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Band of Horses
November 28, 2007Love the band Band of Horses. Something about they way they move me...sorry for the Beatles reference.
Still, I don't know what it is about the band because the lead singer sounds a little too much like a pansy, but the sound does it for me.
It's a mixture of solid, soft rock sound and the melody of someone like the 70s Beach Boys. It's a odd combination, but after a couple of listens you'll love it even more.
I tried their album, Cease to Begin, out on a flier and I haven't been disappointed. They have one previous album, and I'm not sure what it's titled, but I think I'll take a chance.
I read a story in Rolling Stone, my music guide, about the group and the lead singer's story is interesting. I know he was a homeless bum for a while in the upper Northwest, and now the band is on the verge of breaking through big time.
Check 'em out. http://www.bandofhorses.com/
Posted by Clayton Hein at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sean Taylor memories
November 27, 2007Sean Taylor might have been the best safety in the NFL. Unfortunately he died this morning from a gun shot wound suffered from a robbery at his Miami house.
When I first heard the news yesterday I didn't think it was that big a deal. I hear gunshot to the groin. Then later in the day I heard the bullet hit a femoral artery. At that point I knew it was serious.
I loved to watch Sean Taylor play. Last night I figured he had to be OK because he was a immortal football player. Someone people discuss for ages.
I can see down the line...my brother, family and me sitting around talking football and trying to determine who was better Roy Williams, Bob Sanders or Sean Taylor.
When I heard the news this morning my feelings drifted towards football fan. I felt like I was robbed of any future Sean Taylor experiences from some greedy guy with a gun.
When I tried to explain to my wife how much of an impact Sean Taylor had on a game I compared him to Terrell Owens.
From Miami, or "The U," he was an instant bad-a. He played the game with a reckless abandon. He was so big and fast, and I loved watching him come up and but a lick on a runner. He might have been one of the better center fielding safeties in the league as well.
Two games stick out in my mind that Sean Taylor played. One was last year's Pro Bowl. Brian Moorman, a punter for the Buffalo Bills, who is a good athlete I might add, decided to get fancy and try to run a fake punt.
Well he failed because Sean Taylor hit him and they both went vertical. One of the nastiest hits I've ever seen. Yeah it was a safety on a punter, but it's still fun to watch.
Another game I remember was during Sean Taylor's rookie year. He wore No. 36 at the time, I forget who wore No. 21 at the time, but at the end of the season they squared off against the Minnesota Vikings. (You might remember it as the day Randy Moss walked off the field with about 20 seconds to go.)
That was the day of the super-freak Randy Moss. The guy did what he wanted to on the field. Well, most of the coverage responsibility fell on Taylor when the Vikings sent Moss deep. It was an interesting match-up. Both extremely talented, but one with way less experience.
I think Moss won the individual match-up that day, but it was the first time I actually got to experience, fully, Sean Taylor as a Redskin. One touchdown Moss caught diving over Taylor while both were lunging for the ball is still a special NFL replay.
Watch and see...
http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d801b4989
Posted by Clayton Hein at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Let the sleeping stripper lie....
November 26, 2007I figured it wouldn't be a good story if I couldn't tell anyone about it, so here goes nothing. Saturday my brother got hitched. Good wedding- I'm assuming - nice presents and a good reception.
Everything about the wedding went according to plan.
Fortunately for me I was selected to be the best man. What an honor. I've never thrown a bachelor party before. I've only been to my own, and we just went bar hopping. It was fun, but I didn't know much different Friday night.
My brother's father-in-law set us up with a room at the Days Inn... (thank you Days Inn staff for not calling the cops by the way.)
We went to a couple of bars, nothing too crazy. It was my brother, two sibling groomsmen, a guy from the Mississippi, a newly married man and me. We were met up by a few others but the before mentioned group was the life of the party.
We went to Stage West for 50-cent drinks. (Thank you Lord for inventing the 50-cent drink night.) Then we hit up Old Town and saw a ton of old buddies. It was a nice night overall. After that my buddies went to Maximus. I stayed in the parking lot. I had spent all of the money I withdrew for the day on gay bachelor party gifts -- his name was Butch and he was fabulous -- and booze.
