Thursday, October 31

Your Daily Song: "This Is The World Calling" by Bob Geldof



This is one of the first songs I remember ever actually hearing. My dad had Bob Geldof's Deep in the Heart of Nowhere CD, and as this was the first track, it was the one I probably knew best. Plus the music video is fun, too. Love those background singers!

Wednesday, October 30

Your Daily Song: "Basketballin'" by Joseph Currency



Hey, I never said I wasn't a self-promoter. I'm planning to release an album on November 12 (though with only eight tracks done we're gonna be pushing it!), and this will most likely be the first single from it. See if you can find all 72 references, and keep your eyes open for a music video coming soon!

Pepsi MAX And Kyrie Irving Are Back With Uncle Drew: Chapter 3



Pepsi MAX and Kyrie Irving have teamed up yet again (though I'm assuming all these videos were shot around the same time) to dish out some old-school basketball wisdom to some Chicago youngbloods. Nate Robinson's in this one, as is WNBA star Maya Moore. And it's wonderful seeing people get served. Let's watch.

Tuesday, October 29

Your Daily Song: "Lullaby" by Jack Johnson and Matt Costa



Goodnight, everybody.

Sunday, October 27

Sunday Thoughts: Week 8


The Bears didn't have a game this week, but alas, my heart still felt some strain this week as I watched all this nonsense unfold on the field. It's good to be a fan of football in general, but boy is it frustrating sometimes. Let's get to the highlights.

-The Chiefs defense is very good. You probably already knew this, but halfway through the second quarter they hadn't even given up a first down. Granted, they were playing against the corpse of Jason Campbell-led Browns, but still. That's really impressive. Of course, the Browns then pulled a flea flicker and got a touchdown, proving that all you need to do to beat the Chiefs is use your NFL Blitz playbook.

-Thad Lewis got absolutely demolished against the Saints. I exclaimed loudly on a number of occasions (at least three), and I'm not sure if his head actually came off on one sack. It's not healthy to have that many large men jostling your inner organs. In the same game, Fred Jackson had 44 rush yards with three minutes left in the 1st quarter. He finished with 45. My fantasy team is disappointed in him. But my fantasy team is disappointed in everyone this week, so he'll get a pass.

-The Patriots had a really cool interception, courtesy of Devin McCourty and Marquice Cole. Unsurprisingly, it was against the Dolphins, who have done a great job of blowing leads this season. 

-Calvin Johnson had more receiving yards than the entire Cowboys team. Amazing. And he was just seven yards shy of breaking the single-game receiving record. He finished with 14 catches for 329 yards and a touchdown. And a lost fumble, but hey, if you have him on your fantasy team and lost, your team is terrible. Much like mine.

-Speaking of terrible, that Cowboys/Lions game was anything but. 41 of the 61 total points scored in the 4th quarter, and an incredibly exciting finish have this in the running for Game of the Year. It was also just the second time in history (I think they flashed that graphic) a team has won after having four more turnovers than the other team. Well done.

-With just three offensive points in their last two games, the Philadelphia Eagles are our Worst Team of the Week. Their only score in this one came when the Giants snapped the ball about 18 feet over their punter's head, and lost about 40 yards before the Iggles scooped up the ball and ran it in.

-Garrett Hartley...make a field goal why don'tcha! Want a good recipe for failure in a fantasy league? Have all but one of your players score less than their projected totals. Let's hope that stench of disappointment isn't all over me in my flag football league tomorrow #personaldiatribes2013

-Terrelle Pryor ran for a 93-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. Remember when the Steelers were a good defense? BECAUSE I DON'T. They were very close to being the worst team of the week, along with the Jets.

-Speaking of 'em, the Jets seem to be the easiest team in the league to bet. You simply pick them to win in odd-numbered weeks, and lose in even-numbred weeks. Obviously this'll change after their bye, but the pattern has held true so far. They look competent in their wins, and look like chickens missing their heads, legs, beaks and ability to cluck in their losses. It's truly spectacular.

-I knew the Cardinals were a sneaky tough team, but I didn't know the Falcons were this bad. They better trade Tony Gonzalez to a contender ASAP.

