Playoff Memories

So, as I am enjoying this time of year probably for the twentieth time of my life, I decide to peruse the websites for rhetoric on this weekend's games. All of the main sites (ESPN, SI, Yahoo, NBA) pretty much have the same stories and highlights. However, I ventured onto Page 2 hoping to catch a good story from Scoop, and came across Page 2's homage to their favorite playoff moments.

I smiled, inwardly knowing that somewhere on this list would be a Jordan moment. Considering that Jordan dominated almost an entire decade in NBA history, I prepared for some stories that I could share in. I was surprised when I read Jemele Hill's commentary on her most memorable moment. It was the 1987 Eastern Conference playoffs when Boston beat Detroit off of the Larry Bird steal of Isiah Thomas's inbound pass. Jemele bitterly recounted how she has hated anything Celtics ever since.



I can understand that as well. I too, have teams that I historically just don't like. But, the last statement in her paragraph left a bad taste in my mouth. She said:

"(Oh, and for the record, my 1A favorite NBA playoff moment was when the Pistons refused to shake the Bulls' hands after being dethroned in the '91 conference finals. You say classless, I say awesome.)"

Now, I know a lot of sports enthusiasts such as myself and I don't know anyone who can agree with that statement. In the '91 Eastern Conference Finals, when the Pistons walked off that floor by not even saying goodbye, thanks for a great series, good luck or anything, that clearly went down as one of the worst sports moments in history. It was certainly the most classless in NBA history and that is her fave? Jemele, so much bitterness can kill a person! To this day Isiah Thomas can kick rocks in my book, which he literally can do now considering that he's unemployed and any GM would be out of their mind to hire him at this point. The fact that she could take such an enormous act of sore loserness as "awesome," is just blaphemous. As many times as the Bulls lost to the Pistons prior to that year, Jordan always showed class and sportsmanship, which is why his legacy surpasses so many of his counterparts. I had to embed that moment for all who don't know.



And since we are on the subject of these nostalgic moments, I will offer one of my favorite moments in playoff history. It is no secret that I can't stand Cleveland. We'll just chalk it up to the whole city. It doesn't matter if we're talking Cavaliers, Browns, Indians - Cleveland sucks in my book and they always will. Being a die-hard Bulls fan, there are just too many bad memories to let it ride. From the fight between Danny Ferry and Michael Jordan to the collage of cheap shots from Brad Daugherty and Gugliotta. I can't stand Cleveland!

So, as you can probably guess, my favorite playoff moment was when Michael put them in last-minute shot infamy with what has been dubbed as "The Shot Part 2." We always see the first time he lit them up during the 1989 regular season, when he shot over Craig Ehlo and won the game. But that second shot that took place in the '93 playoffs was oh so sweet. I prayed for moments like this. I was a young high-schooler, a sophomore in fact, and the laugh that I got from this moment just made my decade. Check it out!



I hope you enjoyed my playoff memories, and please don't hesitate to leave a few of your own.

Gas Stinks!

And no I am not talking about the bodily kind. I am just so sick of these gas prices. I have been in denial the past week as the gas has steadily creeped up to the highest it has been this year. It is basically sitting around four bucks. I will usually make the ten minute trip to Indiana to try to get a discount, but at around $3.50, IN isn't much better.

ARRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This just further showcases my frustration with our government. Again, explain to me how do we invade an oil-rich country and our gas prices go up? Aren't we winning according to Dubya? Well then gas should be at its lowest. I put $30 in my car, and my gas tank was not full, and I might add, it wasn't all the way on Empty.



As you can see my tank is barely at 3/4 of a tank! While I am not driving a Chevy Aveo or some other small gas-friendly car, I am in a car (Sonata) and not an SUV, so $30 should fill my tank.



This has got to end! And to top it off, an alleged homeless lady approached me. Usually, I am quick to give, but personally I don't think gas stations are the best places for people to beg anymore. We are paying too much at the pump. They better find a new spot, because at these prices we'll be joining them.

'07 Wrap-Up

Okay, so I know this is like 4 1/2 months late, but I really like this song, and had to embed it because it wraps up hip-hop in '07 like no tv show can. I especially like what Skillz had to say about the Souljah Boy dance. Check it out!



