bowling again

well, hi
certainly been a while since i've said, well, anything
[i think april was my last actual blog post]
so i think today i'll break that streak and actuall write something
and that something obviously isn't going to why i don't have a job yet,
it's gonna be football
it's goddamn bowl season, son,
let's get rolling with the picks.

a quick note, to those who remember from last year:
my bcs bowl boycott has come to an end ,
since they finally decided to institute something else
[whether the four-team playoff will be good is anyone's guess,
but it's sure as shit better than the system we have now]
which means i can watch and prognosticate them again
[hah, prognosticate, like i'm a fucking expert]

at any rate, here's my list in all its glory:
1] las vegas: boise state over washington
2] holiday: ucla over baylor
3] russell athletic: rutgers over virginia tech
4] meineke car care: minnesota over texas tech
5] pinstripe: west virginia over syracuse
6] fight hunger: navy over arizona state
7] alamo: oregon state over texas
8] buffalo wild wings: michigan state over texas christian
9] chick-fil-a: louisiana state over clemson
10] gator: northwestern over mississippi state
11] outback: michigan over south carolina
12] capital one: georgia over nebraska
13] rose: wisconsin over stanford
14] orange: florida state over northern illinois
15] fiesta: oregon over kansas state
16] cotton: texas a&m over oklahoma
17] ncg: notre dame over alabama

obviously i'm hoping for a lot of b1g/pac12 wins
as well as simply hoping instead of objectively picking a winner
so, let's get down to why

1] purely at simply, washington has been far too erratic this year for me to pick them
they lost to unranked arizona by 35 and unranked wazzu 3 in overtime
they beat ranked stanford and oregon state by 4 and 3 respectively
boise, at least, has been playing consistently
and their pair of losses [at msu and at sdsu] is much more understandable

2] ucla/baylor is a complete crapshoot
ucla won their division outright for the first time since '98,
and followed it promptly with back-to-back losses to a ranked stanford team
baylor barely beat louisiana-monroe by 3,
but also upset then-#1 k-state by 28 points
i just think ucla has a better chance of pulling this out

3] rutgers won their first big east championship this year [albeit shared with 3 other teams]
va tech's 3 conference wins came against teams that are combined 12–24
simple as that

4] this one is more wishful thinking, i suppose
texas tech's beaten two ranked teams this year, but also lost 3 straight to ranked teams
minnesota's got an intact coaching staff, but also only beat illinois and purdue this year
course, last time texas tech had a coaching team, they beat msu by 10, so who knows

5] i guess i just have faith in wvu's ability to run up the score yet again
they were uncompetive in just two of their games against better competition
whereas syracuse was co-big east champion at 7–5 [at least rutgers was 9–3]

6] this one's also mostly just wishful thinking,
mostly cuz i've always cheered for navy, and todd graham is an ass

7] oregon state has played better football all year long,
and i think they're less susceptible to a season-ending disappointment
this game is in texas, though, so it might go down to the wire

8] just have to have faith that msu will pull this out
msu and tcu have been equally terrible this year, so it's really anyone's game

9] this one is simple: lsu is just the better team that's played better all year

10] again, wishful thinking, but one of the more realistic ones i think
northwestern's had its best season since 2008, played competitively in all 3 losses
and came damn close to winning its division
mississippi state, on the other hand, only beat the four worst teams in the sec
and lost their other four conference games by at least 17 points

11] again wishful thinking, but i think michigan does have a shot
i don't really have much to say about this other than i hope michigan wins

12] i really, REALLY want to go with nebraska on this [mostly for the b1g's bowls' sake]
but there's just no way i can justify it
georgia came within five yards of playing for a national title,
nebraska lost the b1g championship to the 3rd place leaders team by halftime

13] picking the upset in this one purely off gut instinct
i think the badgers will have enough emotion riding on this to finally get over the hump
remember, they've lost the past two rose bowls by 2 and 3 points, respectively
so it's not like they rolled over to their competition either time
besides, with their a/d back as one-time coach, it'll be a hell of a show

