I've started measuring my age by the numbers of NBA stars from the '80s because it somehow keeps me young.
Barkley feels appropriate, more so than Hakeem Olajuwon, who also wore No. 34, because 1) I'm more round; 2) I feel more likely to say outlandish things; 3) I have an uncanny nose for the boards.
It's an exciting little documentary by a group of Steve Zissou-esque underwater activist/adventurers who set out to expose the practices of the dolphin fishing (really, it's more trapping and stabbing, than fishing) industry in Japan. After watching it, you'll never want to eat another dolphin burger again.
Obviously, the filmmakers have an argument they're trying to make and they're not much interested in giving the other side of the story. Still, they do a fantastic job of making their case, answering all of my cynical questions.
How is this different from what we do to cows? It is.
Hey, the Japanese just eat weird shit. Maybe it's a cultural difference? It's not.
Maybe they're really, really delicious? Nope.
Nutritious? Full of mercury that'll mess you up.
Just dumb animals? Actually, they're ultra-smart, super-amazing, self-aware swimming mammals.
On top of showcasing an important issue, The Cove is entertaining movie-making, filled with strange characters, whack jobs and corrupt government officials, a little action and some suspense, not to mention really cool dolphins.
Why is it that Europe is making all the best R&B these days?
If I had heard them just a couple weeks earlier, Quadron would have easily made my best of 2009 list. They're two funky Danes: a 21-year-old girl named Coco with a dynamite voice and a supercool producer named Robin Hannibal, previously of Owusu and Hannibal.
If you have the time, go listen to a couple tracks on their Myspace page. In the meantime, here's their video. It's a nice tale of love and horses.
This whole Conan and Leno thing is getting embarrassing, with each of them milking the attention for all it's worth and beyond.
My main interest in this is that, like millions of Americans, I can't stand Jay Leno. Not only is he not funny, but he's also a tremendously annoying kiss-ass. Late night talk shows that serve solely as a promotional tool are bad enough, but Leno does it with such gusto and phoniness that it becomes unbearable.
Conan's act used to be wonderful, back in the esteemed days of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the Masturbating Bear, but now he spends a little too much time doing funny little voices on the side. It's annoying, too, but I still like him.
My allegiance, though, will always be to Dave Letterman. He's smart (although the real Conan is probably smarter), he's not afraid to be outspoken or poke fun at his inane guests or ask a tough question of others, and his sense of humor is generally more in line with my own.
One of my all-time favorite Chicago Cubs, Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, was finally voted into baseball's hall of fame.
Dawson joined the Cubs after nine years playing on the Astroturf in Montreal. He still had a rocket arm, base-stealing speed and a powerful swing. He hit 49 home runs and was the MVP of the 1987 season, and the Cubs still finished in last place.
I'll never forget listening to Harry Caray's radio broadcast the day some chump San Diego pitcher, Eric Show, beaned Dawson in the face with a fast ball after Dawson had hit three home runs on the Padres over two games. He was knocked out, bleeding, but got up moments later and started chasing Show. Harry, of course, went nuts. It was wonderful.
I couldn't find any audio of Harry's call, but I did find this commercial for Pizza Hut's Harry Caray-Out Special:
The year of Larry Bird is over as yesterday marked my Charles Barkley birthday.
