'Sup

Hey peeps... As I sit on the massage-chair, I figured "let's write a bit." Here we go...

• For the first time in my life, I'm sitting here actively rooting for the New York Giants. Of course, they're up against Green Bay, so that's a no-brainer. Let's say GB wins, here's what I think will go down...
  Green Bay will beat San Francisco, who will make it a very close game (I think SF would beat the Giants). New England makes it past Baltimore setting up a rematch of Super Bowl "whatever one it was" from the mid-90s, Favre's only win. In that instance, I've got to think that Brady will outplay Rodgers. Brady's been on a mission in recent weeks, including his record-tying performance last night against the Denver Tebows.
  
  
• Speaking of which, can we lay off of him a bit? He plays quarterback, he's only meh, he likes God, he talks about it. Good for him. When you've got guys killing dogs, shooting themselves in the leg in a nightclub, and getting arraigned on attempted-murder charges, perhaps a guy wearing his religion on his sleeve isn't the worst thing in the world. And there's no mystery why he's getting so much coverage: besides having been a big college name who is still somewhat of an x-factor in the NFL, and having all those negative stories to report, why NOT gravitate towards someone who only seems to want to do good things for other folks (Tebow's charitable work in East Asia is well-known, as well as his ministry work all over the country and world). Again, he's a Quarterback, he likes God, big deal. He's also out of the playoffs now, and as a football fan, that's all that matters to me at the moment. Sidenote: he does say some goofy things from time to time, and even I admit I make fun of it.
  
  
• Can someone please explain Channing Tatum? Not him, not his abilities, but his name. Last name of Carol Channing, and first name of Tatum O'Neal, and it's a man's name. Um... okay... sure thing...
  
  
• I'll tell you what, this GOP Presidential race is starting to get boring. Everything's starting to come up Romney, and I'd really like a closer battle that splinters the party a bit more. Any help we can get in the fall would greatly be appreciated. Problem is, any of the people who could give Mitt trouble are whack-jobs in one way or another. Seriously proves the point that I should've ran for the nomination. I could've made it a lot of fun. The liberal queer mid-westerner on the GOP ticket? Gold. Sheer gold.
  
  
• Tonight starts the Australian Open. Well, it'll technically be "tomorrow" in Melbourne, but thankfully I can watch tennis on TV every night for the next 2 weeks. Going into the season, the women's side is a huge mystery. The #1 player (Wozniacki) has yet to prove she deserves the ranking, Venus is still out, Serena's foot/love for her craft is an unknown factor, Clijsters has been out of the game for a few months... might as well put some lottery balls into a machine with everyone's name on the balls and pick a winner that way. On the men's side, it's 4 names: Can Djokovic continue the torrid streak he began a year ago? Can Nadal's shoulder hold up? Can Roger Federer get one more Slam? Can Andy Murray benefit from having Ivan Lendl as a coach and finally win a slam? In that order: Probably not, maybe but not likely, yes, and we'll see. That all said, I think this is the Slam that Federer sneaks in. He ended the year hotter than any player on tour, and with Nadal and Djokovic's health in question, if he's going to do this, it should probably be now. That said, I also think Fed's the favorite at the Olympics this year. It's the one major title he doesn't have, and it's at Wimbledon, a place he has conquered 6 times.
  
  
• Finally, a personal note. A year ago tomorrow, a very special guy and I decided to take the dating we'd been doing and turn it into something a little more concrete. I'd just like to send him a special shout-out here, and thank him for an utterly fantastic last 365 days (plus the several weeks leading up to that day). Riley, you're awesome, and I can't wait to continue growing together and seeing where this goes! I love you.
  

Well, y'all have a good week, kids.

Year In Review/A Look Forward

Well, that's it, the 2011 holiday season is officially over, and I'd like to welcome you all to 2012 and wish you a happy new year. Been absent (thanks, holidays), so this may get lengthy. Or, I may be lazy, let's see what happens.