14] the only no-brainer of my group of picks
i'm not gonna berate niu for being chosen, because i do think they played well this year
and they've earned their spot in a quality bcs game
i just think they're insanely overmatched [like uconn and oklahoma two years ago]

15] k-state and oregon did give me pause for a while, but i had to go with the ducks
even though both teams ultimately failed to go undefeated and play for the ncg,
i think oregon has more of a chip on their shoulder
[they also lost their game at home by 3, instead of on the road by 28]

16] i love this matchup simply because last year it was a regular season game
though i think tamu takes it because they've played better competition
the sec is deeper than the big12, after all

17] purely because i want the sec's ncg streak to end asap,
and who better than the traditional independent power of notre dame?
[even though i think notre dame needs to get off their high horse,
i'm willing to let them have this moment if they stop alabama in their tracks]




ADDENDUM:
it seems boise beat washington by 2 as i was compiling this ridiculous thing
i'm off to a good start at least
let's see how badly i do this year

跑步者

dear friend, they'll destroy you
but it ain't nothing, it ain't nothing to me
[disappeared in isolation, irretrievable salvation,
the only thing, the only thing you need]

veil of the departed is alive, is alive

honesty, on a string

disappeared in isolation, irretrievable salvation,
the only thing, the only thing you need
[different, they'll destroy you
but it ain't nothing, it ain't nothing to me]

şizofreni

there's no end to the love you can give
when you change your point of view to underfoot
very good, you may be flat but you're breathing

and there's no doubt he's at home in his room,
probably watching porn of you from the fall
it's last call, and you're the last one leaving

and you thought you could change the world by opening your legs
well it isn't very hard, try kicking them instead
and you thought you could change his mind
by changing your perfume to the kind his mother wore
oh god, delilah, why? i've never met a more impossible girl

in this same bar, where you slammed down your hand and said:
"amanda, i'm in love"
no you're not, you're just a sucker for the ones who use you
and it doesn't matter what i say or do,
the stupid bastard's gonna have his way with you

you're an unrescuable schizo, or else you're on the rag
and if you take him back, i'm gonna lose my nerve
i've never met a more impossible girl

at four o'clock he got off, and you called up
"i'm down at denny's on route one, and you won't guess what he's done"
is that a fact, delilah? larry tap let you in through the back
and use his calling card again for a quick hand of gin

you are impossible, delilah, the princess of denial
and after seven years in advertising, you are none the wiser

you're an unrescuable schizo, or else you're on the rag
and if you take him back, i'm gonna lose my nerve
he's gonna beat you like a pillow, you schizos never learn
and if you take him home, you'll get what you deserve
i never met a more impossible girl

so don't cry, delilah,
you're still alive, delilah
you need a ride, delilah?
let's see how fast this thing can go

barya

they used to tell me i was building a dream,
and so i followed the mob,
when there was earth to plow, or guns to bear,
i was always there right on the job.
they used to tell me i was building a dream,
with peace and glory ahead,
why should i be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

once i built a railroad, i made it run,
made it race against time
once i built a railroad, now it's done
brother, can you spare a dime?
once i built a tower, up to the sun,
brick, and rivet, and lime
once i built a tower, now it's done
brother, can you spare a dime?

once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
full of that yankee doodly dum,
half a million boots went slogging through hell,
and i was the kid with the drum
say, don't you remember, they called me al
it was al all the time.
why don't you remember, i'm your pal?
buddy, can you spare a dime?

naujas

ich verbrenn mein studio, schnupfe die asche wie koks
ich erschlag meinen goldfisch, vergrab ihn im hof
ich jag meine bude hoch, alles was ich hab lass ich los
mein altes leben, schmeckt wie 'n labbriger toast
brat mir ein prachtsteak, peter kocht jetzt feinstes fleisch
ich bin das update, peter fox 1.1
ich will abshaken, feiern, doch mein teich ist zu klein
mir wächst neue reihe beißer wie be dem weißen hai
gewachst, gedopet, poliert, nagelneue zähne
ich bin euphorisiert, und habe teure pläne
ich kaufe mir baumaschinen, bagger und walzen und kräne
stürze mich auf berlin, drück die sirene
ich baue schöne boxentürme, bässe massieren eure seele
ich bin die abrissbirne für die deutsche szene

