Fall, Glimmer, Sparkle and Fade

:: Thursday, March 28, 2002 ::

Wow... lots of stuff to get to today. So much stuff that I don't even know where to start. I have a handful of new links to the right, so check them out. There's a place to buy Likewise merchandise(more on them in a bit), some more blogs for you to check out, more band sites to keep you busy and other random sites.

I think I've found something that is more addicting than porn... um... I'm guessing it's more addicting than porn, based on what I've heard. It's promoted on almost every major television network and people of all ages participate in fulfilling their every fantasy. No, not THAT fantasy... Fantasy Sports. How many people do you know that don't have at least one fantasy team? How often have you caught your friends scurrying to find out if Reggie Miller had enough three pointers last night to help his or her fantasy team ranking? If you said never than just skip to the next mindless rant. Honestly, I've never been one for computer games or porn(stop laughing, i swear I'm serious), but Fantasy Baseball.... shit, it's addicting. ESPN and Yahoo throw so many different stats at you, it's kind of like a car wreck: you don't want to look, you just kind of have to. When most people hear the word WHIP, maybe they think of whipped cream, or snapping a whip... you know what I think of now? Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched... it's a disease and I need help... Hi, my name is Ryan **Hi Ryan** and i'm addicted to Fantasy Sports....

As for Likewise and the merchandise i've been shamlessly pushing on everyone. Likewise is a band here at Quinnipiac that has put their future in my hands.... foolish musicians. I've been tagged 'Manager', but I'd like to think I'm just an all around band Superstar. They just finished their new EP and it really is quite a listen. Leave a comment, or drop me an e-mail and we'll arrange it so you can buy the EP. If you have any good opportunities for the band to get exposure in your area through a local show, just drop me an email at AOL or likewisebooking@hotmail.com. I'm really excited about working with a band that has so much potential and hopefully with all of your help they can make a name for themselves. Send an Instant Message to WQAQDJ and request their single 'Lost' or if you're really ambitious you can call at 203-281-0011. We'll make them number one, Today WQAQ, Tomorrow the world!

Speaking of QAQ, elections for managment staff were yesterday. There are 54 extremely intelligent kids on staff here that feel I've done a good job the last two years as Music Director and they want me back for the final lap, so one more year here at THE BEST college radio station before i'm booted out into the real world. Speaking of the real world, do I really have to go? I was thinking of putting a bed in Academic Affairs and just staying there for the next 5 or 6 years. You think they'll mind? It's not that i'm afraid of looking for/getting a job, it's just why would I want to leave the perfect situation: school work that isn't too hard, a non-paying job at QAQ that is amazing, a paying gig at Sony Music that is alot of fun and a fairly cheap apartment that I don't have to pay for. But as I said before, I'm not afraid of the real world, cause I look forward to it on many levels, i'm just not in the rush that many people are to get out of college.

Onto the best topic of all: Music. I've been talking to people about the best records of 2001 again recently. I put together my top 20 at the end of December and since that's long before I started this wonderful site, I never posted it. So sometime in the next week or so I'll give you insight to what the best records were and why. Not that any of you care, but as it says on the top of the site: This is all for my own sanity... As for music in 2002, while there hasn't been that much new stuff that's gotten me excited, that's starting to change. I was waiting for the Chris Cornell/Rage project, but who knows if any of us will ever get to hear that. As soon as the label tells me for sure, i'll tell you all. I was still sulking over that today when I got the new Our Lady Peace single in the mail. Their lead guitarist seperated from the band a few months ago and they've been working with Bob Rock(New Metallica, Veruca Salt). I've never really been a Bob Rock fan, mainly because he seems to change an artists sound more than needed. When you hear the single, 'Somewhere Out There', if you're familiar with OLP you will be able to hear the difference right away. It's not a bad difference, because I like the song very much, but Raine's vocal range isn't quite showcased the way it usually it is. Some would say this is a good thing, but I always love listening to his voice, it's phenomenal. It's pretty mellow, which is surprising because Bob Rock usually puts a harder edge on the stuff he works on. Look for the new album on June 11th, listen for the single on rock radio now. In other OLP news, they're on the new WWF CD "Forceable Entry"(sounds like the title to a porno if you ask me), with the song 'Whatever' which is an interpretation of Chris Benoit's(he's a wrestler) theme song. It's pretty sweet, which isn't surprising because it's Our Lady Peace but is surprising because most music associated with the WWF sucks. Anyway, onto other new stuff. I got the new Oasis single in the mail today, 'The Hindu Times'. There's absolutely no information other than that on the CD, so I can't really tell you anything about a new album or anything. As for the song itself... It's.... Well, it's Oasis. It's nothing different from anything on their last few albums. I really liked Oasis back when they first hit, their last couple records have been sort of blah, especially the Live disc. Not too much in the way of good live shows around here, I missed Jimmy Eat World last week which I wasn't too happy about, but Dashboard Confessional will be up in Hartford next week and that should be a hell of a show. Tomorrow night I'm headed up to Providence to catch Better Than Ezra for the third time...They are such an amazing live band, even if you only know three songs, go to the show, I promis you won't be disappointed. Then there will be a slew of shows, but nothing that good until Green Day/Blink/Saves The Day headlining the local Radio Fest in May.

