#mike putting front his career because he’s clearly trying to show he’s supportive of the monkees continuing and not

[monkee-mobile]

Get ready for it…

Get ready for it…

!!!

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #69: Proud of Our Boys (11/2/18)

Technically, not a lot happened this week. Also, everything happened. Does that make any sense? I don’t know, everything’s been a blur since Tyler Joseph wore a pride flag on a Halloween show in the capital of the United States. Let’s cover that and more in this week’s Update!

This Week’s TØPics:

The Bandito Tour Continues

Tyler Visits the Live Lounge- Or, Rather, It Visits Him

The Best Interview of the Trench Era, Conducted by Fans

“My Blood” Moving Slowly but Steady Up the Charts

Major News and Announcements:

No new music, no new tour announcements, but plenty of other things going on this week.

Mark is helping to keep our lanes nicely watered, as he returned to giving us weekly doses of video content for the tour starting almost immediately after the release of last week’s Update. The first episode covers the planning for the tour, Tyler and Josh receiving the first physical copies of Trench, Josh’s unique method of opening CD cases, and Josh getting a nice head injury after falling off his riser during a rehearsal. Plus, there’s a pretty nice piano interpolation of “Morph” to kick the whole thing off. The second goes more into the depths of planning and staging the show, giving a glimpse of just how much of a diva Tyler Joseph is when it comes to getting every aspect of the tour right. It doesn’t exactly put him in the nicest light- he calls the prototype clip that drops his “Stressed Out” beanie “garbage”, clearly expects the crew to be as intimately familiar with his music as he is, and pushes pretty hard to get the transitions faster and faster. But hey, that approach worked to produce a great show, and Tyler makes sure to thank the crew in every Trees Speech.

I was wavering between whether to include the content from the BBC Live Lounge sessions here or in the Shenanigans section, but considering that we got three HD video performances and a high quality recording of a new cover, I’m gonna tie it in here. In-between the stops in Washington and Atlanta, Tyler flew back to Columbus solo to record a session for the world-famous Live Lounge from Newport Music Hall (because of course Tyler was that extra). Sitting at a gorgeous shiny piano and wearing an outfit that looks like a flannel traffic cone (in a good way, honest), Tyler played some stripped-down covers of “My Blood” and “Ride”, using brand-new vocal interpolations for both of those songs that are just incredible. Live Lounge is most renowned for its covers, and Tyler delivered there as well with his version of Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan’s classic “9 Crimes”. It’s an incredible rendition of a gorgeous song, and the fact that Tyler mentioned the track way back on “Drown” when “9 Crimes” was a brand-new song makes it land as even more heavy. The real kicker came just this morning, when Live Lounge revealed that they recorded one more song: we have our first high quality performance of “Neon Gravestones”. I still haven’t fully recovered, mate.

Performances, Interviews, and Other Shenanigans:

Touring continues to keep us well fed. As I mentioned in the opening, Tyler grabbed an offered pride flag during “Holding On To You”, which deeply affected the entire Clique, especially our LGBTQ+ family. So many kids in that community struggle with depression and lean hard on this band’s music to get through; this clear and pure gesture of support, while small, simply means the world. 

Outside of that show, there were plenty of other great moments from the tour this week. You can tell Tyler’s been tinkering with the format as he’s been getting feedback from the audience response. Despite how dedicated Tyler was to getting back to the stage for the end of “Pet Cheetah”, the big drop now starts while Tyler is still on the skybridge above the pit’s head, which makes way more sense. The ending of “My Blood” seems to be reduced to just getting the audience to fight to be louder than the other side rather than try to harmonize different bits. And Josh keeps writing city-personalized messages on his chest that he shows off to the crowd as he walks across the bridge, dramatically removing his jacket like something out of Magic Mike.

Also, Tyler tossed a frisbee in Boston and the boys discovered finger guns in Philly. Those were pretty cute moments, gotta share ‘em if you missed ‘em.

Interviews continue as the tour travels the nation. KISS FM Cleveland kept the tradition of B.S. first meeting stories alive with a deep dive into Josh’s talent as a painter, though that’s really the only thing you need to watch that interview for. Boston station ALT 92.9 does a little better, though he mistakenly attributes the backflip to Tyler and asks when Josh will get out from behind those drums... To his credit, the interviewer asks about how Jim is accommodated on the tour (unsurprisingly, the crew fights over who gets to look after him) and what Tyler learned from co-producing Trench with Paul.

