoffs an odd experience. Often times, I attach myslef to a team for a reason I make up at that particular moment, and then somehow, really want them to win. So two years ago I really wanted Detroit to beat the Lakers, then last year I rooted for the Heat over Detroit because I had chosen Shaq in the Kobe feud, then this year I rooted against the Heat b/c I remembered that I really hated most everything about him.

This is a long way to say, that it's complicated, but I'll be rooting passionately for the Mavericks in the finals, but that I'll probably hate them by next year if the win it all. But the Heat really do bother me. From Shaq being possibly the least interesting player to watch play, and the refs never sure if him running through people is his foul or their foul, to Dwayne Wade who I should like b/c he's nice and from Chicago and is an honorary member of the Jane Austen Foundation, but I don't. Has anyone else noticed that Dwayne Wade is a hypocondriac? I realize a lot of the time he's injured b/c he plays like a loose cannon ball, but he's always rubbing some part of him even after he's fouled someone. And now dehydrated? Oh please. I also don't like Jason Williams who peaked as White Chocolate and now needs some new story line.

So anyway- Go Mavs!!!