• I was thinking about a year-end list for favorite albums. Then, I realized that I didn't really have 10 good albums to list out that I could put on a year-end list and feel really good about. So, I'll do a top three:
  3. kd lang & The Siss Boom Bang - Sing It Loud: I've never been a kd hater, but I'm not the biggest fan she has, either. However, there was something about this album and when it was released this year that really struck me. "Sorrow Nevermore" could be my second-favorite song of the year (favorite to be listed shortly). kd has always had a way to write a purely beautiful, and sometimes devastating song, and this album is no different. Also, she's always had a knack for doing a good cover song. Little River Band's "Reminiscing" is totally made her own on this record.
  2. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs: It's no secret that I'm a Radiohead apologist. But I'm not blind, and they've released some stuff of which I've not been that fond (well, not that much, but still). TKOL contains my favorite song of the year, "Bloom." triplets over a 2/4 beat, lyrics that are so deep you spend months trying to figure out what they mean, and the typical recent Radiohead-weirdness rules the day on "Bloom." TKOL is also a compact album, the shortest of their career, and says what it needs to say and leaves you alone. Much like the rest of their catalogue since their 2000 release Kid A, it's not the most accessible album, but it's damn good.
  1. Adele - 21. Duh. I mean, I've been singing the praises of this album since I started the blog, why stop now? This is an album that transcended generations, color lines, age, and attitude. Not too many people heard this album and said "meh." Sure, you may be sick of "Rolling In The Deep" by now, I'd understand if you are. But you can't deny the shear talent this young lady has, and you can't deny that she followed up a Grammy winning performance on 19 with an album that is going to beat the living daylights out of her competition this awards-season. And it's because she deserves it. This is an album that we'll be talking about for years to come.
  
  
• Movies: look, I saw Moneyball and Bridesmaids, and that's really it. Maybe I saw something else on DVD I'm not recollecting, but obviously they're not worth it. I did enjoy those two films, btw. Let's move on.
  
  
• The Year In Chicago Sports: meh. Bears could've been special if they weren't made of Japanese art-paper. The White Sox disappointed (I'm okay with that), the Cubs were the Cubs, the Blackhawks had a hangover... the Bulls were the only game in town this past year, and it looks like they may be continuing this trend into 2012. At least the Cubs made a great front-office hire in Theo Epstein; maybe he can do something about Soriano's contract... maybe not. All I know is, it couldn't get much worse in 2012. "Much." Things I'm looking forward to this year are less Chicago-based. Will Novak Djokovic continue his torrid 2011 pace of 3 Grand Slam wins, will Nadal go back to #1, or will Federer have a swan-song year, just in time for the Olympics to be at Wimbledon (aka: Roger Federer's summer-home)? Can Tiger Woods use the momentum he had late in the season and finally start to put the Humpty Dumpty of his career back together again? Will this be the end of the Williams sisters as we know them? Can somebody PLEASE beat the Packers in the playoffs? Justin, I'm looking at your Saints, here... :)
  
  
• 2011 Politics: well, that was fun, wasn't it? Good luck to the GOP this election season. And by that, I mean... well, you know what I mean.
  
  
• As we head into a new year, I'd like to take time to babble a bit about having turned 40 just before Christmas. I was afraid. I know, silly, but I had the same aging fears everyone else does, I guess... or almost everyone else does. You know what I've been? Calm. Very calm. I don't understand it one bit, but it's true, and I'm riding it. All I know is, I turned 40 with the following truths: family that cares about me and assists me when I need it, a fabulous new place to live (see the first point), wonderful friends, a steady job from which I finally get insurance for the first time in a decade, and a wonderful guy in my life for whom I'd walk in front of a truck of explosives if necessary. Point is, my 40th was filled with a lot better news than, say, my 30th. Or even 37-39. If this is where life begins, I guess I could be getting off on a worse foot. Thanks to all of you who helped make my transition an easy one. Especially you, Riley.
  
  
• One final thought... This past weekend was the 10th anniversary of my father passing away. It never gets "easier" in the traditional sense, but it gets easier in the dealing with things sense, 'cause you learn more about that every day. I get sad about it from time to time, and I certainly did for a little while this weekend. But when I get down, I think about something dad used to say to me all the time, and that I've been sharing with others a lot in recent years. "Look, when things are their lowest, and you really don't know if you're going to make it through, just remember one thing: 500,000,000 people in China don't care. They just don't." Right now, I know that fact to be true. I do know one person that does care about you, dad: me. Wish you were here so we could joke about music and the Cubs together. I've wished that every single day for the last 3,654 days.

Happy New Year, everybody! Be safe.