hey, alles glänzt so schön neu
hey, wenns dir nicht gefällt mach neu
die welt mit staub bedeckt, doch ich will sehn wo's hingeht
steig auf den berg aus dreck, weil oben frischer wind weht
hey, alles glänzt so schön neu

ich hab meine alten sachen satt, und lass sie in 'nem sack verrotten
motte die klamotten ein, und dan geh ich nackt shoppen
ich bin komplett renoviert, bräute haben was zu glotzen
kerngesund, durchtrainiert, weltmeister im schach und boxen
nur noch konkret reden, gib mir ein ja oder nein
schluss mit larifari, ich lass all die alten faxen sein
sollt ich je wieder kiffer, hau ich mir 'ne axt ins bein
ich will nie mehr lügen, ich will jeden satz auch so meinen
mir platzt der kopf, alles muss ich verändern
ich such den knopf, treffe die mächtigen männer
zwing das land zum glück, kaufe banken und sender
alles spielt verrückt, zitternde schafe und lämmer
ich seh besser aus als bono, und bin' n mann des volkes
bereit die welt zu retten, auch wenn das vielleicht zu viel gewollt ist

hey, alles glänzt so schön neu
hey, wenns dir nicht gefällt mach neu
hier ist die luft verbraucht, das atmen fällt mir schwer
bye bye ich muss hier raus, die wände kommen näher
die welt mit staub bedeckt, doch ich will sehn wo's hingeht
steig auf den berg aus dreck, weil oben frischer wind weht
hey, alles glänzt so schön neu

fratino

oh sister, what's wrong with your mind?
you used to be so strong and stable
my sister, what made you fall from grace?
i'm sorry that i was not there to catch you

what have the demons done?
what have the demons done,
with the the luminous light that once shined from your eyes?
what makes you feel so alone?
is it the whispering ghosts that you feared the most?

oh sister, those lines etched in your hands
they're hardened and rough like a road map of sorrow
my sister, there is a sadness on your face
you're like a motherless child who's longing for comfort

what's running though your veins,
that's causing you such pain?
does it have something to do with the pills they gave to you?
what is eating at your soul?
was it the whispering ghosts that left you out in the cold?

but the blackness in your heart won't last forever
i know it's tearing you apart, but it's a storm you can weather

sweet gee-sus

or, the hilarious hijinks of the b1g's most dickish president

today's post is made possible by the man in the bow-tie
that most snobbish and rambunctious of school presidents,
the man that can make everyone say in unison 'SHUT THE FUCK UP',
e gordon gee, president of ohio state

yesterday, because he apparently had to get it off his chest,
gee sat down with osu's student newspaper, the lantern,
and offered his measured, carefully chosen words on a recent article
[namely, the sn article blasting the shit out of urban meyer]
and by that, i mean in turn blasted the new outlet that published the story:
after admitting that he hadn't even read the story all the way through,
he dismisses it as bad journalism laced with false information
[while offering no explanantion about what was false]
he also lambasted sports illustrated for an article about tressel from last year
 which he also said was nothing but false info passed as objective journalism
again with no explanation about what was incorrect about the story

i would love to say that this was simply isolated insanity,
but that would not give NEARLY enough credit to our ol' pal gordon,
who has quite the impressive track record of putting his foot up his ass
i now submit, for your viewing pleasure/insanity,
an brief list of his choicer comments

on the difficulties of centrally organizing osu's colleges: "when we had these 18 colleges all kind of floating around. they were like... boats, they were shooting each other. it was kind of like the polish army"

on bret bielema's complaints about meyer's recruiting tactics: "we hired the best coach and we went out and got the best kids so get a life."

on the scrutiny facing jim tressel before he was fired: "let me be very clear: i'm just hoping the coach doesn't fire me."

on whether tcu or boise state was worthy of playing in the ncg: "well, i don't know enough about the X's and O's of college football. i do know, having been both a southeastern conference president and a big ten president, that it's like murderer's row every week for these schools. we do not play the little sisters of the poor. we play very fine schools on any given day."