You have to admit, this wrap-up is funny and true.

Retraction...

I had posted yesterday about Rev. Wright. It was a post in regards to the eulogy he gave for Judge R. Eugene Pincham, and in his own way he subtly addressed the attacks on him by conservatives and the media. Some "anonymous" person left a very long comment to this post that I found disturbing. So, I decided to delete the post, which is something I almost never do. However, in the face of discussing race, slavery, etc., I am sensitive about it, because if there is one thing I know, I know my history. I cannot allow anyone to denigrate "my" history to a mistake, or a burden when for so many hundreds of years, the biggest act of terrorism I have ever seen was allowed in this country. So, in light of the fact that there are very strong, but obviously different views on race...I have chosen to keep my comments regarding it to myself. I would like to thank the anonymous commenter for continuing to open my eyes regarding how very racist this country still is.

Japanese Rush Hour!

This video explains a lot...




When I was in undergrad, I lived in a dorm that also housed all of the international students. I noticed that the conflicts usually surrounded a few of the Asian students, who would never say excuse me. They would push you in the elevator and reach over you in the cafeteria. After watching this video I realize that it is in their culture to push, and railroad people. This is almost disturbing. This certainly couldn't happen here, talk about lawsuits!

Kobe: Taking Risks or Being Reckless....

So, it's like almost 1 a.m. and my arse is still up. As fate would have it, I am on YouTube, and just as I am about to finally go to bed, I come across this vid:



Now some people seem to think that this is all fake, and that there was some green screen of the car and outside, but I don't know, this looks pretty darn real to me. But considering that this is the first season the Lakers have a real chance to go past the first round of the playoffs, I ask, should Kobe have risked getting seriously injured to do this stunt? Was whatever amount of money Nike (obviously paid him to do it) worth it? I mean this was just a week and half ago.

See this is what I get for being up way past my bedtime, who am I kidding, I have never gone to bed early. But still, this video is way better than watching an hour of those two ladies try to sell mantoys on Shop Erotic...LOL!

To Spank or Not to Spank

So, I was perusing a movie pamphlet I sometimes get from Hollywood Video, and there were a list of movies that have been very popular to rent. On that list was a movie starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal called "The Secretary". I remember when this movie came out about five or six years ago, it seemed like it was one of those movies that didn't catch steam until it went to video.

Since I have to return some movies tonight, I decided I would check it out. However, after previewing this scene on You Tube, I have to admit, I can't wait to check it out even more. IMDB describes the plot as:

Lee Holloway is a smart, quirky woman in her twenties who returns to her hometown in Florida after a brief stay in a mental hospital. In search of relief from herself and her oppressive childhood environment, she starts to date a nerdy friend from high school and takes a job as a secretary in a local law firm, soon developing an obsessive crush on her older boss, Mr. Grey. Through their increasingly bizarre relationship, Lee follows her deepest longings to the heights of masochism and finally to a place of self-affirmation.

This is the clip that I mentioned:



Now I am certainly not hating on anyone or anything here, people like what they like. But considering that I work for a law firm, somehow I think my reaction would have been completely different...or would it?

Excuse me, but are you wearing...

I decided to do a blog about men's cologne because some of the fragrances out there deserve some credit for making quite a few men look better than they actually do. I have always been a connoisseur of things that smell good. Often I find myself recommending fragrances to other women, and I definitely will memorize a masculine smell if it is pleasing to my nostrils.

There are classic fragrances out there that will always be popular:

Cool Water


Eternity


Nautica


But there are also a few hotter fragrances, some newer, that deserve honorable mention. These are scents mags can't stop writing about and are usually a plus with the ladies...

Burberry


Bvlgari


Diesel Fuel for Life


Dolce & Gabbana


Jean Paul Gaultier


Narciso Rodriguez


However, even with those wonderful scents, there a few scents some old some new that women salivate over. These are fragrances that no matter what woman I came across, regardless of race, age or status, they LOVED these fragrances.