Maximus was the last stop on the Bachelor Party fun map.
Don't really know how it happened but my friends were able to convince an "employee" to visit the ol' hotel room. I think she heard $ and perked up.
To tell the truth, I had no idea who the girl was until much, much, much later. Like next morning later. We all went back to the hotel, high-school party style, and drank and drank some more. Some friends puked and some passed out in the hotel lobby. (If you see me on the streets I'd be happy to show you the video.)
So about 6 a.m. rolls around and I figure then was as good a time as ever to get some zzz's with only about 12 hours to go until the wedding.
I wake up at 9 a.m. and three of the groomsmen were gone, but the stripper wasn't. It was her, my bro and me...all alone.
Dilemma of that day. Wake up the girl and shoo her out? Or let my brother, the only person in the room beside the stripper, worry about the problem.
Have a good one bro....
Posted by Clayton Hein at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Niggy Tardust and The Cool Kids
November 21, 2007Two artists to put on your radar for the rest of the year:
1.) Saul Williams, who has his album "THE INEVITABLE RISE AND LIBERATION OF NIGGY TARDUST", on the internet for free.
Don't get offended too quickly people. I don't know if he's trying to make a statement out of the title, but it's clear he's a fan, of some sort, of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" character.
It's produced by Trent Reznor, yes that Reznor - the leading cog in the Nine Inch Nails wheel. It's progressive hip-hop, but a pleasant surprise right out the gate is his U2 cover of "Sunday Bloody Sunday."
I find it interesting that U2 just released their 20th anniversary edition of "The Joshua Tree," just in time to coincide with Saul Williams' cover?.. Odd huh?...
It's an amazing sound. You don't know if someone's playing the drums or laying into a drum machine. I highly recommend it. You can go to his album and elect to "support" the artist, with a optional $5 payment, or you can just get it for free. I recommend paying -- it's that good.
2.) The Cool Kids.
I saw them in my recent Rolling Stone magazine and almost instantly fell in love with the two guys from Illinois.
Check out their Myspace page and listen to either "88" which has a Nas-ripped hook, or check out "Black Mags." "Black Mags" is a non-skateboarding approached to Lupe Fiasco's "Kick, Push."
I end by saying that the new Mike Jones, if you can actually call it an album, is a better coaster than it is an album. I've heard the Eazy-E sampled "My 64" before, and that song is the only thing new he has to offered.
The album comes with some type of DVD, but I wouldn't buy it if Mike Jones personally asked me to do so.
Posted by Clayton Hein at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Never Get Busted...???
November 20, 2007A new product to the DVD market is brought forward by an ex-Texas Police Officer.
This guy -- Barry Cooper -- might be the life preserver in your sinking marijuana addiction. For $29 his DVD will teach pot heads young and old the basics to keeping people out of marijuana jail.
He's got tips police use, tips old informants used and just practical knowledge for someone that wants to take their stash from point A to point B. He also makes a point to show his viewers the hidden compartments for weed.
Here are some quick accolades for Mr. Cooper:
"Barry Cooper is a hero because he is standing up and declaring the War on Drugs is not working!" --Tucker Carlson, MSNBC
"Cooper is a former narcotics officer once considered among the top cops in Texas, where more marijuana is seized each year than in any other state." --USA TODAY
http://www.nevergetbusted.com/
You just have to ask yourself if you think he's legit and if the $29 is a reasonable price. My advice is to carry less than two ounces if you do decided to go joy riding. The penalty is a misdemeanor, but anymore than that and you're looking at becoming a felon.
Posted by Clayton Hein at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Experience is overrated
November 16, 2007Posted by Clayton Hein at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Ho, Ho, Hoes
November 15, 2007Santas in Australia -- the outback country -- are being told by the government to stop using the Ho, Ho, Ho and move to a more friendly Ha, Ha, Ha.
What a crock of crap! Something about the children being able to confuse the Americanized slang word "ho" for a prostitute...or something like that.
At my age I tend to think of Santa saying ho, ringing a bell at the mall, as a calling to all prostitutes, but that's because I'm an immature 25-year old man.