on the necessity of religious diversity in universities [especially vanderbilt]:  "yes, we’re targeting jewish students. there’s nothing wrong with that. that’s not affirmative action, that’s smart thinking."

on the 1992 michigan/osu game's 13–13 tie: 'if character is a mark of greatness, then this is our greatest victory."


oh, gordon

kispalád

blogablogaBLOGablogablog
it's been a while since i've said anything of note
[note being me not posting lyrics]
and now seems as good a time as any
why? because b1g spring football kicked off this weekend
[except at purdue, who cancelled due to potential death storms]
and since there aren't any enjoyable sports until august,
i need to fill the athletic void somehow

thankfully, i needn't look far,
because the the 2012 schedules b1g schedules have been released
which means now that i've had a chance to look through all of them,
it's time to scope out which matchups will be best WAY too early
for the sake of organization, we'll go week by weekare you ready for this shit?
ARE you READYfor THIS SHIT?!
goddamn right you are. let's get to it


week 1:
msu v. boise state
quick poll: can the b1g season start out any better than this game?
quick answer: no way, no how
here we have a matchup of two teams that ended 2011 in the top 10,
one is the perennial bcs at–large team that takes down an aq team every single year,
the other is the defending division champ with back-to-back 11 win seasons
both teams are starting new kids at key positions [qb/rb/wr/safety],
and both are looking to start the season with a quality win over a ranked opponent
and best of all, the game is nationally televised on a friday from spartan stadium
whether you love or hate msu, you will be watching this game
you know you will

michigan v. alabama
we can be sure that, of all the things michigan was planning on when they scheduled this,
they weren't planning on facing an alabama squad fresh of a national championship
beyond the fact that this is a special opening week game [the cowboys classic],
which means that a ton of people will be watching,
this is the perfect statement game for both of these teams:
it could be michigan's unequivocal announcement that they are 'back',
knocking off an sec powerhouse in the process,
or bama's opportunity to beat yet another b1g team,
and in so doing defend their championship in the biggest of ways
both conferences proclaim to be the best in college football,
so what better way to determine it than a head to head?

week 2:
illinois @ arizona state
some of you may think i put this game here to be a cynical bastard,
and you'd be right
illinois is fresh of being the first team to star 6–0 and finish 0–6,
as well as completely overhauling their coaching staff
the sun devils are fresh off completely imploding down the stretch,
and losing their division to the first ever 6–8 team, ucla
last year, the teams were rather evenly matched
[basically being the same team in two different conferences]
and the rematch in tempe will be a good gauge of how each is restarting
plus, since the b1g/pac12 non–con matchups don't start till 2017,
this is all we get to look forward to until the rose bowl

iowa v. iowa state
the cyhawk trophy is one of the better non–con b1g trophy games
[regardless of what the trophy itself will look like],
and no self–respecting football fan misses out on a good, intrastate football rivalry
especially since, after 3 straight losses where they failed to score more than 7 points,
iowa state beat the piss out iowa last year at home
so you can be sure iowa will be out for blood this year in iowa city

penn state @ virginia
this one seems like kind of a longshot, but i'd put money on it being a great game
penn state, as we all know, is in complete transition from the joepa era,
and everyone's gonna be all over bill o'brian to start off the season well
meanwhile, virginia put together one of the better seasons in the acc last year
and was playing [but lost] for the chance to face clemson in the title game
they may have ended the season with a thud [19 point loss to auburn],
but i'd bet they'll be at least as good this year as last
which means penn state will probly have its hands full when it goes to charlottesville

week 3:
msu v. notre dame
does this one even need an explanation?
msu/notre dame has been one of the best b1g rivalries in the past 10 years
and with both teams striving to be nationally elite,
this game has huge implications for the rest of both teams' seasons
so you better believe spartan stadium will be packed for this game

nebraska v. arkansas state
this game ought to be very interesting
arkansas state won its first conference championship last year,
their new head coach is the o/c from auburn [the same guy who coached cam newton],
and nebraska's non–con schedule is otherwise very soft
this game may be in lincoln, but i think it'll be a tough game for the huskers to pull off