-Cordarrelle Patterson tied the NFL record for a 109-yard return, doing so on the opening kickoff of the game against the Packers. Since you can't have a play longer than that, the record will always stand. Not too shabby.

SNL Parodies Wes Anderson Films, And It's Genius



Saturday Night Live was surprisingly on point last night--aside from a Miley Cyrus appearance or two, host Edward Norton did a solid job, and musical guest Janelle Monae was compelling enough that I actually watched both performances in their entirety, something I almost never do.

But the best sketch of the night was a pre-recorded parody of Wes Anderson's films, most notably Moonrise Kingdom. My favorite line was the New York Times saying "You had me at Wes Anderson" in their review, though it's all good. Kick it!

Your Daily Song: "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift



An oldie (by pop music standards) but a goodie. This video is also fantastic, as it's technically one long shot. Also the backing band in their weird furry animal costumes cracks me up. Well done.

Saturday, October 26

A Gentleman's Guide to Fist Bumping



I feel like fist bumping has grown in the past five years or so. I'm a fan of it if I don't want to particularly touch a person's hand; I'd rather have the outside of my knuckles get the germs than the entire inside of my palm and fingers. So there's benefit there. Plus some of these are very clever, so it's a win win all around!

Friday, October 25

Your Daily Song: "Since We Broke Up" by Bowling For Soup



The Texas foursome has a silly little ode to the single life with a song off their new CD Lunch. Drunk. Love. But the real reason this video's make it on here is because of the actual video. It's got a monkey and some weird carnival footage. So...enjoy?

Thursday, October 24

New Book, Shake, Captures Dogs Shaking in Slow Motion



Goodness, what a genius idea. Portland-based photographer Carli Davidson has made a book called Shake, which captures dogs mid-shake. My dog does the lil' shake quite often, and it's fantastic to witness in live speed. It's a little more horrifying in slo-mo, but still very entertaining.

Halloween Treats Gone Wrong



For kids (and let's face it, adults too), candy and Halloween go together like peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, camel rides and kaleidoscopes--whatever kind of pairing you want to make. But what happens when you replace that candy with healthy snacks? Well, you get fantastic reactions from said kids. Thanks for doing this mischievous experiment, Crest!

Wednesday, October 23

Your Daily Song: "Rock n Roll to the Rescue" by The Beach Boys


This song is criminally underrated and underknown. Love the "hey now" part in the second and third verses. A very solid addition to the Beach Boys' already extensive music library.

The Buzz on Vibrators

Let's get liberated! LifeStyles has compiled data about personal massagers, and it's a cool look through time at how they've evolved from their original intention. Check it out below:



And since we're awesome, we want YOU to experience the buzz for yourself. That's right, we're giving away five LifeStyles a:muse Fingertip Massagers. Just send an email to ahotcupofjoey@gmail.com with your name and the subject line "LifeStyles" by 11:59 PM CST on Friday, October 25 and you'll be entered to win!

Your Daily Song: "The Good Life" by Three Days Grace




All I want! Is to listen to this song. Crunchy punchy riff, gang vocals in the chorus, and the sense of "let's start a riot/play a sport" is a lot of fun. Let's get it.

Monday, October 21

Your Daily Song: "Ghost Ride It" by Mistah Fab



I'm not sure if I even have words for this song, but hey, that Ghostbusters theme is hard to disapprove of. Love the sample, though obviously it's corny. And of course, this song gives us the great intelligence lyrics: "Now that's ghost ridin'/What's ghost ridin'?/Ya know, ya know, ya know, ya know." Brilliant.

Gluten-Free Goodies That Actually Taste Good


I'm incredibly fortunate that I don't have any gluten allergies, because my friends that are often seem to be very limited in their dining options. What's more, most gluten-free offerings I've tried are bland and not too filling. That all changes with the Barrios' family's book of recipes that they were kind enough to send me: SPOOKtacular, Gluten-Free Halloween Desserts.