Unforgivable by Sean John
Hands down, right now this is probably the most popular cologne on the market. Women love this fragrance. It's subtle masculine woodsy scent makes you automatically take a second sniff. I bought this cologne for my brother and my sister-in-law was all over him. I can understand it, I actually stopped a brotha on the bus, which I never do, but he smelled so good. If you want attention of the opposite sex, this is absolutely the cologne for men to get.


Issey Miyaki for Men
Already a fan of the women's scent, when I first smelled this, I took a long dragging sniff. They got this one right. One female acquaintance said she followed a man around a store that was wearing it. I can recall being in Marshall Field's one day and watching a couple argue over which was better, then men or the women's fragrance. Issey Miyaki has a subtle fruitiness to its scent, but on the right man, it is intoxicating.



Image by Nino Cerruti
I was in Carson Pirie Scott one Christmas holiday purchasing some cologne for my brother. I think he depends on me to keep him up-to-date with the hot scents. Anyway, they didn't have what I came for and I ended up coming across this fragrance and bought it immediately. A young guy probably around 19 or 20 came walking up and asked me what I thought he should buy. I suggested this since I was also purchasing it, and he sprayed it on himself. Five minutes later a group of girls came walking by, stopped and immediately asked what he was wearing. A minute later, another. He got stopped so much, that he bought the biggest bottle they had. Not to sound silly, but this fragrance smells especially good on black men. I am not the only woman to notice this either. So, if you want a nice fragrance that most men don't have, but will definitely get you noticed, this is it!



Fahrenheit by Christian Dior
OMG! What can I say about this cologne? I first became acquainted with it in college, and I must say I have never come across anything like it. My best friend Katie and I went store to store looking for it, not to buy for someone else, nope just so we could smell it whenever we felt like it. This is a classic, but boy is it powerful. This fragrance is like spanish fly to a lot of women, it is just something about it, you can't explain it, but you're drawn to it in a very strong way. Talk about a keeper, every man should just keep this in their collection for those days when they want to seduce some special lady, because it most likely will work!


Well I hope that these snippets of some popular men's fragrances have been helpful, and please feel free to drop a line if you agree or don't see your frangrance listed here.

The Final Dance!

It is no secret that this is one of my favorite times of the year. The NCAA tournament is where you separate the boys from the men and the girls from the women. I have historically been a big DUKE fan, and I still am, even though my team hasn't done well in the tournament for the past two years.

Office pools and online pools aside, this year, the tournament was actually exciting. Who knew Dell Curry would produce a son that would put a school like Davidson on the map?? And who knew that two teams who haven't been this far in the tourney for some time would be playing each other in the title game? I realize that the NCAA tournament gives basketball fans a chance to see good old-fashioned ball without the tat-induced, money-loving business that is now the NBA. The other exciting thing about the tourney is the do-or-die attitude attached to it because it comes down to just one game.

I don't have an attachment to either team but would like to see either team win for different reasons. Memphis has a solid team, great defense, killer offense at times, and they have a brotha from the Chi that played for Simeon, so there is a slight hometown connection to them. Yet, Kansas eliminated UNC and the overrated Tyler Hansborough (Can you believe SI put him on the cover?!)from the competition. That is enough to make me love them for years to come. So, I look forward to seeing one of the best matchups to hit the Championship game in quite some time.

Foot Fetish!

It is no secret I love great shoes, and there are some incredible finds as we move further into spring and into the summer season. Maybe it's because half of the shoes I see that I think are incredible I could never actually wear, but between designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Christian Louboutin and Fendi, stars such as Beyonce and Alicia Keys have had a tight shoe game over the past year.

Beyonce wore these Roberto Cavalli wedges and they were an instant hit!





Alicia Keys wore some stunners at Live Earth Day last summer...what do you think?




Beyonce shut down Vegas in these Dior calfskin slingbacks a few months back!




Alicia rocked Superbowl weekend in these Fendi platforms!



My personal favorite, shoes that offer a little TOE CLEAVAGE! Beyonce flashes the cleave in these Christian Louboutin's!



More Roberto Cavalli


Jimmy Choo




Steve Madden & Guiseppe Zanotti



Jessica Simpson



And the Christian Louboutin "Foxtrot" slingback Beyonce made famous!


These are just a few looks, more shoes to come...