The best interviews, however, have all been in the form of fan meet-and-greet conferences that have been finding their way online. There’s just something to the energy of these interviews that is so much better than the awkward and rushed ones in cramped green rooms hosted by radio station interns who obviously just Googled a few facts before they’re rushed in. These fans truly care about their band, and their questions were thoughtful and about so much more than just trivia. 

The best of these, I think, is from St. Louis’s 105.7, a station that’s always had pretty good relations with the band.

Tyler has tried to be more intentional about seeing the places they go on tour outside of the venues, with the mindset that he wants to have better stories to tell his kids (oh my God, please help me...). His favorite place that he’s visited? Hobbiton in New Zealand. I love these nerds.

Tyler and Josh talk about the origins of that gorilla suit that shows up in the “Ode to Sleep” video.

They talk about how one of the more difficult aspects of touring early on before “making it” was eating healthily enough to sustain regular shows when they were broke and the only places that were open to eat late at night after shows were Taco Bells.

Tyler tells a truly heart-wrenching story of being at his parents’ house and seeing his two baby nieces playing with (and vomiting on) the keyboard that taught him to play music and opened up the world for him. The obvious emotion in his voice as he talks about learning the “Pachelbel Canon” from staring at the keys for hours and the clear joy he felt at getting to share this private moment with Jenna... I still haven’t recovered.

When one fan asks how she might learn to overcome creative blocks in her career of graphic design, Tyler gives a really technical explanation of how he got past blocks when writing “Neon Gravestones” and “Pet Cheetah” before taking those lessons and extracting how they might broadly be used to help any artist “shock the system” by breaking habits.

Tyler says that he anticipates that “Legend” will be pretty tough to perform live. He further states that a lot of songs don’t emotionally affect him much because he has to worry about achieving the technical aspects of his performance. That said, “Neon Gravestones” has been really emotional for him, and “Holding On To You” is so driven into him now that he actually can think about what he’s saying.

Tyler views the two-man nature of the band as a challenge rather than a crutch to excuse the use of backing tracks due to how hard they have to work to keep audience attention. Tyler does appreciate the dynamic of having a bunch of people collaborate for music (as shown by the cover medleys), and he is not vehemently against the idea of adding members in the future. He’s just very happy about the way things are with just him and Josh.

Josh once again gets very open about his struggles with anxiety, particularly speaking in front of people, tracing it back to how he would even ask teachers to give him alternatives to giving presentations because it scared him so much. He’s come so far since the Vessel days where he just wouldn’t talk in most interviews at all, and I’m so proud of him.

Tyler is against the “Magellan” method of trying any and all new foods, preferring stuff he knows will satisfy his hunger (he mentions that’s been difficult to stick with now that he’s married to Jenna).

Tyler says that you can tell which of his songs started with lyrics before composing the music based on which have rapped lyrics. The raps are almost always poetry that he’s tried to incorporate into a song- otherwise, he almost always starts with the melody.

Another great conference-style interview comes on behalf of Philly radio station 104.5, whose fans also gave some great questions:

As tactfully as possible, Tyler passes on a question about what event specifically motivated him to write about “Neon Gravestones”, saying that he could not do so without violating the respect that he hopes underlines the message of that song.

Tyler tells a pretty rough story about a time when he was working at a restaurant to support the band and school, only to lose weeks of wages to a traffic ticket. It’s a scene that will definitely be in the band biopic in thirty years, but it’s also just a very thoughtful reflection on Tyler’s part about how unfair a feeling it can be to realize that our labor and time are so commodified.

Tyler used to be real annoyed that Josh didn’t like Russel Crowe as an actor, mainly because he admitted that he didn’t have a good reason for it (Tyler Robert Joseph always has a reason). Josh deciding one day that he’d like Russel Crowe because not doing so aggravated Tyler seems like a pretty neat microcosm of their entire personal and professional relationship.

Tyler and Josh haven’t noticed any bands “copying” them, no matter what music press looking for an easy descriptor might say because all they have to copy is “freedom to write whatever kind of song they want”.