While I do enjoy dabbling in the occasional baking endeavor, so much of my success is dependent on following a recipe to a tee. With the full-color pictures and step-by-step instructions, I won't mess things up and burn my desserts. Which is a relief, because burnt anything is bad, but burnt desserts are THE WORST.


You can make some fun treats this Halloween, too. Here's an excerpt recipe for "Wicked Witches" cupcakes:

WICKED WITCHES (8 – 12 cupcakes)
(CARROT CUPCAKES)

Wicked Witch is our theme for these cupcakes, which we deck out in three distinct forms: the witch’s legs, her hat, and her broom.

1 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup raw coconut oil or softened butter
½ cup raw sugar (coconut or demerara sugar)
2 table spoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs or 3 medium eggs
1 ½  cups raw, grated fresh carrots
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
(for decoration)
Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
Grass (see page xx)
thin-bladed knife
For fondant other materials needed, see each set of decorating instructions.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake cases.
Sieve the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices into a bowl; mix; and set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the oil or butter, sweeteners, lemon juice, orange juice, and vanilla until the mixture is light and creamy.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in batches, alternating with the eggs.
Stir in the carrots and nuts. Mix well.
Pour the batter into the cupcake cases, filling each ¾ full.
Bake 15 – 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)
6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is silky. Add the sugar and vanilla, and continue beating. Don’t stop until frosting is perfectly smooth.

To Decorate
Once the cupcakes are cool, frost them. The decorating instructions below cover 4 cupcakes for each of the variations, but if you make your cupcakes big, you may have only 8 to decorate. Then you’ll have to decide.

For the Witches’ Brooms, you need to assemble these materials:
2 ounces (60 grams) brown fondant
4 ounces (120 grams) orange fondant
4 lollipop sticks

Begin making the brooms by dividing the brown fondant into 4 pieces with a little left over. Roll and smooth one of these pieces of brown fondant around a lollipop stick. Divide the orange fondant into four pieces, roll one of them out in a thin rectangle. With a knife, cut strips to about a ½ inch from the edge of the rectangle.

Wrap the orange fondant “brush” around the covered stick and—like magic!—it’s a broom. Wrap a little strip of brown fondant around the base of the broom for detail.

For the Witches’ Hats, you will need to have on hand
5 ounces (150 grams) black fondant
2 ounces (60 grams) orange fondant

Divide the black fondant into 6 pieces, and then shape one of these into a circle and another into a cone. Cut the cone in half and place at the center of the circle. Fold the circle in half. Use the marzipan to add a band around the base of the hat.

Keep a few strips of the orange fondant you used for the broom. Use these on the cupcake as the witches’ hair.

For the Witches’ Legs, to decorate 4 cupcakes, you will need
8 lollipop sticks
2 ounces (60 grams) orange fondant
2 ounces (60 grams) purple fondant
4 ounces (120 grams) black fondant
purple sugar glitter

Roll two long, thin strips in two different colors. If you like, you can add sugar glitter for extra magic.

Wrap the strips tightly around the lollipop sticks. Now you’ve got the legs in their stockings.

Shape the boots with black fondant and put them on the ends of the 4 sticks. Wet the boots a little and sprinkle on the glitter for some added va va voom

Your Daily Song "Like a Movie" by Midtown



Midtown may not be around anymore, but this song still is. Love those dueling vocals in the verse!

Sunday, October 20

Seventeen and IT'SSUGAR Pair Up to Release a Fun New Candy Line


Halloween is just around the corner, and for those with teenagers and daughters in college (or, perhaps, if you're one yourself), why not spice up your otherwise mundane candy selection with this collection from Seventeen and IT'SSUGAR.

I got to sample a few different offerings, including the "Buh-Bye Social Butterflies" gummy candies and the "Bad Hair Days Don't Have to Suck" lollipops. The packaging is a lot of fun, and the candy is pretty tasty, too! Check it out at the link above.

Sunday Thoughts: Week 7


-The Falcons, Panthers and Bills all scored defensive touchdowns within the first three minutes of their respective games. My favorite was Captain Munnerlyn's interception return, mainly because that's an awesome name. All three teams ended up winning, proving that scoring a touchdown in the first three minutes of your game is probably a good thing. Also, playing bad teams helps.