week 4:
michigan @ notre dame 
again, is this really worthy of a full explanation?
notre dame's other rivalry against the state of michigan is usually a good game,
and michigan will be hard pressed to follow up their home performance last year
if they manage to beat both alabama and notre dame in september,
i imagine they'd find themselves ranked in the top 5

week 5:
iowa v. minnesota
this is another game that initially may not seem like a good one,
but considering how this game played out last year,
i expect as good of a show this time around
minnesota's beaten iowa twice in a row,
something that that hasn't happened in a dozen years
this game is suddenly falling under the 'inexplicable loss' category for iowa
which means it might be fun to watch the hawkeyes get flustered yet again

ohio state @ msu
i might as well just start listing every msu game now,
since it's only week 5 and i've already listed 3 of them
but there's no doubt in my mind that this game will be incredible
last year's was a defensive show case with 59 minutes of rather plodding play,
[with 1 minute of excitement near the end]
but this year will be better for two reasons:
msu hasn't lost at home since 2009
and this will be ohio state's first b1g game with urban meyer
if there's really any team that has the capability to beat msu in e/l, it's ohio state
BUT, with mr. egotistical at the helm of the buckeyes now,
replete with spread offense and unabashed indifference to rules,
ohio state should get a pretty good spanking to start off the b1g schedule,
not unlike nebraska's opener last year at wiscy

wisconsin v. nebraska
speaking of nebraska and wisconsin,
they both kick off their respective seasons against each other again this year
though this time they'll be playing in lincoln
wisconsin's got themselves a new acc qb in danny o'brian,
marking this their third starting qb in as many years,
while nebraska's chomping at the bit to be competitive in the b1g title race
plus, after last october's 31-point loss,
i can only imagine that the huskers wish to return the favor

week 6:
msu v. indiana
hah, just kidding, this game will be a total blowout

nebraska @ ohio state
considering that very few b1g fans actually like the buckeyes,
and that urban meyer is the coach now,
i bet this game will get tons of interest from non–husker fans,
specifically hoping they beat the piss out of ohio state at the shoe
and considering how competitive last year's game was,
i bet this one will be just as good

week 7:
iowa @ msu
week 7 and it's already the fourth msu game
but whatcha gon' do?
iowa and msu have been rather evenly matched of late
[in terms of talent and playing style, at least],
and this promises to be yet another smash–mouth game of b1g football
and who would want to miss that?

week 8:
penn state @ iowa
ah yes, iowa, bane of nittany lions' fans for two decades
how much of a bane, you may ask?
penn state has only won in iowa city only thrice since joining the b1g [out of 7 tries]
and only a grand total of ONCE since 1995
their games are usually good and close,
and this one should be especially enticing what with all the coaching changes:
penn state having an entirely new staff, iowa having a new o/c and d/c
plus, it's penn state, and you should ALWAYS watch penn state play

michigan v. msu
and there it is, the paul bunyan trophy
paul's been in e/l long enough to get an undergrad degree,
after having been at michigan long enough to get a master's
this game is a bit later in october than it has been in recent years
[the last three being held on october 15, 9, and 3, respectively]
but that should have no bearing on quality
while i wouldn't bet on either team being undefeated by the time this game is played
[each is likely going to play 3 ranked opponents before week 8],
i would bet on it being one of the best games of the season
why? michigan hasn't beaten msu at the big house since 2006
which is flat out embarrassing

nebraska @ northwestern
we all know that northwestern's made a habit of pulling a big upset every year
it seems to be pat fitzgerald's specialty
last year's was nebraska, which was confounding as it was funny
i want to see these two play again simply to see if the wildcats can do it again
welcome to the b1g, nebraska, northwestern is our iowa state

purdue v. ohio state
this one, you may remember, falls under the 'house of horrors' heading,
because the buckeyes have had some tremendous failures in west lafayette
and we all like seeing ohio state inexplicably lose, yes?
so even though most purdue games tend to fall on the 'meh' end of the scale,
this one will certainly be worth watching

