its the power of prayer, player

shifta's got the more controversial opinions on god, prayer, and that whole scene. blame it on me being raised in a baptist church, but its still awkward to tread on some things

i certainly dont refute the [very likely] existence of a "higher power" - what we'll call a god. i dont know what creation or evolutionary theories to which i should subscribe, but i think there's just too much going on in this world for spontaneous generation to be responsible. maybe im glib, maybe you are. let's agree to disagree (or is it "when in rome"?)

anyways, shaun alexander suffered the ol madden curse and broke his foot. today we hear that the power of prayer has miraculously healed his foot, and he thinks he can play sunday. he won't play sunday, simply b/c his team cant risk the franchise on that one game. that would rank right up there in the dumb moves category along with the texans passing on reggie bush this year.

i absolutely do not refute the power of prayer. lets think about it, the mind is proven by science to be incredibly powerful and incredibly underused. so when you focus your body and mind intently on something, be it through meditation, positive talking/thinking, or prayer, it is entirely possible that the mind could go to work beyond what we can acknowledge. not to discount prayer, because there very well could be a higher being who "hears" our prayers, but it is a lot easier to explain and understand the power of the mind than some ethereal presence whimsically granting "wishes" in the form of prayer.

it's all deadly -- it's all a form of focusing the mind. so meditate, think positively, do some drugs, pray, whatever. intense focus. maybe if you "pray" long enough, shifta and i will grace you with a continuous bounty of (dick) blog posts

...Some of God's greatest gifts-- you know the tune

societal assumptions

it's unfortunate that guys and girls cannot be friends or hang out without people thinking theyre dating or humping. i use the term humping loosely, of course, but you get the point. i have had this assumption endlessly applied to me over the years, even if the chick had a boyfriend (which of course does not matter to guys like shifta and i, so i guess its a decent assumption). it has been as bad as getting a ride with a chick and having people ask me if we were dating.

it's like if two gay guys go to dinner and you assume theyre gonna blow each other at the end of the night. wait, it isnt like that at all, b/c that most likely will happen.

oh well i dont see these "norms" changing any time soon, so i guess its just something we have to deal with, but in the meantime, shifta -- im gonna be in town on friday, you wanna go get some dinner?

evanescence: talk to me sweetly

im not a music buff, nor am i a musician. as such, i am not offering a mind-blowing and thorough review of evanescence's latest album. and by mind-blowing and thorough, i mean something one of those pretentious [wannabe?] emo record store punks would spew

i guess whoever was writing with amy lee previously did not write on this album. you can tell, too. not that it's a bad thing by any stretch -- but i havent heard an album this bitter since kelly clarkson. uhh, not that ive heard that album or anything ;)

this album has a nice balance, a dichotomy if you will, between "piano" songs and "rocker" songs. by no strange coincidence, i think the two best songs on the album are more piano-driven, though one of them ("lithium") is a savory hybrid. definitely top notch song, best on the album.
dont you worry, you little rockers, amy brings you plenty to work with, but the emo kid in you might be reaching for the kleenex (knife) on some of the slower (incredibly beautiful) piano rifts.

one notable difference for me, for lack of a better description, is a return to the minor key tonality of their earlier works, which gives it more of a "goth" feeling, as shifta described it. it definitely works with ms lee's [soon to be dickinson] pipes

i think it bodes well for an album when the first single is only the 3rd or 4th best song on the album--hopefully theyll get it right and bring lithium strong and hard.
let me know if you want a snippet of lithium...and i do mean snippet b/c sharing music is against the law

admittedly i wrote this for two main reasons: (1) evanescence is fantastic, so i wanted to talk about it. think about ron burgundy wanting to scream from on top of a mountain that he was in love with veronica. glad i can dumb it down for you. and (b) im trying to open up the studio space for shifta to really get in and explore.

let me first start out with this --
I was explaining my last blog to someone, because she didn't get all of the sports references. But after I explained the franchise tag to her, this was her response:

LarMicMac7: wow
LarMicMac7: you love to do that to girls

That's as good as anything, right there.
Alright, now I'm on Ames. (literally) Umm... it's glorious. It's essentially Amy Lee's tribute to Silverchair, as far as I can tell. Seriously though -- there is some definite silverchairisimo to the album. And bruce is spot on, (as usual) it is, no doubt, a melodic minor-keyed melancholy musical masterpiece! (Alliteration for the rhymesters in the place, with style & grace)

"Lithium" is top shelf. Its the albums opus magnum, if you will. Its the yardstick of civilization. But if you really wanna know what its like to "date" shifta and/or dickinson, spin the final track, "Good Enough", and really sink your teeth in. The entire body of bitterness culminates with this final oeuvre. It's very special. And I'm very aroused.