-Yes, I'm including the Miami Dolphins in the "bad teams" category (other members include Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, New York (NFC edition), Minnesota, Oakland and St. Louis. Houston is shockingly close to getting there, but I liked their gumption today against Kansas City. Though getting -1 yard in the 4th quarter is not good). To come off a bye and lose to a team that might move to CANADA is absolutely embarrassing. Terrible playcalling, terrible execution of those poor plays, and terrible effort lead to Miami being our Worst Team of the Week. Miami fans, be glad the NBA season starts in nine days. At least Brandon Gibson's touchdown jump was pretty awesome.

-Buffalo has looked surprisingly good with Thad Lewis at the helm. I remember him from the ol' college days at Duke, and all I remembered was thinking he looked fast but he actually wasn't, and one time he threw a pick six while I was standing on the sidelines and it was really cool to see the returner (the Canes' Darryl Sharpton) running right down the line. EJ Manuel is still probably the better option, but I can think of at least five NFL teams that Thad Lewis could help.

-Sticking with the AFC East, the Patriots' Chris Jones wins our Stupid Play of the Week. However, in this case, the stupidity is really awarded to the NFL. Jones was penalized for some garbage rule that was just introduced to the NFL this year: a player in the "second level" can't push a teammate into the line of scrimmage. Considering people get pushed around at the line of scrimmage all the time, this is already a bogus idea. What's worse is that Jones was also on the line of scrimmage. Which should have meant he couldn't commit that penalty. But he was flagged, Nick Folk's missed FG was waved off, and the Jets got the ball back, eventually kicking the winning field goal after moving a bit more down the field. Nothing quite emphasizes the stupidity of a rule like it being incorrectly enforced.

-Redskins + Bears = Where's the defense? The once mighty Bears have been forced to rely on Chris Conte at free safety, who might be the worst player in the NFL at his position. He essentially gave up 21 points by himself, including a play where he ran into another player while trying to cover his man. Predictably, that didn't end up well.

-The Eagles and Cowboys played a boring football game, and I watched nearly every second of it...waiting, HOPING something would happen. It never did. I'd like those hours of my life back. We also learned that Chip Kelly had his first scoreless half as a coach ever. Those Oregon Ducks rarely scored three points in a game, so that probably had something to do with it.

-It'd be frustrating to be a Baltimore Ravens fan this year. They seem to lose a lot of close games they should win. But then you remember they won the Super Bowl last year, and you tell those 20 or so Ravens fans to stop complaining. 

-The Cleveland Browns had a nice stretch going of six straight games where they led at halftime. That streak ended today. In related news, Cleveland is still bad at every sport imaginable.

-Calvin Johnson and AJ Green are arguably the top two receivers in the NFL, and they both had 155 yards receiving today in the same game, leading all receptionists. So that's pretty cool.

-I just discovered that NFL RedZone has a "touchdown montage" every week. As in, every touchdown from the week, in the order they happened. IN. CREDIBLE. Watch it here.

Saturday, October 19

Your Daily Song: "No Regrets" by Gob



If I can play a song on guitar, chances are it'll end up on this blog. Here's Exhibit A. Or ZZE or however many times I've put a tune I can jam to on here. Enjoy!

Friday, October 18

Your Daily Song: "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit" by Gina G.



I heard this song today for the first time in who knows how long. And compared to the pop of nowadays, it's fun and a real toe tapper. Try not to sing along with the "ooh aah" part. YOU CAN'T DO IT.

HELL NO: The Sensible Horror Film



This film trailer by pixelspersecond takes a look at what horror movies might be like if any of the characters had any trace of common sense. It's powerful, it's heartwarming, and it's...kind of anticlimactic? Here's the description straight from the vid itself:

Imagine a realm where the most horrifying terrors of the underworld emerge to wreak bloody vengeance upon any who... hmm? what's that? you wanna go literally anywhere else? yeah, good idea let's get out of here

Thursday, October 17

Your Daily Song: "Rap God" by Eminem



Eminem's got a new album dropping soon, too. Here's a track from it. Sometimes it really is that simple.

