Names

     Today I've gotta mention a few issues dealing with names.  As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of the hyphenated last name.  This means you LaRod Stevens-Howling, Maurice Jones-Drew etc...  There is now another annoying trend coming along though, and that is the use of the middle name instead of the last name on Facebook.  It was sort of funny at first, but I am calling for an end to it now.  Not only does it confuse the hell out of me for a couple of days after the name is changed, but it's not unique anymore.  Any idiot can go from John Smith to John Michael or something, and many do(sorry if I offended any John Smiths out there, you have a very generic name though).  Now I know one reason for this is to make it tougher for people to find information on you, which is helpful for those of us who have new jobs.  If you really wanna hide information though, wouldn't it be easier to just not associate with the strippers in Atlantic City on your 21st birthday...or at least not use your iPhone's awesome camera app for a night? 

     The next issue pertaining to names brings us to Los Angeles where Lakers' small forward/rapper, Ron Artest, is officially changing his name to Metta World Peace.  I am a Laker fan and I have to say I think the idea is a little stupid.  It doesn't even really flow well like World B. Free, a forerunner of the name change business.  Apparently Metta means 'dignity' or something in Buddhist, which Ron is not.  The only reason I can get behind this though is because Ron Artest is a crazy, fun enough guy to make this work.  Seeing him joke around after winning the title last year and interviewing on Pardon The Interruption today, it is tough to believe that this lovable buffoon is the same man who was kicking the shit out of Pistons' fans in 2004.  Much like Kobe's sexual harassment case, I say we make a push to forget that Ron's infamous Brawl at Auburn Hills ever happened.  Hopefully the future generations will remember him as the name-change guy instead of the man who got suspended for an entire season for jumping fans in their seats.  Good luck on your future endeavors Metta.

     The last point I wanna throw out there pertains to an idiotic ad council commercial for honesty that's been running lately.  It's a basketball game that is down to the wire and the team of the central character gets possession of the rock after the ball goes out of bounds.  Good news right?  Well the killjoy, honest kid on the team, Alex, has to ruin it for everyone by telling the ref that he touched the ball last, not the kid on the other team.  F U Alex.  You know for a fact this kid would get the shit kicked out of him in the locker room after the game if this ever really happened, especially if his team lost because of his asanine 'honesty'.  If the ref gives you a favorable call, you roll with it, just ask the '02 Lakers and '06 Heat.

Sounds of Summer

     Alternative Rock has been better than normal this summer.  There's some awesome bands out there that not a lot of people are even aware of, so for this blog I just wanna post a playlist of some songs you should definitely check out.  I wanted to do like a top 20 list, but that's impossible so I'm just putting the songs in random order.  A lot of these bands are gonna be at Lollapalooza in Chicago August 5-7.  So if you're financially well off, go.  Enjoy.

Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
Foster the People - Helena Beat
Foster the People - Waste
Foster the People - Houdini
Foster the People - Call It What You Want
Young the Giant - My Body
The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
The Naked and Famous - Punching in a Dream
The Naked and Famous - Girls Like You
Airborne Toxic Event - Changing
Smith Westerns - Weekend
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Stay Alive
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Say No to Love
Cold War Kids - Finally Begin (fun fact: the chord progression is the same as dynamite by Taio Cruz)
Cold War Kids - Royal Blue
Death Cab For Cutie - You Are a Tourist
Fitz and the Tantrums - Money Grabber
Joy Formidable - Whirring
Redlight King - Old Man
Incubus - Adolescents
Sublime with Rome - Panic

A lot of new CD releases are due out soon too.  Incubus' "If Not Now, When?" drops July 12, as does Sublime's new one.  Red Hot Chili Peppers have stated that "I'm With You" will be out August 30, and blink-182 claims their new disc will drop sometime in mid-September.  Throw in Coldplay in September too and you've got enough heavyweight music to last you for a while.