Last, but certainly not least, Opening Day is upon us. As a Met fan, it's been a great offseason because of all the moves they made, but it's time for this team to get on the field and show they can finally beat the fuckin Braves. I apologize for the language, but the Braves are the only team that I loathe as much as the Yankees. I will be up in the nose-bleed seats Monday for opening day sporting the ugliest Met shirt you will EVER see, eating a hotdog, and enjoying one of the best lineups in baseball with Little John, who is flying in from AZ to see the game. Good times, Good Times.

That took a lot out of me, as I'm sure it did the same to you. Stay tuned for my famous Top 20 albums of 2001... Oh and by the way, go to Kraig's blog, it's hilarious. Happy Easter/Passover(is it right to say Happy Passover?)/Weekend depending on what religion, if any, you are.....

:: Ryan 7:24 PM [+] ::
...

Oscar came to town tonight and left after destroying the bedroom. There were only two things I needed to happen in order for me to go to bed happy: 1) Russell Crowe had to lose in the Best Actor category and 2) In The Bedroom had to win an award, ANY award. I got my first wish when Mr. Crowe lost out on Best Actor, but when he didn't lose to Tom Wilkerson(In The Bedroom) but instead to Denzel for Training Day, I knew that I couldn't get my second wish. In The Bedroom was an amazing flick, one of the best I've seen in a long, long while, but I knew the Academy wouldn't give Best Picture to a movie that lacked star power. Fuckin Beautiful Mind. I don't have a beef with Ron Howard(Crowe is another story), but I wish the Fonz would kick his ass. Overall, the show wasn't quite as bad as I expected it to be. Whoopi was good, but I wanna see Billy Crystal back in the driver's seat next year. Usually I fall asleep during it, but this year I thought it flowed a little better, although we could have done without 4 seperate 'lifetime achievement' type awards.

In a follow up to my last post, I got a great suggestion for someone to play Murdoch in 'The A-Team' Movie. It's such a good suggestion, i'm pissed off I didn't think of it: Edward Norton. He has such a great range in his acting ability, which is a must for anyone attempting to play Murdoch. One minute he has to be able to act serious while going over the details of a plan and then five minutes later he has to be going off the deep end while dealing with some bad guys. Now the star-studded cast can be completed. The A-Team Movie starring Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Michael Clarke Duncan. This movie will be huge. Don't forget where you heard it first.

:: Ryan 3:31 AM [+] ::
...