Tuesday, October 15

Your Daily Song: "Girl's Not Grey" by AFI



AFI's got a new album coming out in a week. Seems like as good a time as any to listen to the song that  really made them famous. Also it's really hard to not sing along to this song. What FOLLOWWWWWWSSSSS!

Tales From the Road With Julian Spyler



Join British rock legend Julian Spyler as he talks about a prank he pulled while on tour with The Shower Curtains. That spry ol' mongrel!

Monday, October 14

Your Daily Song: "Way We Ball" by Lil' Flip



This song is a dirty south classic, and it's even been covered by some girl that hits really high octaves in the second verse. Good stuff all around.

Sunday, October 13

Sunday Thoughts: Week 6


This week gave us possibly our best final drive of the year, as well as our biggest line of the year (spoiler: it wasn't covered). It also had a ton of home teams lay eggs and some blunders that left even the most ridiculous of people scratching their heads. Let's get to it.

-Man, the Houston Texans are in trouble. As is becoming a weekly occurrence, they threw a pick six. But this time, it was backup TJ Yates throwing said terrible pass after Matt Schaub got knocked out with a gruesome leg injury. To lose by 25 at home to a Rams team that has struggled mightily this season is an embarrassment. Almost as bad as...

-Losing by 25 at home to the Panthers, as the Vikings did. Carolina's only prior win was a blowout of the Giants, which looks less impressive every week. I can't understand the tragedy that Adrian Peterson is experiencing right now, but he was the lone bright spot in an otherwise abysmal offensive performance. Yikes. That performance was good enough to net Minnesota our Worst Team of the Week award.

-At one point today, Terrelle Pryor and the Oakland Raiders were facing a 3rd and 48. Granted, some of that was due to penalties, but the rest was due to the Kansas City Chiefs' stout defense. On the day, they forced 10 sacks in a brutally difficult to watch 24-7 win.

-Nick Foles looked really good today in leading the Iggles to a 31-20 victory over Tampa Bay. Granted, the Bucs are not a very solid team, but if (and by that I mean when) Vick is hurt for an extended period of time, Foles is a very competent fill-in. He even rushed for a score!

-The Packers won a game today when they only had two receivers by the end of the game. I don't know who that's more embarrassing for: Baltimore's D or their offense. Maybe both. They're a frustratingly inconsistent team that isn't even in the same class as last year. Too bad.

-The Steelers finally got a win, this time over the J-E-T-S pathetic Jets. New York has alternated between wins and losses every week, and at this rate, 8-8 would not surprise me at all. Geno Smith looked great last week, but quickly fell back to earth with a few rough picks this week.

-Of course, no pick was as bad as Brandon Weeden, who had the early hold on Stupid Play of the Week. He threw a backhanded lob that had about zero percent chance of being caught by someone on the Browns. Seriously, if you do nothing else in this article, just click that link and watch one of the worst interceptions you'll ever see.

-But alas, the late afternoon games had yet to be played, and so our official Stupid Play of the Week goes to safety Chris Maragos of the Seattle Seahawks. After Steven Hauschka found himself bloodied and on the sideline while trying to make a tackle, Maragos came in to hold a field goal right before halftime. Jon Ryan, normally the holder, went for the kick, instead. They'd have been better off just going for it, though, as Maragos bobbled the snap, then quite stupidly tried to flip the ball up in the air as several Titans converged around him. Predictably, it ended horribly, and Tennessee took a lead into the half. Fortunately for Seattle, they bounced back and won 20-13. Also there were like 167 fumbles in this game.

-Jacksonville actually looked impressive today--that's two weeks in a row! But they did lose my personal fantasy team star Cecil Shorts to a shoulder injury on their first drive. Justin Blackmon stepped up with 14 catches for 190 yards, though it's going to be tough going forward with just him. The spread for this game opened at -28 and settled at -27. The Broncos didn't even lead by that much at any point during the game, ultimately winning 35-19.