Floyd Mayweather - The Minstrel Show 2008 pt. 1

Okay, I almost let this one ride, but I just couldn't...Floyd Mayweather wrestling??? The Big Show??? Okay picture it, Mayweather, 5'6", 150 maybe against someone that is about 7'1", 440...I mean that's just flat out suicide!

People talked about Tyson disgracing himself by ending his career in embarassment, this just might take the cake...I'll let you see for yourself.



There really are no words to describe this, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that Ali wouldn't be the reigning world champion and succumb to such buffonery! Where is the integrity in boxing?

Connected....

For those that don't know, I fell in love with hip hop when I was ten years-old. I know this is the famous Common Line from "I Used to Love Her", but I really did! My family had finally gotten cable, and although raised in a strict household where my brother and I weren't allowed to watch television during the week, I did have the gumption to occasionally sneak in one of my favorite music shows on cable, such as Video Soul or Rap City.

So picture it, Sicily 1932...no seriously, one afternoon, I am sitting at home chilling. Homework long done, because it had been a half-day for me. I even had the audacity to come straight home and get my chores done. My real plan was to hang out outside with some of my friends on the block, but Rap City, or rather hip-hop got in the way. My girlfriend that lived across the street never even met up with me that day. She was on punishment for some other infraction. So, I channel-flipped on our floor-model television and came across Rap City. About ten minutes into the show, they played "Paper Thin" by MC Lyte, and my life was forever changed. I can vividly remember anxiously awaiting to see that video again the very next day and taping it, so I could watch it to my heart's content. It wasn't that I had never listened to rap before, but this my friends was hip hop, raw and uncut. From that day on, I metamorphosed into somewhat of a preppy "B-Girl". A lot of my friends played the image to the tee.

I can recall the cutout baseball caps so they could fit their "natural-look" hair through the top. I can recall the unbelievably large jeans (I am guilty of this too), the backpacks (also guilty, although I rocked a Eddie Bauer), the pumas with no laces (I couldn't go that far), and the dark lipstick. I was probably the only girl in Chicago wearing a starched to perfection Catholic school uniform with a pair of bright purple Cross Color jeans and matching purple Air Max's underneath. I can recall attracting deep house dudes on the train, but once they saw I had a brain outside of hip hop, they didn't know what to do with me. But those were the days....Digable Planets, Lyte, Das Efx, Wu-Tang, Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, Black Moon, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, L.O.N.S., A Tribe Called Quest....I could just inhale all of that great hip-hop I played endlessly on my walkman.

My parents knew something had happened. I wasn't asking for toys for Christmas anymore. Just music, a good discman, and more music. I still have some old-school vinyl, tapes and most of all memories of how I used to feel catching the red line and the #14 on my way home from school, listening to hip-hop during its golden era. That is what is missing in a lot of music today - THAT FEELING you get when you hear something so incredibly great and innovative it damn near takes your breath away. After about 1998, I didn't have that FEELING again until I purchased "Be" and sat in the car listening to it because I honestly didn't want to come off that hip-hop high! Well besides a few snippets of that wonderful euphoria, I happened across that FEELING again, when I stumbled upon the Foreign Exchange a few years back. As much as I like Little Brother, nothing they have done (even with 9th Wonder) has come close to "Connected". Every once in a while, an album will drop that will further change the course of a genre of music.

When Phonte of Little Brother came across a dope beat from an unknown producer on Okayplayer.com from the Netherlands named Nicolay, he decided to rhyme over it. Next thing you know, they started communicating via Instant Messenger, with Nicolay sending him beats, and Phonte sending the tracks back with dope rhymes and harmony-filled vocals, with appearances from Big Pooh and other members of the Justus League, the concept of an album came together. A surreal virtual-made record put together by two people who never met, and basically just communicated via the Internet.

If you don't have this album, stop what you're doing, go the store, get on Itunes, Okayplayer, wherever you get music...heck I would even be willing to share this great music. This is real hip hop, innovative, polished and introspective and laced with the kind of music to definitely give you that FEELING!

Although I have been bumping this for two years now...I had to share it for those who aren't up on it yet...







This Beat is Sick!


Love this track...