It started as a joke. Just a passing comment. But after talking about it for a while, it really doesn't seem like something that far out of the realm of possibility. I'm, of course, talking about 'The A-Team' Movie. Before you think it wouldn't work, just think about it. They made a 'Charlie's Angles' movie for christ's sake. The most important part of such a movie, even before the story, is the casting. A friend of mine and I came up with a very preliminary list, but let me know what you think. For the part of Hanibal, there were a lot of names we were throwing around. Harrison Ford: maybe. Tommy Lee Jones: not smug enough. The person we both thought could possibly do the best job is Bruce Willis. Wait, wait, wait, just hear me out. If you are bored, watch an episode of the show and i promise you will be able to see Bruce playing that role. The next role that needs to be cast is Face. Not that easy of a job. I suggested Jason Lee, but as much as I like him, he isn't quite to the level of stardom the producers would be looking for and he isn't really a 'stud'. Hugh Jackman(sp?) might work, but definately doesn't have the star power yet to join this cast. Matt Damon was mentioned for a second, but he isn't quite charismatic enough, although he has the looks. My other suggestion and our best choice so far is Brad Pitt. He certainly has the attitude, he's likeable and he obviously has the looks. The easiest of the roles to cast is that of Mr. T's character BA. I don't see any reason why Michael Clarke Duncan couldn't play the role. Plus, he's co-starred with Bruce Willis before, so they would definately have the chemistry. The hardest role to cast is that of Murdoch(sp?). It was suggested, although I disagreed, that Jim Carrey could play the role. I just could never see Jim having a role in any form of action movie, even if the character he's playing is supposed to be a little 'disturbed'. I again suggested Jason Lee even though I know he wouldn't really fit in the role, I just like to see him get roles with really big names. We weren't happy with anyone we mentioned to play Murdoch, so that's still up in the air... any ideas? Does this all sound crazy? Good. I can see it now: the trailer that has been approved for all audiences playing for a packed house. The cast: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Michael Clarke Duncan and _____. After a montage of action shots from the flick, it ends with Bruce Willis holding a cigar saying 'I love it when a plan comes together.' This could be HUGE!

:: Ryan 12:25 AM [+] ::
...

Fuck beans. That's right kids: Fuck beans. Have you seen what the hell has been going on in the world today? If you haven't then you must have been under a rock or something. It's just plain madness, which I suppose is fitting. My whole bracket is right down the shitter. No, not literally, although it might as well be after the first day of games. For those of you that are completely lost, i'm talking about the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. The first round is only half finished and already one of my final four teams was clipped. Fuckin' Gonzaga. Okay, now I know they're a 6 seed, and it's not that bright to pick a 6 in the final four, but Gonzaga wasn't your typical 6 seed. This is a team that only lost three times all year and should have gotten a 3 or 4 seed. So on top of them being a really talented team, they were pissed off because they didn't feel they were being given any respect. Well they can shove respect right up their ass after losing to Wyoming. Sorry, I needed to get that out. Outside of crying over my bracket, I've been able to enjoy some great games. If you aren't a basketball fan, it's never too late to start. This tournament is what college basketball is all about. Almost all the first round games were exciting, with the obvious exception being Duke's pounding of powerhouse Winthrop. There were the typical nailbiters in the 10/7 games(Kent St./Oklahoma St.), the annual 12 seed upsetting a 5 (Missouri over Miami and Tulsa over Marquette) and then there were the two games that were supposed to be laughers just like the Duke game was. No. 4 USC vs. No. 13 UNC Wilmington, this game was supposed to be over in ten minutes. Just a warmup for USC before they dethroned the Dukies in the Sweet 16. Yea, not so much. After falling behind big, USC made a huge comeback and forced overtime, just to end up losing. Great game, but not a great outcome if you look at my bracket. The other game that was going to be a walk in the park was No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Holy Cross. Never has a 16 ever taken out a 1. Never. Not in the Men's Tournament. Recently it happened in the Women's Tournament, but even if you are a sports fan you probably never knew that, only because the women's tourney is promoted as well as the national Badminton Championships. Anyway, back to the Kansas/Holy Cross game. It was funny at first, really. Holy Cross was up by 6 in the first couple minutes. "Hey, look Dad. Holy Cross thinks they can beat Kansas, isn't that cute?" A: "Yea, it is, too bad Kansas will run away with it by halftime." Kansas wasn't able to do much running at all. It didn't help that their star shooting guard twisted his ankle early and didn't return. If he was a hockey player, he would have gotten right back up and played, he wouldn't have even had it taped up. But seeing how it's basketball, and collegiate basketball at that, he sat out the rest of the game. He missed a good game, cause both of these teams went back and forth with the lead all night. Anyways, to make a long story not quite as long, Holy Cross gave Kansas all it could handle but in the end fell just short. The final score shows it as an 11 point loss, but don't let that fool you, this game was close from start to finish. And to think I have Kansas winning it all. I'm also the one who only has 3 or his final four picks left in the big dance, and one of them (Texas Tech) still has yet to play their first round game. Now THIS is Madness...