Wendy's New Fries

     It is time to address an issue of the utmost importance now, Wendy's new fries.  Yeah it's a slow day.  Regardless I have to say, Wendy's, you failed.  You failed big time.
     First off I'm sick of everybody using 'sea' salt these days instead of good old regular salt.  It doesn't appeal to me any more that my salt came from the ocean.  If anything that's a drawback, do you know what whales do in the oceans?  Dirty stuff.  Nowadays you can't find a bag of salt and vinegar chips anymore, it's sea salt and vinegar.  Fancy restaurants place sea salt on the tables instead of salt.  It was fine before.
     Back to the new fries.  They are essentially the same as the old ones but with skin left on them and a hell of a lot more salt.  Too much salt.  Wendy's was going for the Boardwalk Fries type feel with these, but instead they basically reproduced their old fries, which already were the lowest of the low in fast food, with more salt and skin.  They are a little crispier, but still pail in comparison to McDonald's fries.  Also they seem to leave a weird taste in your mouth that makes your drink taste funny afterwards.  You don't do fries well, Wendy's, but I implore you to go back to your old ones.
     While I'm on the subject, it is pronounced "Wen-dees", not "Win-dees".  I used to think it was only people from Pittsburgh that pronounced it this way, but I swear I'm hearing it more and more these days from everyone, even on their commercials.  Not a huge deal, just thought I'd through it out there.  Say it with me one more time, Wen-dees.
     Sorry I had to come at your fries Wendy's but I think I speak for America on this topic.  Now at the risk of sounding like a pessimistic asshole I do feel I should say something positive to finish out this blog, so here goes.  Popeyes, you are still awesome.  In summation, eat at Popeyes.

NBA Finals

     What's up all.  I'm starting this blog here with the inclination that nobody will most likely every read this.  That being said if you do read it, thanks I appreciate it, if you're offended by anything I write than I am truly sorry.  With that afformentioned apology though, I feel like all will still be well even if I do offend you.
     Anyway, with that I'll get to the NBA Finals which just wrapped up a couple hours ago.  I'm one happy camper (pardon my French) after watching the Dallas Mavericks take down the evil empire that is the Miami Heat.  I couldn't think of a better way for the Big 2 featuring Chris Bosh to end than in game 6 (except game 7) of the finals.  Truthfully, I probably wouldn't have watched past the Lakers' elimination if I wasn't rooting against the Heat.  Maybe that makes me a 'hater', but I'm cool with that, as is most of America.
     From LeBron's 'decision' on ESPN, to the press conference where the Heatles promised 7 titles before the season even started, the Heat represented that kid you always knew who thought they were entitled to everything.  The Mavericks should be inspiration for everyone because they were a 'team' that dismantled 3 egos the size of a team.  And by winning the MVP, Dirk single-handedly restored good-feelings between USA and Germany again that were previously damaged by WWII.  I for one am glad we can go back to calling liberty cabbage sauerkraut.
     As for Jason Terry, his tattoo story is one for the ages.  Getting a tattoo of the NBA Championship trophy on his arm and then winning it that next year.  Needless to say I am currently getting an NBA Championship Trophy, World Series Pennant, an Oscar, an MTV Movie Award and a Latin Grammy tattooed on my arms in hopes that I will achieve the same level of success.
     After the game, LeBron said that he doesn't mind people hating on him because they will all wake up tomorrow with the same problems and he will wake up LeBron James.  Well let me remind you Mr. James, you too will still wake up with your same problems tomorrow too, no championship rings...and syphillis.  Before I stop talking about the 'Greatest Player Ever', let me just list some names of players who have more rings than LeBron: Brian Scalabrini, Brian 'The Custodian' Cardinal, Adam Morrison, DeShawn Stevenson, Sasha Vujacic.
     Also gotta say it's good to see Mark Cuban get a title.  A lot of people hate him, but he is hands-down the coolest owner of an NBA team out there.  He acts like we all would act if we had millions of dollars and owned a competitive NBA team, very unproffesionally.  Although he was quite quiet during these playoffs, I give him respect for still being a fan first and an owner second.
     On an unrelated topic, yes I did name this blog after a Red Hot Chili Peppers album.  A great album, and I can't wait for their new CD to drop this August.  Gonna miss Frusciante though.
     Congrats Dallas Mavericks, Gute Nacht.