Go pick up the album, ya know, because, you deserve it.
I think what we're both trying to say is... Amy... marry me..

P.S. you are my night sky

Mister October

Don't take it personally, but chances are you're just a posession player. That's just the nature of the game we play. The game being life. Follow the method...

Am I the only one that ranks friends and/or hookups? I think not. But I may be the only one who uses a complex algorithm to give a numeric score to them. (not to mention my ridiculous series of tunnels) And I'm probably the only one who would waive, trade, cut, draft and sign friends without batting an eyelash. I like to think of my life as an on-going fantasy league. (and yes, I'm doing very well, in case you were wondering) Anytime you move to a new neighborhood, start at a new school, get a new job, etc -- its like the draft. Lots of rookies (high schoolers) and free agents looking for that big payday and a chance for the title. And yes, I'll prey on that and take full advantage, because that's the kind of man/boy I am. Those of you that know me have no doubt heard me say "s/he brings nothing to the table.. don't bring them along again." It's really that simple. I'm pushing the salary cap and I don't really have room (or tolerance) for underachievers. Offended by my jokes; you're gone. Don't swallow; I'm shopping you, and I'll probably settle for a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Can't spit fire on my level; you may find yourself spending more time on the bench (or throwing triple A games) than by my side.

But what I really wanna talk about here is giving out the Franchise Tag to a friend (and it applies to hook-ups as well) It's a big step. But if you have that one guy/girl on the roster that you absolutely have to keep at all costs (and it can be hefty) what else are you gonna do? Chances are (if you have any kind of eye for talent) this person is a hot commodity and rival GM's are courting said asset. You want to secure the person that's gonna take your "club" to the next level. Every great method needs a great apparatus. Trust me on this--

The problem is -- so many of you are Isiah Thomas. You're glib. Someone rolls into the league, drifts from friend group to friend group and never really seems invaluable to any of them. Every weekend s/he is calling everyone on speed dial only to get, "we're not sure yet, but I'll call you when I hear." These clowns don't know what's going on and have nothing to offer. But then out of some random act of kindness, you let them tag along. Suddenly the moons align and the oceans part. They had some bad shellfish and suddenly they're on fire. Everything they say and/or do is getting a huge crowd and it's all deadly. Don't get too excited; contract player in a contract year. When they know this is their last chance, they suddenly decide to show up. This idiot has been mailing it in for years and now you really believe they're a PTPer? And it doesn't even have that much to do with them; most likely its because they got to come off the bench and play with a playoff caliber team. My god, my club is habitually in the post season; we could make any role-player look good. You play off of *this* all night and of course you're going to be a huge hit. But really, what did it take to catch the "give-and-go" all night? Was it that hard to dish off to me for 20 assists? Did Pippen really work that hard? You couldn't NOT succeed behind this offensive live, man. I'm not buying what you're selling, cheech. And like I said, I'm pressed for cap space....

But, when it works; you'll know. And that's when its time to tag your franchise guy/girl. Don't even hesitate. Pull the trigger and start making history. It's that same feeling that says, "no matter what else happens, at least I have that couch problem taken care of." There's a calm that comes with sinking your claws into misses "I can't believe she can do that with her tongue". You'll have the one piece of the puzzle that everything else will be built around. I know it's a tough deal to give anyone that kind of status, but the best booty of your life just might be worth it. And definitely having a red to your meth (mesh) is worth investing heavily in. So go ahead, and CTC--- you'll be glad you did.

And for those cats that never make the big plays. That choke in crunch time. That never commit themselves to the game. Well, take the wrench everytime... cos fuck them, that's why.

Naturally I'm in everyone's Cooperstown-- But you're not me....