week 9:
iowa @ northwestern
and speaking of inexplicable losses to inferior opponents
['inexplicable' repetition meter: 4 times],
iowa and northwestern really typifies this problem for b1g teams
i think will simply be a fun game to watch,
because spoilers are ALWAYS fun to watch [unless they're happening to you]
also, for the record, i'm calling this as northwestern's yearly spoiler game
hear me now, believe me late

nebraska v. michigan
this game is michigan's first real road game of the season
[purdue doesn't count because michigan isn't the buckeyes],
and it should be a doozy
michigan, msu, and nebraska are all variously expected to win the legends,
and this game will go a long way in establishing who does win it
last year, michigan's win over the huskers gave msu the division championship,
so there's little reason to think it won't matter again

wisconsin v. msu
this will be the first time since 2009 that msu travels to camp randall,
a place no b1g has won since iowa two weeks after the above mentioned game 
[wiscy holds the longest b1g home winning streak at 10,
followed by msu at 8 and michigan at 4]
given the intensity of the last five matchups between these teams,
culminating in last year's two insanely watchable games,
you can be damn sure this one will be just as good

ohio state @ penn state
this game is the leaders division's version of nebraska/michigan
even though wisconsin is going to be favored win leaders again,
osu and penn state are gonna be right there challenging for it,
so it naturally holds that this game will go a long way to determining who wins it
plus, with both teams getting completely new staffs this season,
it'll be a good barometer for how far they've come

week 10:
nebraska @ msu
another one? why not
this week's actually kinda starved for good matchups,
what with um/minnesota, iowa/indiana, osu/illinois, and psu/purdue being the others
so this one stands out because, again, it will mean a lot in the legends division race
plus, nebraska is the last remaining b1g opponent a dantonio team hasn't beaten,
so you can be sure they'll try to make it a reality

week 11:
penn state @ nebraska
another lone standout against a week of 'meh' games,
this one ought to be fantastic
in fact, i'm not even gonna bother selling you on it
if you aren't already compelled to watch either penn state or nebraska play football,
then i really want nothing to do with you

week 12:
michigan v. iowa
i put this game on the list for a very specific reason:
iowa is currently riding it's longest win streak over michigan EVER
michigan state's streak over michigan gets more press,
but this one is just as impressive
iowa's never won twice in a row in ann arbor,
brady hoke's team has yet to lose at home
something's gotta give, yeah?

ohio state @ wisconsin 
this game, not unlike msu/michigan, will probly determine the leaders division winner
ohio state usually comes into this game heavily favored,
but we all remember the last time the buckeyes went to camp randall, don't we?
the long and short of it is that this game is gonna be hard fought,
will likely go down to the wire, and is probly gonna be awesome
and who would want to miss a game like that?

week 13:
iowa v. nebraska
i was a huge fan of this game when it was announced as a series,
and i continue to be to this day
granted, last year's game was a rather underwhelming start,
but this has all the makings of a great rivalry
and, really, what better way is there to spend the day after thanksgiving?

michigan @ ohio state
last year, this game finally got a shot in the arm as far as watchability,
when michigan beat the buckeyes for the first time in 8 tries
who was on the last team that beat ohio state for michigan, you might [not] ask?
john navarre, braylon edwards, chris perry, david bass, and lloyd carr
yeah, it'd been a while
now the wolverines have to go to columbus to prove it wasn't a fluke
this is a game you should watch regardless,
but now you have even less of an excuse

penn state v. wisconsin
you really couldn't ask for a better b1g season wrap up
these teams have been phenomenal the past few years,
and last year this game decided who would represent the leaders in the ccg
[i know, wiscy won in a blowout, but that wasn't the point]
and i'm positive it will be the deciding factor again this year


tl;dr: watch ALL the games

podłoga

with hand on heart, you're right from the start,
you taught me to take my part
no cross to bear, no reason to care,
my life was all up in the air

four to the floor, i was sure, never seeing clear,
i could have it all whenever you are near

the iron hand did not understand
the plight of the common man

four to the floor, i was sure she would be my girl
we'd rent a little world, we'd have a little girl

sovetsk

today, blogasaurs, i finally completed my goal
THE MUSIC CULL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL
it means so much to me, it's in all caps
[it is a meaningless accomplishment]

so, for those of us keeping score [read: no one], here's the tally:
i started with 90.72 gigs, 15102 songs, >1038 hours worth of music,
i have now 70.22 gigs, 11618 songs, and ~787 hours
which, if you're counting, is a 22.6% decrease
so yeah, a fifth of my music is gone now
AND my entire library will fit on my ipod again

so yeah, that's what i've done for the past month,
what about you?


