Baboons! (Some NSFW language)

Here's something you don't see in America every day. And those are some extremely nice neighbors to venture into the battle zone and try to shoo away the monkeys that could literally rip your face off.

Texting during a job interview?

I don't think it's bragging to say that I'm proud of my interviewing skills. When I was hired here almost 2 years ago, I was prepared and professional, and I thought I came across as a very quality candidate. Apparently the interviewers thought so too, because here I stand many hours of radio later. However, it appears that employers are seeing the quality of interviews decrease, according to this USA Today report. Here's a snippet that I really like:

Human resource professionals say they've seen recent college grads text or take calls in interviews, dress inappropriately, use slang or overly casual language, and exhibit other oddball behavior.

I know that might be way the current generation acts, but it's generally not their peers that they are interviewing with. It's disappointing that that group has that reputation, but on the other hand, it might give people like you and I a little more job security.

Datone Jones

When the Green Bay Packers were finally on the clock Thursday night with the 26th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the task was to find value. That doesn’t mean getting a Hall of Famer or even a perennial Pro Bowler, but rather a player with the talent level worthy of a first-round pick that fits with the team’s scheme and productivity needs.

The Packers found that person in UCLA defensive end Datone Jones.

If Green Bay’s front office was going to sculpt an athlete to be the edge rusher to get to the likes of Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford on a consistent basis, it’s likely they’d come up with the 6’4,” 280-pound frame that the former Bruin will bring to Dom Capers’ defense.

For more on my take, click here: http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2013/04/datone-jones-perfect-for-green-bay-packers/

Instant Replay

Baseball is one of the traditional American sports holding onto as many vestiges of the good ol' days as possible that I feel like they're missing out on opportunities to make the sport both current with the times and have a high a quality product as possible. Last night the Brewers would have loved to have instant replay available, as a difficult call was made on Martin Maldonado that unfortunately ended the game and snapped Milwaukee's nine-game winning streak. I think anyone staunchly opposed to instant replay and use the argument that it would slow down the pace of an already slow game need to remember the fact that managers come out to argue nearly every close call they feel goes against them, so if we could go to the tape and eliminate any doubt, why wouldn't they? Part of me feels bitter that that Brewers lost on a fluky and controversial call, but I have felt for a while that it's a facet of technology that needs to be incorporated into today's game.

My Top 5

I noticed today that Gwyneth Paltrow was named People Magazine's "Most Beautiful Woman" and I have to say I don't disagree. She is quite the beautiful lady. I saw a trailer for Iron Man 3 (which comes out next weekend - stoked!) and there's something incredibly attractive with the way she plays Pepper Potts. She's not overdone with make-up and pair that with the strawberry blonde hair? Damn. Not saying that she's not "hot" but I can see why see won the "beautiful" award. Despite being 16 years my senior, she's definitely cracked my top 5 (along with Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and Alex Morgan). The average of those four ladies is 33.4 years old. I don't know what that says about me, but I like numbers. And Gwyneth Paltrow. Congrats on the award. 

Memorable Days

I've talked with some people over the last few days about the crazy week in Boston/West, Texas and even here in town, and I've asked them whether or not they think this is one of "remember where I was" events. I can think of four days for sure in my lifetime (I'm not that old) where I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news: the shootings at Columbine, 9/11, the shootings at Virginia Tech and the shootings at the Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado.

For people older than I, some of those types of events from the last 100 years might include Pearl Harbor, JFK's assassination, the Miracle on Ice or the Challenger explosion.

Any big ones that I missed? And what's your take?

Follow-up attack?

This report is suggesting that the brothers allegedly responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings were planning on heading to New York City to execute a follow-up attack of some sort. A few questions come to mind: 1) Why not get out of Boston as soon as possible instead of waiting for the city to be shutdown? 2) Why tell anyone about it?

I'm not disregarding the validity of the report, but it's just another fascinating angle from the incredible week that was.

Earth Day

The first Earth Day happened in 1970, 43 years ago today. Back then, the day was about environmental reform and saving our planet, very worthwhile causes. However, some of the leaders were not overly optimistic about the state of Mother Nature's future.

"Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." — Harvard biologist George Wald


That didn't happen. We're still kicking.   "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate… that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, ‘Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, ‘I am very sorry, there isn't any.'" — Ecologist Kenneth Watt

I bought gas yesterday.

"The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." — Kenneth Watt

Well, it was only 45 degrees today, but I still think he's wrong on that one. Good try 1970.

In Ted We Trust

If there’s anything Green Bay Packers fans have learned about the NFL Draft process, it’s to trust Ted Thompson.


It’s about more than just drafting guys like Aaron Rodgers, B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews in the first round. It’s been about excelling in the later rounds, where he’s picked up guys like James Jones (third round, 2007) Desmond Bishop (sixth round, 2007), Josh Sitton (fourth round, 2008), and T.J. Lang (fourth round, 2009).

