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2004 Mascot Melee Wrap-Up
01.31.05 (5:35 pm)   [edit]
Last Week Of The Regular Season: 8-8 - Final Record: 135-124

Well, that was an interesting experiment. I'm just fortunate to finish with a winning record. I'd compare it to Kelly's final tally in her Practical Picks segment (from the Pugs & Kelly Show on KLLI-FM), but she didn't do the picking every week.

I may make some substitutions next year... IF I do it next year. I only picked the Eagles ONCE - poor bird was mismatched in every other game - and guess who made it to the Super Bowl. Likewise, the big, bad Titan was squashing opponents left and right... and the team finished with a less-than-stellar record. Nissan makes a truck called a Titan, so I might use that for the Titans next season. As for the Eagles, I may use the members of the rock band... they might stand more of a fighting chance.

At least I've got eight months to think of something.

Oh yeah... for Super Bowl XXXIX, a Patriot can easily shoot down an Eagle. (However, Joe Walsh could've clobbered that Patriot with his guitar.)
 
My Dissection of 2004 - Part II
01.06.05 (10:22 am)   [edit]
I never was a big fan of election years... those even-numbered years where our elected officials come up for re-election, and in an effort to gain brownie points with their conservative constituents, they try and pass all these laws that infringe on the freedoms of fun-loving liberals. The fiasco over Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime performance only fueled lawmakers' efforts to "clean up" the media and popular culture. And caught in the crossfire was the gay marriage debate... reportedly this was one of the hot-button issues that got the conservatives out in droves to vote.

As much as I'm happy for George W. Bush winning a second term - something his father couldn't accomplish - the whole election left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt sorry for John Kerry and all the people that mobilized and put together their best effort to win the presidency for the Democratic Party. It seemed so certain that Kerry would win... but Bush pulled it off, and WITH a majority of the popular vote this time. Still, I just wish it didn't seem like the fact that Bush won means the ultra-conservatives won, the religious fanatics won, Big Oil won, and the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth won. I've leaned Republican for most of my life, and right now I'm just not comfortable with how much the extremists want to intrude on my personal rights. So I'll be watching 2005 unfold with a bit of trepidation as far as freedom of expression is concerned.

BEST MOMENT OF 2004: Winning the Krewe of Aquarius poster contest. This means that my handiwork will be the official poster for the Krewe's 2005 Mardi Gras celebration in Galveston for hundreds of thousands of revelers to pick up and observe. And the prize is a free one year membership in the Krewe. It won't take effect until after the 2005 festivities, but in 2006 I'll finally realize my dream of participating in a Mardi Gras parade... which may well turn out to be the Best Moment of 2006. Special thanks to my cousin Jennifer Flores and her husband Tony for first mentioning this contest to me.

Runners-up - FINALLY taking Kristi to experience Mardi Gras in Galveston; watching as Kristi received her Bachelor's degree in Accounting in December; getting to ride a Cushman scooter with my family in a Christmas parade in Marshall, Texas; and taking the helm of the Section 8 comedy troupe's website, which is another chance to jazz up my design portfolio and another chance to work with some of the most talented guys in the Metroplex.

WORST MOMENT OF 2004: Witnessing the end of the Rock Radio Station era. Blame it on changing musical tastes, blame it on corporate radio dumbing down the stations, blame it on the FCC crackdown... but there seems to be no place on the dial anymore for the loud & crazy debauchery that characterized your typical active-rock-format radio station in the eighties and nineties. In 2004 Clear Channel mercilessly killed two beloved rock radio stations in Texas: 97.1 The Eagle in Dallas, and (this one really hit home for me) 33-year rock veteran 101 KLOL in Houston. And the classic-rock and alternative-rock stations that the disenfranchised fans are supposed to turn to seem just totally bland and lifeless in comparison.

Runners-up - The increasing burden of my health-care costs on the household budget; The Houston Astros coming so close to the World Series but losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League championship; the labor dispute in the National Hockey League that has all but killed the 2004-05 season completely; and the total neutering of Howard Stern's show thanks to his paranoid bosses and the FCC.