If a chick gets offended by a Santa Claus calling out "Ho, Ho, Ho" then she's got some bigger problems. Time to hit the Xanax is all I'm saying.
I like to find the oddities in society and run, run with them. It's fun. I do it all the time.
Anyways, as a kid I didn't even think twice. That was just Santa's calling card. How else was a child supposed to know Santa was coming or going? "Ho, Ho, Ho" is a part of the entire St. Nicholas charm.
I guess its a movement by the crazies of the world to de-Christianize Christmas. First there was Happy Hollidays at Wal-Mart. And now I hear there are friendship trees.
Leave the Christ in Christmas. It's easy to do. The kids don't usually know the difference, unless a positive role model is teaching them the true meaning. Kids are usually thinking about what Santa is saying or they got confused with the chocolate Lil' Debbie snack because the big guy didn't use enough hos.
I know a lot of people are stuck on writing out the term Christmas instead of the short handed X-mas, but to me that's just not that big of a deal.
So a happy "Ho, Ho, Ho" and a happy new year Wichita Falls. Don't forget to tip your Santa Claus
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071115/wl_asia_afp/lifestyleaustraliachristmasoffbeat
Posted by Clayton Hein at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Bald Bull, Piston Honda, Mr. Sandman and Little Mac
November 14, 200720 years ago last month Mike Tyson's Punch-Out turned 20 years old. The days of dodging and weaving don't feel that long ago for Nintendo's A,B buttons.
I'd have to say that Mike Tyson's game might be the greatest game ever made - next to Contra - for any video game system.
I would trade Halo 3 for Mike Tyson's any day. The game held the key to ultimate bragging rights. I've only heard the lore of someone actually beating Mike Tyson during the final bout of the game. I got to him once, on a cheat code no less (007 373 5963 for anyone interested), and I could never make it out of the first round.
Everything about the game was and still seems perfect. The characters and their little moves. Remember that silly - dun, dun....dun, dunna - music that would play right before the attack approached.
Mac was a champion. He would run the streets of what seemed to be Philadelphia with his trainer Doc Louis would follow on his bike. Talk about a committed fighter.
The only cheat that didn't feel like a cheat would be the select button between rounds. Did it work better the fast the select button was pushed? Don't know, but I pushed the hell out of that button sometimes. Especially when I had to fight Bald Bull and Piston Honda the second time around.
I hated Bald Bull's laugh by the way. That charge still haunts my dreams at times.
So here's to you Mike Tyson. There was only one Mike Tyson's Punch Out. There was a sequel, but there was wasn't another Mike Tyson in the title.
Probably had to do with the whole rape thing. Thanks Mike..you pigeon crazed fool. (Actually I later learned -- about 10 minutes after finishing this blog -- that it might have been a contract dispute because of Tyson's loss to Buster Douglas.)
Posted by Clayton Hein at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Norman Mailer
November 12, 2007Mailer died at 84 this weekend. He was a great mind and from what I remember, due to to the move "When we were Kings," was a boxing fan and historian of one fight.
I read an article/interview about Mailer in Rolling Stone about 3 months ago and its interesting to go back and read what the guy had to say.
He was an important journalist and author. Here's a small sample size of what kind of person and the type of thinker Mailer was....
Posted by Clayton Hein at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
In Rainbows, American Gangster, Serj.....
The recent release of music has been promising. I'm waiting, not so patiently, on Alicia Keys' new album tomorrow, but I've like the fall end of the music business this year.
I'll start with two tried and true vets - Radiohead and Jay-Z, released their albums in completely different manners and both are solid.
Since I learned that I could get the Radiohead album for free, I've never intentionally listened to a Radiohead song before. I took a shot, again mainly because I could get it for free, and I'm slowly becoming infatuated with Radiohead.
I had a buddy let me listen to Bends and still impressed. Check out In Rainbows. The deluxe album, going for like $80, is supposed to be a Radiohead fan's wet dream and will be released in December-ish.
On to Jay-Z. American Gangster, aptly titled after American Gangster the film, is a collection of solid songs. Some are better than others and some suck. Well not really suck, but they pale in comparison to other Jay-Z cuts.