He has also hit a home run on most of his second-round picks, drafting guys like Nick Collins in 2005, Greg Jennings in 2006, Jordy Nelson in 2008 and Randall Cobb in 2011. The jury is still out on the 2012 second-rounders, Jerel Worthy and Casey Hayward, but there’s a high likelihood that the two will be impact players for the Packers for years to come.

There have been a number of flops, like any team, with guys like Justin Harrell and Brian Brohm, but those picks have been few and far between. Green Bay’s success over Thompson’s tenure has led to late first-round picks, meaning more question marks.

The Packers aren’t afraid to pass on a pick if there isn’t the value in a player at that slot, choosing instead to stockpile picks later on in the draft. I see that as a likely scenario for the first round this season, but there is one player I’ve had my eye on that I think Green Bay could very well latch onto in the first round.

For more on my take, click here: http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2013/04/packers-draft-strategy-in-ted-we-trust/

42 Review

I'm clearly a sports fan and I'm a bit of a movie buff too, so went in to go see "42" with pretty high expectations. I think it captures 1940s baseball pretty well and encompasses many different parts of the Jackie Robinson story, but I think it came up short in a couple of different areas. I like casting Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, but I think his impersonation of the Hall of Fame owner left a little something to be desired. I'm not sure what kind of gruff accent Rickey had that Ford was trying to duplicate, but to me it didn't seem cohesive throughout the entire movie. I also would have liked the film to focus a little bit on how Jackie Robinson came to the attention of the Dodgers' scouting department and eventually made his way to the organization. I feel like I'm nitpicking a little too much here. On the surface, it's a quality movie that I'd recommend you and your family go see.

Kind of funny?

Ignoring the horribly and overtly sexist rationale behind the decision, this from The Telegraph in the UK is pretty funny.

The delegates from the United Arab Emirates were in attendance at the Jenadrivah Heritage & Culture Festival in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, when religious police officers stormed the stand and evicted the men because “they are too handsome,” according to the Arabic language newspaper, Elaph.

Ah, being too handsome. A blessing and a curse. There were apparently going to be women in attendance, and apparently the government thought their hearts would swoon.

With a majority Sunni Muslim population, Saudi Arabia is a deeply religious and ultraconservative society which forbids women from interacting with unrelated males and refuses to accord them with the same rights as men.

That's obviously terrible, but it's gotta be just a wee bit flattering to the men that were deemed to be too handsome.

Craigslist is an interesting place

I've bought and sold things before on Craigslist, and I think it's a wonderful thing. Sold a car, bought a kitchen table, found a TV for a friend. You can find almost anything you need, and apparently, exotic wild life.

Juan DeJesus of Chicago posted an ad that said: "Baby gator for sale, id consider a trade for a leachie gecko. Sale price is 300 obo asap."

Chicago police showed up and arrested DeJesus for misdemeanor possession of wildlife, and seized the alligator.

Here are my thoughts:

1) Who goes online looking to buy an alligator?

2) Who is going to stumble onto Craigslist and find an alligator for $300 and think, hey, that's a great deal!

3) WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN ALLIGATOR WHEN IT IS FULLY GROWN! I don't think those things get domesticated.

I'm OK with owning a cat or dog or bird, but not something that could literally rip my face off.

Boston

Yesterday was one of those days where it's interesting to be on the air. It wasn't the first tragedy I've had to address, which if you think about it, is kind of disappointing. I had to talk the morning after the Batman movie shooting in Aurora, Colorado and I was on the air as the events were transpiring at Sandy Hook. It's not something I like addressing or want to address, but I can't not address it, if it makes sense. It can be hard to immediately contextualize what it happening and splice in my commentary and put it into a coherent thought process. I'm an inquisitive person and a fact finder, so I want to spend the time reading the accounts that were posted and scanning twitter feeds for updates and reading people's reactions. I understand that Classic Rock 100.1 isn't a news outlet and that we're not anywhere near the market where this happened. But to me, it's an event that was the predominant story of the day and evoked a feeling out of everyone American,  somewhere, somehow. I know our bread and butter is our music, but I felt I had to share my opinion, and I appreciate you continually tuning in.

The Courtesy Wave

Many of you will likely understand the Seinfeld reference, but there is great power in the "courtesy wave" that one driver should give to another. I think Midwesterners are a bit more compassionate than perhaps someone from either coast, but it's still nice to see drivers understand and acknowledge a situation where a courtesy wave is necessary. I was driving into work this morning and there was a driver that was nearly perpendicular to the road trying to wedge in between me and a school bus. I saw the actions coming from a distance away so I gave ample room for this person, who I thought to be an idiot at the time, to get into my lane. I kept thinking to myself 'This jerk better at least give me a wave' and then sure enough, my faith in humanity was restored when he raised his right hand to acknowledge his driving behavior and the minor inconvenience he caused me. Thank you courteous driver. Especially on a Monday.