Josh keeps himself grounded by searching “21 pilots” on Twitter. Tyler agrees, but also points out that their relationships to their families also play a big role (“our respective families, to clarify”).

Finally, on social media, Tyler keeps hopping on social media to troll fans and his own band account. I hate him so much.

Chart Performance:

Things continue to be a little quiet for Twenty One Pilots on the US charts. The tracks from Trench are slowly sliding off the Hot Rock Chart, with “My Blood” being the only track to gain traction in any region- radio. With that said, however, “My Blood” also managed to sneak onto the very bottom spot of the Hot Pop chart, suggesting that we are approaching a potential crossover moment. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens. (I can only assume until then that Tyler’s having to ignore a lot of phone calls about a radio edit that cuts that slow first verse to keep the general listener’s attention; watch for that.)

Upcoming Shows:

(Can you believe that all of Tyler’s meticulous planning for the marketing and promotion of this album cycle has been totally supplanted by Josh’s cute dog?)

On topic, there’s another host of important shows this week, so let’s get into it!

Show 13: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA (11/2)

Capacity: 21,000

After visiting his hometown with Josh yesterday, Tyler rejoins the touring crew today to play a show for the folks in Atlanta at the newly-renamed State Farm Arena. This is bound to be a special one: though the band has headlined the huge Music Midtown festival in the city, this is their first ever arena show in this major metropolitan market. It’s sure to be a real special show.

Show 14: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL (11/3)

Capacity: 21,500

The band’s next stop is at a more familiar ground. The band played Amalie during the last arena leg. Twenty One Pilots actually has a pretty extensive history of playing shows in Tampa stretching all the way back to college shows from before they were signed. Tyler has some relatives in the Florida area, so expect some more cute moments from this show.

Show 15: BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL (11/4) 

Capacity: 22,300

The touring crew continues their journey south to the outskirts of Miami. Again, they’ve played BB&T before, but if there’s one thing this band has proven time and time again, it’s that they’re not ones to ever get complacent.

Show 16: Toyota Center, Houston, TX (11/6)

Capacity: 19,3000

It might surprise you to learn that the band has never played an arena show in Houston, despite the city being one of the biggest metropolitan centers in the United States. That oversight will be corrected on Tuesday with a show at the NBA Rockets’ home venue.

Show 17: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX (11/7)

Capacity: 21,000

The last show before our next Update will be held in Dallas. Once again, this marks the second show Twenty One Pilots will have played in the space. Texas will continue to get plenty of love after this show, but we’ll get into that more next week!

-

Power to the local dreamer!

|-/

[thelearningcat]

I just rewatched the Ugly Truth and I feel like I need a bath.

I will preface this by saying, I watched this when it came out and enjoyed it. I didn’t think it was an amazing romance, but I enjoyed it for the romantic trash I often enjoyed. 

Rewatching it, post-women studies, post-academia, post-growing up and experiencing real relationships, it’s disgusting on so many fronts. 

All the critiques it appears to almost try to criticize, it instead holds up and applauds. 

We have this strong, capable, good at her job, smart woman who is a producer despite being a woman and somewhat young being completely undermined at every term by the men above her at her job and the man she’s supposed to be in charge of. This is nothing to say with the constant sexual harassment, degradation of women, and overall sexist message it constantly purports. 

Hell, Hitch somehow manages a better message than the Ugly Truth. Hitch at least had it turn out that the woman they were trying to lie to liked the guy who was lying better for all the things that were 100% him rather. The Ugly Truth quite literally proved the misogynist right and then rewarded him with our protagonist. 

Maybe this doesn’t come to a surprise to anyone else. I haven’t watched this film probably since 2012 or so, so it has been a hot second. I’m almost scared now to watch The Proposal, because that was a movie that came out the same year that I also liked. 

How in the hell two women could have written this movie is beyond me. At every second it felt terrible and degrading. 

I watch a lot of romantic trash that had terrible messages to women, but they usually at least have some redeeming qualities or empowered women. Not the Ugly Truth. There is literally nothing. No moment in this movie qualifies as redeeming. The love interest learns no lesson to be nicer, the woman isn’t given power over her career, the third wheel love interest doesn’t turn out to be a nice guy, there are no kind and supportive friends, and there are no funny moments that don’t involve the humiliation of the female protagonist I’m supposed to be rooting for.