ADDENDUM:
the new blogger interface is TERRIBLE
they were going for minimalist, they achieved confusing
way to go fixing something that wasn't broke, blogger

èirinn

or, an update on culling and other things

first up, since none of you really care but i'm gonna post it anyway
after round 1 of the music pogrom [taking approximately one month],
i've trimmed my library down to 79.77 gigs, 13418 songs, and ~904 hours
which, for those of us keep score,
means i've knocked out 12 gigs, 1684 songs, and 104 hours
i gotta say, i feel good about this so far
it's going much smoother [and faster] than the great cull of 2008
in which i deleted a full fourth of my music over the course of fall semester
and now that the first round has come and gone,
it's time to pull out all the stops and move to round 2
dun dun dunnnnn

in my only other news,
i have loved this week of basketball SO. GODDAMN. HARD.
i wish that every weekend in march was like this one
i haven't enjoyed sports this much since the weekend of the msu/wiscy game [part 1]
half of the reason i like college bball is tourney upsets,
and boy has this weekend delivered
it's made my depressing reality of unemployment/brokeness much more bearable
and for that, i thank it
and as such, i'm looking forward to plenty more of it for the next three weeks
ladies and gents of the tourney, bring it on

well damn, i lied
one more thing:
in the spirit of the occasion [st paddy's], i leave you all with this:
alba gu bràth, you fake irish cocksuckers



ADDENDUM:
round 2 has been a rousing success
at the end of this five day lighting round,
i'm down to 75.78 gigs, 12724 songs,  ~856 hours
screw weight loss, athletic training, and other self-improvement activities
this is the way you improve your own life
at least, in my own twisted mind it is

ch'uju

hello, darkness, my old friend, i've come to talk with you again,
because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while i was sleeping
and the vision that was planted in my brain still remains,
within the sound of silence

in restless dreams i walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone,
'neath the halo of a street lamp, i turned my collar to the cold and damp
when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night
and touched the sound of silence

and in the naked light, i saw ten thousand people, maybe more
people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening
people writing songs that voices never shared,
and no one dared disturb the sound of silence

'fools', i said, 'you do not know, silence like a cancer grows
hear my words that i might teach you, take my arms that i might reach you'
but my words, like silent raindrops, fell and echoed
in the wells of silence

and the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made,
and the sign flashed its warning in the words that it was forming
and the sign said:
'the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls'
and whispered in the sounds of silence

romany

after a quick glance around the blogzorz,
i noticed that it's been about 2 months since my last real post
[i enjoy posting lyrics, but that's a cheap cop–out and doesn't count]
so, instead of posting yet another song for you to [not] listen to,
i'll just talk about music instead, specially my music collection
because I'M SO GODDAMN BORED I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO

[this post is brought to you by the above theme]

because i've had little to nothing to do these past three months,
i've had to resort to making my own entertainment
most of my waking time has been devoted to the following activities:
listening to music, surfing the internet, playing flash games, occasionally reading,
and filling out job applications [and drinking tea]
pros of that: it's a great change of pace from the past two/three semesters
cons: i'm not paid to do any of that, i have no car, and no money

so because i've been in my house alone for the past quarter–year,
i've been strapped for things to accomplish
[quick understanding of the way my mind works:
if i'm not getting something done, i feel inordinately guilty for wasting time
it doesn't have to be big or meaningful, it just has to be something]
and i've started doing trivial things to give myself something to do
i rearranged my house's first floor [kitchen/living room/sitting room]
i chopped a metric shit–tonne of wood and kindling,
and [weather permitting] done yard work when necessary
but as useful as those things are,
they're one–and–dones, so there's no follow up or continuous attention needed
so i'm back to square one once they're done
which is how i got on my current kick