:: Ryan 1:52 AM [+] ::
...

I got a really weird feeling yesterday. Kind of like that feeling when you see your best friend after months of being apart. Or when you get a phone call out of the blue from someone you haven't talked to in years. I was flipping through the channels and who do I hear? None other than Karl Ravech on ESPN. Stay with me. I realize he's done some random things for the all-sports channel over the last few months, but this time it was different. He was back where he belongs-- on the best show on TV. That's right kids: Baseball Tonight is BACK. I know what you're thinking: 'Ryan, you're such an idiot'. Trust me, I already know that, so just pay attention. Most people have that one show they have to watch. Some are that way about Friends, the Simpsons or the X-Files. Mine is Baseball Tonight. What's the big deal you ask? Unlike most shows, I can't watch Baseball Tonight year round. Sure, during the offseason they have 'hot stove Baseball Tonight', but that's just Peter Gammons mumbling to himself about trades that will never happen. People can watch most shows all year: new episodes between sept/oct-may and reruns the rest of the year. Some people are even lucky enough to watch their favorite shows in syndication, which means you get to see it several times a day sometimes! That's bullshit. Sure, sometimes during the season I get to watch Baseball Tonight twice a night, but once the World Series is over, i'm shit out of luck-- Months without a single episode. Hell, i'd watch reruns of the July 21, 1996 episode in the offseason, but that's not even an option. I'm in my glory now though. It looks like ESPN is gonna be showing it mon-fri at 11, but during Spring Training they tend to move it around. Seeing how I haven't really seen a full episode since last November, I'd stay up until 4:30am to watch one. How sweet it is to have this series back. Don't you know how important this show is? If there was no Baseball Tonight (all of the following are sportscasters on the show) Peter Gammons would be covering the Tokyo Giants for the Wilmington, NC Record. Harold Reynolds would be that guy at your local Car Wash that always talks your ear off about how he was 'a great ballplayer in his day' and how 'Dang, those boys make a lot of money now'. Jason Stark would be John Edwards' Personal Assistant and Mike MacFarlane would be trying to write the script to Major League 4. So next time you get that out of the blue call from a friend you haven't heard from since last June, maybe you'll know what i'm talking about. Probably not.


In other news: Damn it's good to be back in Jersey. You can all knock 'Dirty Jersey' all you want, but no matter how long I'm away, it always feels good to come back. Although i'm sure i'd love anywhere that I get to sleep past noon, have all of my meals cooked for me and where my biggest task for the day is deciding what Charlie Sheen movie I want to watch on the 150 HBOs that digital cable offers. Not that I don't miss Connecticut, cause believe it or not I really like it there, but there will never be any place I like better than the Garden State.

:: Ryan 2:27 AM [+] ::
...