To end my rant, let me propose how to fix this travesty, if only because it’ll make me feel better to imagine how I would write it better:

Abby takes control of her job and shows she knows better than the assholes who are always just ignoring her clear brilliance and ability to think on her feet. This has to happen for me to feel vindicated for what she has to go through with producing the Ugly Truth. There are three ways I see this going. Option 1: she quits in the end. Instead of Mike quitting or in lieu of him quitting and being told she has to find his replacement, Abby quits instead, declaring she deserves a workplace that values her talent. We are given one reason she stays at a small local network, but it’s not a good enough reason to prevent her from really going somewhere in my opinion, especially not at least to a different network than the trash place she works at. Option 2: there are massive protests against the Ugly Truth, and Abby leads the charge to instead turn the network around to be a feminist dream workplace. I do not buy for a second that 98% of women would like the Ugly Truth. Sure maybe the white women who voted for Trump would like watching it because they’ve been brainwashed to think toxic masculinity is chill, but the rest of us, and even a lot of those women, would disgusted either by the sexism or the non-Christian discussions. Ideally, the networks higher ups would be fired and Abby would be given the reigns to turn it around. Option 3: She turns the Ugly Truth around. By sheer brilliance. She brings in feminist women and men who could counter and argue against Mike’s Ugly Truth. She brings in academics who can show scientifically that Mike’s perspective is wrong. The Ugly Truth turns into a show breaking down the ugly truth about toxic masculinity and the patriarchy. This one is probably my favorite since it lends itself to really enabling Mike to be a better person so he can be a love interest. This is a romantic comedy (or its supposed to be at least), so I’m fine with some acceptance of a love interest. 

We need to overhaul these fucking asshole love interests. Mike and Colin are both absolutely terrible and Abby’s interaction with them give me no reason she would fall for either or them or that they would fall for her.  Let’s start with Colin though, since he’s clearly just the trope “boyfriend who causes conflict by existing”. There is nothing special about him. He’s rich and handsome, the protagonist spends most of the movie thinking he’s the one, he turns out to be a dick, and his being somewhere and the real love interest seeing him makes the real love interest go running. I hate this trope. I much prefer the newer(?), less common trope that I’ve seen in some movies where the established love interest is legit nice and things just don’t work out between him and the protagonist for some reason. I want a Colin who says yes when Abby asks him out. I want a Colin who is clearly turned off (to the audience) whenever Abby tries one of Mike’s ploys, but is too nice to just turn her down for them (because he likes her otherwise). I want a Colin who in the end says they should break up because while Abby is great, because she clearly won’t be honest with him. Or that Abby breaks up with saying that she has feelings for someone else and Colin is just like, cool, let’s be friends, I still like your cat a lot. And we get to see them hanging out on double dates in the end scenes. Mike... Mike is just terrible and there’s no way he can ever get the girl without major changes. In fact, if I just got description of them both, I would assume this was a secret “nice man right in front of you when you are chasing after the asshole trope” wherein Abby gets Colin instead. It would be a nice surprise. However, Mike has some interest character elements that lend itself to a potentially fascinating love interest. First off, let’s get out of the way, he has to learn, or admit, that the Ugly Truth bullshit is just that, bullshit. Otherwise, he can stay in the dumpster he lives in. However, putting that aside, there are some questions would might lend to a much more interesting love interest. His relationship with his nephew is one of them. He clearly is super potentially cute to his nephew and sister. He teaches his nephew terrible things, which is unfortunate, but if we fix that? Let’s say instead of Abby hearing him say that it’s awesome girls are already going to him [the nephew], we instead hear him saying that empowered women are the best and sexiest. Earlier in the movie instead of hearing him say that he should be insulting 20 year olds, we hear him say that he should never insult women, they get that enough from assholes who follow his show. If we have it clearly established that he doesn’t believe the things he says through the lessons he gives his nephew, we would have an easy way to show the dissonance while still seeing the cute uncle-nephew relationship.  This also brings up the potential for why he got started on the Ugly Truth. We get a vague comment once (that’s never answered mind you) about how he got hurt before, but that’s bullshit and a cop-out. I instead want it to have started out as a satire, or maybe he was really hurt from a break up- OR he was really angry when his sister’s baby-daddy left her so he went on youtube and ranted about “The Ugly Truth” about love. Basically, we just need some backstory to believe he stumbled on this character, whether because he was telling the truth for a moment or trying to make a joke, but now he’s earning money doing this and he doesn’t really know how to get out. Maybe he never got a degree because he helped his sister earn money (seriously, it’s so easy to milk this relationship he has with his family) or maybe he got one but its in something that doesn’t make money like art and he doesn’t know how to transition from acting to that. Now he’s stuck, and maybe he’s tired of people assuming he’s the character he plays so he stops disputing them. Maybe he’s knowingly using his male privilege because he knows this character gets along with the creeps who run networks. Maybe he’s just bitter in general and has a hard time turning it off anymore.  On the other hand, I would also accept swapping out a lesbian for Mike and have Abby turn out to be bisexual. The lesbian could say all sorts of bullshit to get on TV and it’d make sense considering what men in charge of entertainment expect women to do to get their airtime. 