-The Saints and Patriots played probably the most entertaining game of the year. Drew Brees hit Kenny Stills for an incredible go-ahead catch with under four minutes to go, but then the Saints D couldn't get it done, and Tom Brady marched down the field in just 1:08 and hit Kenbrell Thompkins for the game winning touchdown with five seconds left. I was mad, because I picked the Saints to win, but it gave us this Rob Ryan face, which more than makes up for any anger I felt.

-One day, the Cowboys will play a game that doesn't cause their fans to go into cardiac arrest. Today will not be that day.


A Compilation of Vines: The Best of 2013



I'll be the first one to tell you that I think Vine is really stupid. As someone who edits videos fairly frequently (or at least used to, back in the day), the really bare bones level of editing was frustrating, and the one time I tried to make a complete video, the application froze. But there are some people who can come up with something great in six seconds, and a couple of those even found their way into this compilation. Yes, a lot of these are dreadful, but the good ones are oh so worth it.

Your Daily Song: "More Than a Feeling (Vocals Only) by Boston



This title is a bit of a misnomer, as there is, in fact, some instrumentation in this song. But anytime Bradley Delp is delivering his powerful vocals, it's just him. We all know the dude could wail, but this shows it off incredibly. What a voice!

Saturday, October 12

Your Daily Song: "Love In This Club" by Usher



This bad boy makes it on here because I heard it approximately 116 times at work today. And I ain't even mad. I just wish I could find Kel Mitchell's "Love With These Nubs" parody, about being a pirate.

Friday, October 11

Umpire's Strikeout Call Is...Well, Entertaining



I don't know what's funnier: That this call even happened, or that it channels a song that's 20 years old. Amazing.

Thursday, October 10

Mean Tweets: Music Edition



Jimmy Kimmel Live is back with another round of mean tweets, where celebrities read cruel stuff that people post about them. This might be my favorite segment of the show. I don't know where people come up with these insults, but it's pretty fantastic.

Wednesday, October 9

Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise



Have you ever been at a coffee shop, minding your own business, when suddenly, someone apparently possessed by a demon throws someone against a wall? If you have, chances are you're in this video. In what seems to be a promotional video for Carrie, a woman gets mad at a dude for spilling coffee on her computer, and she will do anything to make him pay. Including FREAK PEOPLE OUT.

Your Daily Song: "Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day



This will probably be the longest song ever featured on YDS. But here's why: it's five songs in one. Hard to believe American Idiot is 10 years old already. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 8

Conan O'Brien Will Conquer LinkedIn



Everyone has LinkedIn, but no one has conquered it. UNTIL NOW. Conan O'Brien is making it his mission to dominate all aspects of social media. He's got 9 million followers on Twitter, though he had no connection on LinkedIn. That all changes now. Conan (like most of us) aren't entirely sure what LinkedIn actually accomplishes. If you think that'll stop him, you're very, very wrong. Check out his profile here.

Your Daily Song: "Guilty Filthy Soul" by AWOLNATION



This song will not only have you thinking your CD or MP3 or Blu-Ray or record or tape player or whatever else you use is skipping, it'll get your toes tappin', too. And that's a winner in my book.

Girls Don't Poop...Or Do They?



Of course they do. After all, Everyone Poops! But the fine folks at PooPourri.com have devised a product that, yes, is real, and yes, apparently actually works. It makes your fecal matter smell quite delightful, and is accompanied by a delightful ad telling us how it functions. Cheerio, ol' chum!

Monday, October 7

Your Daily Song: "Heartbeat Song" by The Futureheads



Surely this has to be a record for "Most Composed Drummer in a Music Video."

Sunday, October 6

Sunday Thoughts: Week 5


I don't have anything to say about the week in general, so...let's just get to the notes!

-The Broncos/Cowboys game gets my vote for early Game of the Year. Who needs defense, anyway? The combined 99 points were a season high for a single game, and Peyton Manning again kicked butt, throwing for four scores and rushing for one, the first time that's happened in five years. Manning did throw his first pick, so if you're scoring at home, that's 20 touchdowns before his first interception. Romo also threw a fourth quarter interception that set up the game-winning Denver field goal. If you're scoring at home, that's 84,576 fans sighing and shaking their heads simultaneously.