once i was finally done with school work and no longer in need of all my files,
i cleaned out my classwork folder from the past 4 1/2 years,
and got all that shit organized, lest i need it again at some point in the future
i would've left it at that, but i came across a horrifying realization that same day:
my hard drive was almost full
my 350gb hard disk, a full 875% more space than my previous laptop had,
was down to its last 800 megabytes
i was completely flummoxed, so i did the one thing i could do:
i started swearing aloud at my computer,
and then i started swearing at myself

since that day, i've gone on a space–saving binge of unmatched proportion
i've delved into all my files and documents, photo albums, and movie folders,
trimming corners and downsizing file sizes where possible,
deleting things i no longer liked/wanted in an attempt to regain some breathing room
most of the space i regained came from my massive movie folder,
since each movie i had was ~700mb, and i deleted about a dozen of them
[except for one movie file, which is grotesquely large and unendingly cumbersome
i'm lookin' at you, history of the devil, all 30.65 gigs of you]
i got myself some spatial breathing room
now i'm down to the movies i like and the movies i want to watch,
as opposed to those plus movies i didn't like, hadn't watched, or didn't want to
but it was downsized nonetheless
but even in the face of all this bulemic bit shit going down like a sweet muffin,
[archaic inside joke, anyone?]
there was one behemoth left untouched, unscathed, and daring me to touch it:
my music library

blogasaurs, my crippling music addiction is both well–documented and unashamed,
but it's time i gave you some numbers to quantify my melodic slavery:
at the start of 2012, my music totaled 90.72 gigs, 15102 songs, and >1038 1/2 hours
it was the product of years of musical attrition starting in august of 2003,
subject to every musical whim i've had since then,
from wanton free itunes downloads, to ganking friends' burned cds,
to shameless mass downloading, to other's massive music collections,
to my own selfish musical hoarding
i'm like the old guy who never throws away newspapers,
like the lady who adopts every cat she finds,
like the people who keep making lolcats
i must have every good piece of music ever made
which is how i ended up with such a leviathan parasite on my hard drive

that was two weeks ago, and i have made serious strides in slaying the fell beast
i've been nothing short of ruthless in culling my music,
deleting everything from albums i was tepid about, to songs i no longer liked,
to shit i never even bothered listening to
it's been a long, ongoing [i'm actually doing it as i type this]
and man is it making all the difference
my itunes is less cluttered, my playlists aren't as bloated,
and there's far less music i don't like on my computer
at current count, i'm down to 84.42 gigs, 14243 songs, ~954 hours,
and the culling ain't over yet
i wouldn't be surprised to see another 6 gigs hit the recycle bin before i'm done
because nothing comes between me and my music, especially my music


i realize i sound like some sort of inspiration weight–loss jagoff about this,but i have to sap every bit of meaning i can from this
remember: i have nothing to do and no one to hang out with
if i can clean up/out my hard drive, it'll at least distract me from being in the mount
besides, i take pride in my musical taste and organization
[as anyone who has seen what i do to my next music can attest to],
and it's high time i get rid of the shit that doesn't deserve to have me listen to it

besides, if i don't clear out enough space,
how am i supposed to keep up with all the new cds that are coming out?
that shit's not gonna catalogue and listen to itself

ĝemo

serve god, love me, and mend
this is not the end
live unbruised, we are friends
and i'm sorry, i'm sorry

sigh no more, no more
one foot in sea and one on shore
my heart was never pure,
and you know me, you know me

but man is a giddy thing

love, it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you,
it will set you free
be more like the man you were made to be
there is a design, an alignment, a cry of my heart to see
the beauty of love is it was made to be

nalěćo

it's the first day of spring, and my life is starting over again
the trees grow, the river flows, and its water will wash away my sins
for i do believe that everyone has one chance to fuck up their lives
but like a cut-down tree i will rise again,
and i'll be bigger and stronger than ever before

there's a hope in every new seed and every flower that grows upon the earth
and though i love you and you know that, well i no longer know what that's worth
but i'll come back to you in a year or so, and i'll rebuild, be ready to become
oh, the person you believed in, oh, the person that you used to love

for i'm still here hoping that one day you may come back