I never liked dancing anyways. After a lot of talk about Quinnipiac going on to play a team the likes of Duke or Maryland and then after a hard fought game against Central Connecticut State University, it turns out there will be no dancing at Quinnipiac after all. It was a helluva run though, don't ya think? We gave one of the hottest teams in the country a run for their money. Lets just hope that Pittsburgh can beat the crap out of them. Although this leaves me with a moral dilemma. Do I root for the evil blue devils from CCSU because they are from our conference, or do I root against them because of the whole them being assholes thing? I could use some help with this one. Honestly though, if Knight(Pitt's best player) is out for this game, I'm picking CCSU as the upset in that bracket.
The rest of the bracket I haven't decided on yet. Who goes all the way? All four number ones have been very beatable several times this year. Maryland made Duke look extremely vulnerable a couple weeks ago and then in the ACC tourney Maryland loses to NC State, who Duke beats by 30 in the final. Despite Cincy's great record(they've only lost three times), they haven't been a team that you watch and are in awe of. As for Kansas, they showed earlier today that they can be beat if they aren't hitting their outside shots. So as far as I'm concerned, this thing is so wide open, the Zags could win it all! Who's your tourney winnner?
I watched 'A Season on the Brink' tonight. How could I not? ESPN ran two commercials for it every break and seeing how that is really the only channel I watch on a daily basis, I think it was embedded in my brain that I had to watch. Cause remember: "Brian Dennehy IS Bobby Knight". Unlike most people, I thought this was great casting. Who else did people want playing Knight? I heard someone (hopefully jokingly) say that the producers wanted Jack Nicholson to play the role of Bobby Knight. Don't get me wrong, I love Jack, but as Bobby Knight? I don't think so. As for the movie itself... eh. It wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't something I'd want to sit down and watch again. We all know that Bobby likes to throw things and curse a lot, but the thing I think they were trying to get across was that he had a 'human' side. This is where they lost me. Are we supposed to think he's a good guy cause he doesn't curse his son out when he's tucking him into bed? Or because he doesn't scorn a former player who is now wheelchair bound for not being able to walk? I don't dislike Bobby Knight. In fact, I think that his press conferences are hilarious and he's a brilliant coach. But ESPN did a horrible job if they were trying to show the average joe that there's a big ole teddy bear underneath all those dirty words.
I know everyone is holding their breathe for Tuesday's power matchup between Siena/Alcorn St., so I'll leave you to rest up for that game....

:: Ryan 12:13 AM [+] ::
...

These things are supposed to be easy to use, right? Yea, well I don't seem to get along with computer code usually. Although it seems to be easy enough. I guess I've watched the Matrix one too many times, cause I figured I'd have to be able to find this hard to find area and then type in this intricate code in order for it to work. Ah, can you tell i'm not what the kids like to call 'smart'? Okay, so i'm gonna try to get some decent links up on the side of the site now that I made it so you can make comments about my posts. I'll try to figure the links part out over spring break next week.

As for school stuff... Have you ever seen 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'? It's a great Capra movie that was probably Jimmy Stewart's best work(yes, i've seen 'It's a Wonderful Life'). I'm watching the DVD and it has commentary by Capra's son. I wasn't expecting anything when I saw it was his son doing the commentary, mainly because his son was 3 when this film was made. But after watching the whole commentary track, he really does give a ton of insight into how his father made his films as a whole and obviously a good view of 'Mr. Smith...'. So if you have an extra two hours to burn, check out the commentary track with Frank Capra's son, or just the movie itself if you haven't seen it because it's amazing.... Then you could write my paper on the film for me.

:: Ryan 12:07 AM [+] ::
...

You expect it at Duke, Maryland, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA. When you go to one of those schools you know you will more likely than not see your basketball team in the NCAA tournament. Not the case if you go to Quinnipiac. Generally the NCAA tourney is nothing more than a pipe dream for Quinnipiac. Last year was the first year that Quinnipiac was eligible for the NCAA tournament, but they finished at the bottom of their conference with only six victories. Then there was this season. The team was never really too impressive, but they were quietly putting together a solid season, finishing 7th in the Northeast Conference, just good enough to get into the Conference Tournament--with the winner of that going to the NCAA tournament. This past weekend #7 Quinnipiac beat #2 Wagner and #3 UMBC, meaning this Wednesday we get to play #1 ranked Central Connecticut State Uniersity in the NEC Championship Game. It'll be on ESPN2 so be sure to check it out if you get a chance. It would be great for our school to go to the NCAA tournament, even if it means we have to go and get beat down by Duke, so cheer for Quinnipiac on Wednesday.
A week of midterms, papers, a speech, an election, a basketball game, and a radio conference all before spring break... Hopefully during my break I can figure out how to work this damn website, so that I can put some cool links on the side of the site and all the other cool shit that apparently blogspot lets you do.

:: Ryan 2:18 AM [+] ::
...