The guy knows how to brag. He references Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis Cardinals in a song and it works. The song featuring Lil Wayne (I'm definintely waiting on his new release after 2005's Carter II) is the best. Lil Wayne steals the show on "Hello Brooklyn."
I'm a big Jay-Z fan and I'd have to say American Gangster isn't as good as the Black Album or close to the Blueprint, but its good. A lot better than the Blueprint 2, and on par with maybe Kingdom Come. Jay-Z went back to dealing crack on this album, but he's growed up.
The lead singer of System of a Down, Serj Tankian, is got a lot of things on his mind. I'm about three tracks deep on his new album and its a hardcore fan listen only. I'm looking forward to hearing "Beethoven's C***," just because it caused a stir in Rolling Stone for a 1/2 a page.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Posted by Clayton Hein at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
NBC's "Friday Night Lights"
November 10, 2007I don't know what it is, but I have a passion for NBC's Friday Night Lights. Something about the show gets me going when I watch.
Is it the characters, is it the story? I don't know. But it might be the best show on television right now.
Instead of going to the game Friday nights, I turn on the tube and watch the action unfold on the little screen.
I would like to go to the games, but I have to work at the paper come kickoff time. I still live in the atmosphere of high school football.
I didn't play Texas high school football. Don't really regret it, but I like sports and I like Texas. I guess my interested in the show can be attributed to H.B. Bissinger's book.
Odessa Permian was something else. They won. Simple as that.
I can see the show getting a little O.C. (Orange County for non TV heads) in the upcoming season or so.
I'll just enjoy for the time being. Go to NBC.com to catch up with a few episodes. They have "limited" commercial interruptions, but its worth it in the end.
Posted by Clayton Hein at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Burk killed Hirschi
November 03, 2007I wonder if the spray paint found at the Burk's school Friday had any anything to do with the butt whipping they handed the Hirschi Huskies Saturday.
I arrived early in the first quarter and the score was already 13-0. And the points kept a comin'.
I left at the beginning of the fourth quarter to a score of 40-0. My buddy said the Bulldogs were going Patriot on the Huskies.
Before the game went to the half, Burk went for a fourth and short in the red zone and were rewarded with six points.
They could have kicked a field goal, but that's why I'm not a high school football coach. The Huskies looked lost at times and most of the team appeared to be down. Did they quit on Coach Searcy?
I know this much - I can't wait for the Burk vs. Graham game at the end of the season. After Vernon beat Graham last night, I have a feeling Burk will clinch the district title. I don't think they've done that since the Skip Hicks days.
Posted by Clayton Hein at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Trick or Treat this!
November 01, 2007I went with the family to the mall last night for a little Trick or Treat. I was excited. It was my kid's first Halloween. He can't eat his own candy so I was obviously attracted to eating his sweets for him.
At the last minute I threw on my brother's costume from last year. It was the scary guy from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It had work shirt, bloody apron and scary mask included.
No chainsaw though.
I had to have someone walk in front of me because my peripheral vision was shot with the mask on. No big deal. I didn't plan on staying at the mall that long anyways.
We started at Piccadilly and worked our way towards Old Navy. It was fun. I grossed some kids out. It didn't phaze my 8-month old. I don't know why. He just wanted to play with the plastic face that was his dad.
We made down to the candy stand and Taco Bell when some authority from above stopped me and requested I take my mask off.
I figured I didn't want trouble so I did what I was told, but now that I think about it I should have told the rent-a-cops to go to hell on Halloween.
I mean, it was Halloween, the only time I would wear a mask to the mall and feel OK about the whole situation. I have thought about holding up the shoe store once or twice, but I would consider another option than a Texas Chainsaw Massacre mask. I'd probably go with a 80s ski mask, with blue stripes or something along those lines.
Wasn't the point of Halloween to dress up as something ridiculous? Anywho... I'm still mad at the mall security. Probably will be for the next 2 hours and 13 minutes....
In the end, I'm just glad the Mall Security was doing their job. Praise all around mall cops.
Posted by Clayton Hein at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