THIS YEAR'S TECHNOLOGICAL ACQUIREMENTS: I finally got TollTags (automatic debit cards for use in express tollbooth lanes) for our cars; I upgraded my personal computer to an old-school iMac (which means I can finally run Mac OS X under my roof); we got a digital camera (that can also record QuickTime movies!) for Christmas; and I joined the masses of satellite radio owners by signing up for XM, the new home of Opie & Anthony... which leads me to...

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were finally freed from contractual limbo this year and came roaring back bigger and badder than ever on XM Satellite Radio, where they can be as nasty as they wanna be. In the desert that is boring corporate radio these days, XM and the Opie & Anthony Show are a refreshing and entertaining oasis.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's a love story that's cleverly disguised as science fiction. I especially liked the clever way the plot unfolded, and the great performances by all involved. And it was pretty cool to see Kate Winslet with blue hair.

MISSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR: "Janet Jackson bared her breast during the Super Bowl halftime show." GET IT RIGHT, PEOPLE... it was JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE that ripped her outfit open. Sheesh.
 
My Dissection of 2004 - Part I
01.04.05 (8:03 am)   [edit]

My 2004 year-in-review piece will be done in multiple parts. First off, my favorite songs from the year:


1. AMERICAN IDIOT by Green Day - I'd give the entire album (a bold punk-rock concept piece) the number one spot if I wished, it's that good.... but Album Of The Year is just as esteemed a title to bestow on it. And the leadoff track is Green Day at its best and most politically acerbic.


2. FLOAT ON by Modest Mouse - This came a VERY close second. A modern-rock gem that's trippy and spellbinding... yet fun to sing along to.


3. YOU DON'T WANT DRAMA by Eightball & MJG - Of all the catchy rap tracks out there in 2004, this was the catchiest.


4. WALK IDIOT WALK by The Hives - The video for this one is awesome... very retro-80's-ish. The song kicks ass, of course.


5. TWO THOUSAND PLACES by Polyphonic Spree - The best track from their new "Together We're Heavy" CD. This is what rock & roll heaven sounds like.


6. DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT by Snoop Dogg - Sometimes a minimalist groove can be quite addictive... the Neptunes supply a lo-fi beat and Snoop's smooth voice brings in the funk.


7. MY BAND by D12 - A slapstick piece playing off the rumors about infighting among the D-Twelvers. Funny as hell.


8. FALL BEHIND ME by The Donnas - A masterpiece from the all-girl punk outfit.


9. OVER & OVER by Nelly & Tim McGraw - I'd include this in the countdown for its historical value alone - a collaboration between a rapper and a country singer (!) - but the tune definitely holds its own.


10. SAVE A HORSE, RIDE A COWBOY by Big & Rich - The most fun country song this year, and probably the first to use the phrase "bling bling".


11. JUST LOSE IT by Eminem


12. LET'S GO by Trick Daddy


13. TAKE ME OUT by Franz Ferdinand


14. TIPSY by J-Kwon


15. YEAH by Usher, Ludacris & Lil' Jon


16. THE END OF THE WORLD by The Cure


17. VERTIGO by U2


18. MY BOO by Usher & Alicia Keys


19. GET BACK by Ludacris


20. PERSONAL JESUS by Marilyn Manson


21. 1985 by Bowling For Soup


22. TRIPLE TROUBLE by Beastie Boys


23. ON FIRE by Lloyd Banks


24. LOSE MY BREATH by Destiny's Child


25. LEAVING NEW YORK by R.E.M.


26. REDNECK WOMAN by Gretchen Wilson


27. SLITHER by Velvet Revolver


28. BREATHE, STRETCH, SHAKE by Ma$e


29. ONE TWO STEP by Ciara


30. SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE by Kelly Clarkson


HONORABLE MENTION: 99 PROBLEMS by Jay-Z.... the DJ Dangermouse "Grey Album" remix. The song may be from 2003 (and the song mixed in - Helter Skelter - from 1968), but the mix was done in 2004... and the blending is just flawless.
 
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