I received an email telling me that I had to post on Xanga otherwise I'll lose my page and my username of cly4evr. Supposedly Xanga is running out of userid's, so they're cleaning house. I have serious doubts that there is a high demand for the user id cly4evr but in case anyone else does want it, I've fulfilled my duty to make sure it stays where it belongs.
So I was one of the 957,000 people who bought Kanye's 3rd album. I'm a big Kanye fan so I would have bought the album regardless of the marketing ploy. I feel like Kanye is on the same level as Outkast in terms of hip-hop artists. They just "get it."
With all that being said, I'm disappointed in Graduation. Lyrically, it's Kanye's best. But it only has 13 songs . The College Drop Out and Late Registration had around 20 tracks. There's also no Bernie Mac monologues or skits. It's like Kanye cut all the fat out. It's Kanye Fat-Free. Unfortunately, I feel like some of that "fat" is what gives Kanye a unique sound. Like throughout the album I wanted a song to move me like the songs on his previous albums did. On The College Drop Out everyone knows about "Jesus Walks", but I also loved "Family Business", "Through the Wire", and loved the most "Never Let Me Down." On Late Registration, I loved "Diamonds", "Roses," "Hey Mama," and others. In each song, I could feel Kanye injecting his spirit into it. I felt his angst, turmoil and emotions.
But that's missing in Graudation. I don't know if it's because Kanye has hit that artist "wall" or that he's been a celebrity for too long that he's no longer in touch with his inner spirit, but whatever it is, it's not the same. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great album. But everytime I listen to it, I crave the flavor from Dropout and Late Registration. My feelings were confirmed when I was listening to Late Registration on my ride home.
The best song on this album is "Homecoming" with Chris Martin.
Kanye released a mix tape before Graduation was released. I loved the mix-tape. It really got me excited for Graduation. Now, I'm leaning towards saying that I think the mix tape is better than the album. I'm still a fan of Kanye, but I hope his next album will be more like Lethal Weapon 4 than Karate Kid 4.
I've decided to write this post while my emotions are fresh. The Bulls v. Pistons game has literally just concluded and I feel nauseous. As I indicated in my previous post, I feel like the Bulls got really lucky drawing the Miami Heat in the first round. Contrary to Tracy McGrady, the Bulls can now say they got past the first round. However, I feel like if the Bulls had played anybody else excluding Washington in the first round, they might have pulled a Tracy McGrady and not finish the post game interview due to being too choked up with disappointment. Who knows, they might go the same route anyways because the Bulls have been so embarrassing thus far.
In my opinion, the Bulls are a poor man's version of the Pistons. They play a very similar style of basketball. A week ago, I read in the Suntimes how John Paxson did not intentionally build the Bulls to mirror the Pistons. The make up of the Bulls could be a consequence of John Paxson's admiration of Joe Dumars, the architect of the Pistons. Just for fun, let me point out the similarities of both teams. Both teams have a starting point guard who stand at 6'3" and played in the Big 12 conference (Chauncey Billups and Kirk Hinrich). Both teams have former star shooting guards that played at the University Connecticut (Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon). Both teams have a front man last named Wallace (Rasheed and Ben Wallace). Both teams have lengthy small forwards standing at 6'9" (Tayshaun Prince and Luol Deng). Both teams have a player from Sante Fe, Argentina (Carlos Delfino and Andres Nocioni). And both teams have a back up point guard known mostly for their defense (Lindsey Hunter and Chris Duhon). Isn't this eerie? Can all these similarities be a coincidence? John Paxson says they are.
Nonetheless, intentional or not, the Bulls seem to be built off the same formula of the Pistons. That formula is building a team of good players without a superstar. It wasn't until recently that any of the Pistons players were individually recognizable. If you remember when they won their championship against the Lakers, everyone was shocked that the Pistons won because they didn't have a superstar and beat a team with 5 future hall of famers.