-The Jacksonville Jaguars were actually competitive today! Shockingly enough, they scored first and were even leading 10-7 before finally succumbing to the Rams, 34-20. If you take away Blaine Gabbert's short pass that Justin Blackmon turned into a 67-yard touchdown, the former Mizzou standout (maybe? I don't remember him doing much in college, either) completed just eight of 18 passes, and even including Blackmon's scoring catch, Gabbert didn't reach 200 yards. Unsurprisingly, he was yanked due to ineffectiveness. For both Jacksonville's and my fantasy team's sake, let's hope Chad Henne is the starter for the rest of the year. 

-After Michael Vick left the game near the end of the first half, you'd think LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown would hop on the expanded opportunity. Nope! The duo combined for -5 yards rushing going into the final drive (McCoy with -4 and Brown with -1). Then you remember that they were playing the Giants and you say "Oh, they could have literally ran backwards for 99 yards and thrown the ball straight up in the air, and they still would have somehow completed a pass for a touchdown." The Eagles won, 36-21.

-The Saints look really good. Pierre Thomas had a shocking nine receptions, while Jimmy Graham had a pedestrian 10 catches for 135 yards. The Bears once again could not get anything going on offense, even though Jay Cutler threw for over 350 yards and Alshon Jeffery caught 10 balls for 218 yards.

-Meanwhile, in games that did not warrant watching news, the Bengals bumbled their way to a 13-6 win over the Patriots. The game was a torrential downpour and it made throwing the ball (and watching the quarterbacks trying to throw said ball) dang near impossible. Pathetic.

-Our Worst Team of the Week wouldn't even go to the Jaguars, since, as we mentioned earlier, were at least somewhat competitive. No, this goes to the Carolina Panthers, who just narrowly squeaked out the award against the New York Football Giants. Both of these teams are abysmal and going nowhere fast, but the Panthers can't get a run game established, have a quarterback that apparently isn't good anymore, and have a defense that can only do so much when it has to be on the field 3/4 of the game. It's tough on those big D-linemen!

-Meanwhile, the Stupidest Play of the Week goes to my very own Bears' Lance Briggs. Facing a 4th and 2 in kind of no-man's-land, the Saints were very clearly just yelling random words to draw the Bears offsides. Well, it worked, and N'awlins could milk a lot more clock and essentially ice the game.

-Matt Schaub has thrown a pick-6 in four games in a row. Take a moment to process that. In all but ONE game, Matt Schaub threw a pass that a defensive player not only caught, but then proceeded to return for a touchdown. And in the one game he didn't, his opponent (Philip Rivers) did. Rivers doesn't play till very late tonight--well past my bedtime--so I don't know if the following stat will hold, but Rivers has only thrown two interceptions on the year, and they've both been returned for touchdowns.

-The Colts are playing very well right now, and gutted out a gritty win against the very talented Seattle Seahawks. I can't say I'm surprised, since the Colts are very solid at home and the Seahawks are spotty on the road, but impressive nonetheless. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch each ran for 102 yards, which is nine more than the two Colts RBs (Trent Richardson and Donald Brown) combined.

-I just discovered NFL.com has a "RedZone" feature that showcases all of the touchdowns from any given week. Enjoy.

Saturday, October 5

Drive-Thru Skeleton Prank



These drive-thru pranks are quite often very stupid, but sometimes there are a couple of unique ones. The Magic of Rahat knows how to make a fun one, though I do question how he's actually driving. Oh well, the reactions crack me up.

Your Daily Song: "Fast Lane" by Bad Meets Evil



This is the most clever wordsmithing I've heard in quite some time, maybe ever. And the music video's solid too. Gotta love those blocks of words!

Friday, October 4

Your Daily Song: "Coin Toss Girl" by Bouncing Souls



Any song that reminds me of the 60s is a winner in my book. Try not to tap your toe to this song. Go ahead, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU.