Rants, Raves, Ridicule, and Riots

Rant:  Hello Summer!!  Although it's been hotter than hell for the past several days, today is officially the first day of summer.  Summer Solstice.  Longest day of the year.  Hottest day in recent memory.  Take your pick, but I for one am a fan that technically, summer is finally here.  The forecast looks decent for the foreseeable future - mid-80's every day for at least the next 10.  The hottest day ever in NY State was way back in July of 1926, when it reached 108 on the mercury up in Troy.  It isn't quite that hot here, but it's getting there.  Part of me questions if that is really the hottest it's ever been in NY.  108 degrees?  Maybe, it does seem pretty hot.

Anyway, welcome summer, glad you're finally on board.

Rave:  This rave has nothing to do with sports.  In fact, it has everything to do with Facebook.  People are constantly writing status updates and comments (for which I am guilty) but there seems to be one glaring issue I cannot tolerate - abbreviations.

You just wrote three sentences as a status update, but you refuse to spell out "to" and instead use "2".  2day, 2morrow, happy birthday 2 you.  It's two freaking letters.  Spell it out.  I can deal with the OMG and WTF abbreviations, but how lazy are those who shorten words.  Just spell it out, you can do it.  And the people who leave out vowels on words - come on.  I know there is shorthand, but there is also laziness.  On a CD like the Deftones new Diamond Eyes, there's a song "CMND/CTRL" - I'm good with that, because they rule.  Facebook users, you do not rule.  Spell out the words.

Ridicule:  Alejandro Falla (sounds like "fire") BLEW IT!!  You had a chance to knock the #1 seed out of Wimbledon, and you choked.  Up two sets to none, Roger Federer rallied for a 5-set victory.  I guess for a guy who's never really had much success in tennis tournaments, this is to be expected.  You need to know how to win in order to win a big match.

If a team is constantly losing (like the Pirates), when a tight situation comes about late in a game, chances are they'll find a way to blow it.  Not because they are a bad team, but because they aren't used to closing out that type of game or performing in that type of situation.  Falla has only advanced past the second round once this season (Australian Open).  Maybe it'll be good for the 65th ranked player in the world.  Something to draw upon in the future, when he's up two sets to none again.

Riot:  Good for the French.  I find it hilarious that they blame the coach for their pathetic play.  Coming in to the World Cup, they are the 9th ranked team in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings.  They are in 3rd place in Group A, 3 points behind Uruguay (16th) and Mexico (17th).  They are tied with host South Africa (83rd) with 1 point.  The two teams will play tomorrow.  The French are looking for their first goal of the 2010 World Cup as well.  Pretty pathetic.  That's like saying the Yankees blaming manager Joe Girardi for their failures - all he does is put the best possible lineup on the field to give his team the best chance of winning.

These French need to take a good, hard look in the mirror and realize they are playing for the price of their country.  Stop bitching and blaming the coach and take accountability for your own actions.  Toughen up sissies.

Time for a toss.  Peace and grease.

Diamond Eyes by Deftones

Buy this album immediately!!  I just went over to Best Buy to pick this thing up - several weeks after it was released, and I should have pre-ordered it.

This is what Chino Moreno and his band, Deftones, are all about.  This is their first album since 2006's Saturday Night Wrist, and I would have waited another year for this masterpiece.  After listening to it beginning to end while perusing the aisle's of my local grocer, I got home and wanted to listen to it again, but I had to cook dinner.

I'm no music review guru or anything, so I won't spew nonsensical, non-human terms to a listener.  I'm just a fan of good music, and this is simple, melodic, heavy, good music.  I played the air guitar walking around the Bronx, and people gave me all sorts of looks - I just gave the old, "What's up?, head nod. 

There's a reason I have almost every Deftones song in my iTunes library - they're freaking awesome.  Their first album, Adrenaline, was what got me started.  I remember listening to that in my room thinking, "holy hell, this is amazing" as "Root" blared through my headphones.

Glad to see the Deftones are back in full force.  I will keep this one on heavy rotation.  They are one of the best bands of my time, hands down, bar none.

Buy this album, and if you're free, give Chino's other band, Team Sleep, a listen.  It's a little trippy, a little electronica, but it's pretty good.  Only one album though, in 2005.

Going to listen to it again.  "Risk" has some great riffs.  OK, bye.