With all this being said, the past 3 games in the series have made me feel like I watched the all very familiar "little brother vs. big brother" match up. Th ey're both very similar but big brother is much more advanced and ultimately ends up schooling little brother. The Bulls are simply outmatched at every position. I feel like in this recent game substantiates my point. The Bulls had a 17-19 point heading into the second half and they end up losing. It was like the Pistons just had to decide when they wanted to the proverbial "switch" on and beat the Bulls. It's like they let the Bulls get a large lead before crushing their spirits. I guess miracles can happen, but I'm not sure if the Bulls can pull this out. I don't think it will be long before we see Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon in Kenny Smith's "Gone Fishin" segment.
I guess one positive is that they can at least say they got out of the first round. That's more than what other teams can say.
A few years ago, a college friend came up to during a softball game and asked how married life was. Confused, I asked what he was talking about. He told me that people he had spoke with had heard that I was married and already had a kid. I just laughed it off and told him that I was still single but still with my girlfriend.
I wouldn't have given this occurrence any more thought, but more people came up to me with the same mistaken belief. I couldn't understand why this inaccurate rumor was being spread about me. A few days ago I finally learned that the source of the inaccuracy was my profile picture. I should have realized this. But I thought everyone knew that I had a nephew. I love this picture because it contains two of my favorite people in the world.
So anybody who still believes I'm married. I'm not married yet. I do pray that Lori and I will get married soon. And I definitely do not have a child yet. I only have one nephew and one niece.
In reply to Sharinalimb's comment, I believe the administrative judge who sued the Korean family should be disbarred and counter-sued for emotional distress for a frivolous law suit. What a joke! He should also be criminally punished. I've been learning that different judges have been sentencing people to punishments an alternative to jail time (i.e. Naomi Campell having to be a maid). Therefore, I propose that this former judge's punishment be that he become the Korean family's indentured servant for a few months.
1. Why is everyone so surprised that the Bulls are having a hard time against the Pistons? Although, the Miami Heat were the defending champions, they were an incomplete team with Dwayne Wade playing with one good shoulder. If Dwayne Wade hits his free throws, I don't know if the Bulls sweep the Heat. One positive from yesterday's game was Tyrus Thomas. Give that man some more minutes!!!
2. I got goose bumps watching the Jazz play against the Warriors yesterday. Dee Brown rarely played through the regular season. But last night, Dee Brown and Deron Williams were on the court at the same time. TNT even showed Bruce Weber in the stands watching the game. It was an Illini affair. I was upset at one moment in the game however, when there was a fast break with Dee and Deron. I sat on the edge of my seat as I thought it would be a flash from the past and Deron would dish off to Dee like when they were back sporting orange and blue. Instead to my disappointment Deron dished off to someone else and committed a turnover. Where's the loyalty?!!!
3. Is it just me or does Deron Williams look like he's gained some weight from last year. He's still skinnier than when he was at Illinois but he also seems heavier than last year. Maybe he's like Bobby Jenks and being heavier actually helps him. Nonetheless, Deron was awesome.
4. If the Terminator/Commando/Conaan/Kindergarten Cop pardons Paris Hilton, the whole legal system, especially California's, will be nothing more than a joke. Everyone knows there's a double standard for celebrities, but could we make it a little less obvious? If Arnold pardons Paris Hilton who is a menace to society on so many levels, I will start the petition to give Arnold the boot, even though I'm not a California resident. And if he does pardon her, I will NEVER utter the words "I'll be back," with the same faux accent ever again!
5. I really love mixed martial arts. I'm a novice fan at best, but I've grown more attached to it. I look forward to watching the Ultimate Fighter every Thursday on Spike TV. Last week's episode was the funniest ever! BJ Penn was hilarious. If you didn't catch the episode, try to look it up. Even if you're not a fan of MMA, you'll laugh your head off. If you caught the episode, you know what I'm talking about.
6. The George Bush stumbled on a line in his speech, saying that the Queen
had dined with 10 U.S. presidents and had helped the United States
"celebrate its bicentennial in 17 ... ." GW caught himself and
corrected the date to 1976. He paused as if to see if the queen had
taken offense. The look the Queen gave to Bush after his Freudian slip is priceless.
7. How come the Bears couldn't give up a 4th round pick for Randy Moss? And why would Oakland give it to the Patriots when they're from the same conference? I'm confused.