The Most Cubs Thing Ever

You might be familiar with the Curse of the Billy Goat, and if not, it's basically the reason the Chicago Cubs have been so terrible for so long. Anywho, there was apparently a disgruntled fan (or perhaps a sneaky Brewers/Cardinals fan) that delivered a goat head in a box to Wrigley Field, with the intention of it landing on owner Tom Ricketts' desk. I'm not sure if the fan was just delusional (probably true) or trying to pull something straight out The Godfather (also probably true), but whatever the intended effect was, it didn't happen. Ricketts wants to make upgrades to Wrigley, like adding a videoboard to join the 21st century, but some fans would prefer the Cubbies to stick to there inglorious past. The security guard that intercepted the parcel alerted Chicago Animal Control, and police are still looking for the man who goat away. (I made a joke there, did you get it?)

The most awkward feeling

I can't imagine that going to the dentist is on anyone's list of favorite things to do. Even if you like your dentist and have a courteous, professional relationship, like I do, your dentist is not your favorite person to have to go see. When asked by the hygeniest/receptionist how my day is going, the sarcasitc side of me enjoys responding with "worse since I showed up here." I had to go to the dentist yesterday to get a cavity filled, and I've had a bit of nasal congestion, so having a drill, mirror, suction hose, water gun plus four human fingers in my mouth wasn't exactly letting me breathe. There was some down time while I was waiting for the anasthetic to kick in, so I took the opportunity to chat up the hygeniest. Of course I didn't feel the novocaine, why not add a bit more? My face started to tingle and I can't talk as well, then the dentist comes in and starts to go to town on my molar. And all the flirting I did with the cute hygeniest went out the window when I'm snorting because I can't breathe and drooling uncontrollably while they're fixing my tooth. Hard to be smooth when half your face is numb.

My weekend

I wanted to go to Walmart to buy a needle to pump up my basketball so I could go shoot hoops at the park. Came home with this. If you saw me on the road on the south side of La Crosse this weekend, I apologize for driving 11 mph the whole way home. Took me another hour and a half to put the air hockey table together. Quite possibly the best impulse buy I've ever made.

Roger Ebert

With the sad news of Roger Ebert's passing yesterday, it was surprising to see the reaction from the internet world. Not the fact that they were sad at his passing, but just the fact that his work was so pervasive and that he was so universally well respected by people in all walks of life. I'm active on Twitter, and there was such an outpouring of support from celebrities, writers and commonfolk all of whom were not only familiar with his work but influenced by it in some way. It's a testament to the power of movies, and how great ones get people talking almost unlike anything else. Roger Ebert simply watched movies, provided his thoughtful and honest take and went from there. It seems so simple, but he did that one thing so well that he helped shape an industry. He left this world a better place than when he entered it, a fact that has not gone ignored. Rest in peace, Mr. Ebert. We'll see you at the movies.

How is this art?

Actress Tilda Swinton slept inside a glass box last week at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and apparently this is not the first time she's done it. How is that art? She's getting paid to do this? Why would anyone go out of their way to head to the museum to watch someone sleep? Sounds a bit creepy if you ask me. It seems to be a roundabout way of promoting David Bowie's new music video for "The Stars Are Out Tonight" in which Swinton appears, but still. This is more creepy than anything.

Coaching

It appears that Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired today, and rightfully so. I've played sports for 20 years, had a dozen different coaches, and not one of them treated me or any of my teammates anything remotely close to how Rice treated his players. And these are the kids that he recruited, on scholarship, to come play for him! Not only should he be fired for his actions, but he should be fired for the integrity of the whole program. In today's day and age, the video that was released on ESPN's Outside the Lines, every high school basketball player will see the video and those talented enough to play at the Division 1 level won't consider Rutgers as long as Rice as at the helm. The video is an embarrassment to Rice and to Rutgers, as long as they keep him installed as head coach. The Athletic Director should likely be fired as well for not responding to this issue sooner, but it's Rice who I can't see finding another job in college basketball for a long, long while. On another note, it's just another mention of someone brought down in today's society by the fact that somebody's always watching. His actions were caught clear as day on video tape, something Rice should have been cognizant of. His unacceptable actions would have come out eventually, but now they're on display for everyone with access to YouTube. It's good reporting by ESPN to help rid the amateur coaching ranks of someone who certainly doesn't belong there.

Kevin Ware

I was watching the Louisville-Duke game with my parents on Easter Sunday when I, like many other people across the country, let out an audible scream when I saw the injury that Cardinals guard Kevin Ware suffered in the first half. It was one of those things that caused my stomach to drop and me to look away and I hoped I'd never have to see the injury again. I think CBS did a good job with the broadcast, showing the replay just once to kind of figure out what happened, then opting not to show it any more due to the gruesome, graphic nature of the injury. That didn't stop me from accidentally running across a still photo of Ware's tibia sticking out, but as a former basketball player, injuries like that make me really woozy. I've sprained ankles, pulled muscles, torn ligaments and had a few other calamities, but this was on a different level. It was like Willis McGahee/Joe Theismann bad. I feel terrible for Ware, but by all accounts he's a good kid that's doing well and committed to making a comeback. Louisville now has a fallen brother to play for, and I think that makes them the prohibitive favorite heading into the weekend.