Enema of the State

Today I got back in touch with my high school self through some old tunes.  Say what you might about the music we listened to in high school, but, it is OURS (or mine I suppose).

Every generation has their music that those of “better taste” sneered at, but, I will forever identify my high school times with certain bands and songs, and for that reason each will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Songs of unrequited love and teen angst, these tunes will be permanent bookmarks in the novel that is my life.

DC Sniper

I watched a youtube video about the DC Sniper’s execution.  I glanced at the comments section and came across this one

OldenPolyNate (57 minutes ago)   We should make this a daily event. Kill one nigger every day. The world would be a better place.

The shock factor of comments like this have worn off on me years ago.  I’d say, sadly, it’s pretty commonplace to find a comment like that on YouTube.  What grabbed my attention was not so much the comment, but, the username.  The first thing I thought of when I read his username was, Olden Polynice.

Olden Polynice was an NBA player during the 90’s…and tah-dah, he’s black!  So I’m really confused about why a white guy who hates black people would have that username, unless there’s some deeper meaning that is beyond me.  Maybe it has nothing to do with the basketball player?  Sheer coincidence?

OldenPolyNate’s ‘About Me’ section reads, “The Emancipation Proclamation was the biggest mistake in U.S history.”

I googled his username for fun and came across these…

Student Gang Raped Outside Homecoming Dance

OldenPolyNate (11 hours ago) +1
Spics will be spics. Not really surprised by this.
OldenPolyNate (7 hours ago) +1
Congrats, you named a couple of famous serial killers. You know how many niggers are out there raping and killing at this very moment? For every white murderer there are thousands of whites who obey the law. For every black man that obeys the law there are hundreds of niggers breaking them. The facts don’t lie. See the demographics of U.S prisons for further proof.

Nfl Week 8: Chris Johnson highlights

Gus Johnson made a comment along the lines of “He’s got gettin away from the cops speed!”

1. OldenPolyNate Says:
   November 9th, 2009 at 8:24 am

   Give me a break. It’s like he isn’t telling the truth. Niggers are always running from the cops.

YouTube - Inmate Attacks Prison Guard Douglas Burden Chokes Kenneth Moon At Orient Road Jail, Tampa, Florida

Other inmates jumped in to help the prison guard.

OldenPolyNate :  The other nigger wasn’t helping. He was just looking for his wallet. OldenPolyNate :  What a shock. It’s a nigger.

Secret to Yahoo Fantasy Bball

Okay, so the secret to Yahoo’s fantasy basketball is…wait for it…

Actually being at your computer to draft your team instead of autodrafting.

There are two reasons for this.  The obvious one is, you don’t get to choose who’s on your team, DUH.  But the second reason is, the other teams who are drafting live get their pick of the litter.  This problem is compounded when more than one team is autodrafting, just like in my league.

I’d say more than half of the league autodrafted.  That means the other teams got to build their teams accordingly.  If you couldn’t tell I’m already throwing in the towel for this year’s team.  I can’t see my team getting beyond middle of the pack, which is absolutely useless in a Yahoo league.  There is only so much you can do with the free agent pool.

Fantasy basketball has to be the easiest fantasy sport.  The team with the most multi-stat superstars (LeBron, CP3, Dirk, Kobe, Durant, D-Wade, etc.) always wins.  These players are so few and far between that once you’ve drafted them that’s where they stay.  No one ever wants to part with their stars.  I’m not sure what it is about Yahoo h2h leagues, but, no one ever really wants to trade (proposing/accepting).  I’d be more interested in roto because I feel like there’s more skill involved, but, h2h always seems the most popular among people my age.

Anyways, the point of this post was that when you put UCLA football ahead of fantasy league you get screwed.  But I’d do it again in a heartbeat, even if UCLA’s football team is a travesty this year.

Almost Famous, again

When I was talking about Almost Famous the other day I failed to mention how much I love this movie.  So much in fact, that I went on eBay and bought an extended cut DVD copy for $30.

It’s a perfect movie.  Absolutely perfect.

I’m a sucker for coming-of-age tales (Stand by Me, Rudy)

My top 5 movies of all time, in no particular order, now reads…

• Stand by Me
• Rudy
• Dumb & Dumber
• Almost Famous
• The Fox and the Hound

Isiah Thomas

Maybe this is just my Detroit Pistons bias, but, I’m tired of everyone in the media taking potshots at Isiah Thomas.  The man never gets a break.  The latest ESPN headline reads…

UNC spoils Thomas’ debut with FIU

Is it really “spoiling” Isiah Thomas’ coaching debut by losing to the defending national champions and #4 team in the nation?  Should it be considered “spoiling” when FIU was expected to lose by 30+ points?

To me ‘spoils’ implies there was an expectation of a victory.  I guess you could argue that ‘spoils’ is only in relation to the fact that it was his debut, but, I think sports writers are too quick to pull the trigger on a lot of their headlines, columns, etc. when it comes to matters regarding Isiah.  It has become too easy for writers to push these skewed views onto its readers, and in return, the public gobbles it up.

Isiah Thomas’ time with the Knicks will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Almost Famous

I just finished watching an impromptu viewing of Almost Famous on the TV and it got me to thinking about music today.  Does contemporary music mean anything in today’s social context?  In the 50’s and 60’s there seemed to be an abundance of music that was “important”…and it is these bands and their songs that have withstood the test of time.  Or do we hold the music of the past in such esteem simply because we are outsiders looking into an America that had so many fewer distractions to occupy themselves with?  It’s not like there haven’t been significant historical events that are comparable to the Vietnam War or assassination of JFK.  Is it an access problem?

Do people today simply have access to too much music?  We can hear any song we want to in mere seconds just by doing a Google search.  We don’t need to walk down to the local record store and spend a few hard-earned dollars or sit by the radio and wait for the DJ to play your song.  Maybe because access is so unrestricted we don’t appreciate it as much.  We don’t have to pick and choose what records we want to buy…we can have it all because of the Internet.

Or maybe it’s just an MTV generation problem?  Today’s culture doesn’t even dictate making lots of money…now it seems like everyone just wants to be famous, without even a mention of making money.  What is it with society’s addiction to fame?

Will our generation have a Bob Dylan?  Sly and the Family Stone?  Beatles?  Rolling Stones?  Led Zeppelin?  When we look back in 50 years will any of the music I’ve listened to in the past 20 years mean anything to anyone?  Is Coldplay really the best our generation can offer up for the history of rock and roll?

Stats

Today I learned that in the past two years, two UofA law students have committed suicide.  In a school of roughly 500, that comes out to .004%.  The number sounds insignificant at first, but, I did a quick search and found out that the national average for suicide rate amongst 20-24 year olds in the United States is 12.8 for every 100,000 people or .000128%.

In comparison, law students, at least at UofA, are 31.25% more likely to commit suicide than those in the 20-24 range in the US population.

Here’s to a great year!  Cheers!

On another note, a fellow law student in our class is in the ICU after being hit by a car while she was riding her bike.  I hope she is doing better.  I was already paranoid about hitting a bike rider here in Tucson…now, even more so.  It really is bike crazy around Tucson, especially around school.  Combine that with crappy Tucson driving and you have a recipe for disaster.