At least one supportive friend to the protagonist. We get Joy, her friend/employee? But Joy almost just acts to support the idea that somehow women are okay with Mike. Besides getting Abby dates, we see no reason to suspect she’s actually a friend to Abby. Maybe they are trying to say Abby doesn’t have any friends because she put her career over all else, but I find that really hard to swallow. I spend the majority of my time on work and me-time recuperating from working, but I still have friends that I see semi-regularly and a significant other I spend a lot of time with. 

We need there to be a legit sexual harassment claim filed at this workplace and people to get fired. That’s all. 

[viralhai]

Kamala Harris presents a major nightmare scenario for Donald Trump before the November election | ViralHai News [ad_1]

Donald Trump risks alienating black voters if he continues with racial divisions and personally attacks Kamala Harris

A "sleeper" Joe Biden has written a "phony" to Kamala Harris to cause Donald Trump a nightmare. But how can a Vice Presidential candidate bother the President in his dream of re-election to an Oval Office? wrong.

Biden's emergence as a Democrat front-runner was himself a bomb given his initial average performance in the primaries - including his selection of former Democratic presidential opponent and first African-American running mate Harris, and Sankalu Trump's second visit to the White House is fatal enough to destabilize.

Minutes after Biden announced the California senator's name as his vice-presidency, Trump's outspoken sexist attacker was clearly visible in a White House briefing. Harris was labeled "dirty", "horrible", "mean" and "abusive" - ​​specific words in Trump's stereotype playbook of misogyny, racism, and personal attacks. Biden's selection of a man of color certainly put Trump off as he made a sweeping debut against Harris, thundering and staring at his notes during the briefing.

Trump's very salvo on Harris revealed the truth of his facts being twisted - and above all, his rebellion against women. "He told many, many stories that were not true ... He was my number one draft pick." really? Two weeks ago, when asked about her chances of being Biden's pick, Trump said: "I think she would be a good choice."

Already facing a media and political attack for his untimely failure to control COVID-19 - which has devastated the superpower with over five million cases and more than 1,67,000 deaths. - Unemployment numbers and the submission of unemployed claims due to the virus, and an increasing number the line of racial error following the assassination of George Floyd, Trump had never wished for an African-American woman as Democratic VP candidate.

Harris' selection has certainly added the steam needed for Team Biden, bombing Trump with viruses and racial salos.

African-American Votes and Black Lives Matter

Trump is trying to woo suburban African-African voters, who have been troubled by his racial divide after Floyd's assassination, his lack of sympathy for them and no attempt to close the growing chasm of racism.

Facing Biden with Harris on his behalf is a tough challenge for Trump for his undisputed statements - unlike other former presidential candidates such as former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Representative Karen Bass. Known for his impeccable record as a prosecutor and California attorney-general, the senator has been an important advocate of civil rights and racial equality.

In fact, Harris expressed his opposition and anger to racism long before the Black Lives Movement began this year. In a Democratic presidential debate in June 2019, he gave a slogan to Biden for his opposition [desegregation] Busing - the practice of taking students to schools in the 1970s to reduce racial segregation - and found it "harmful to hear you" [Biden] Talk about the reputation of two United States senators who built their reputation and career on the segregation of races in this country. "Although he never called Biden racist during the debate. His rage over racial inequality was widely seen and stole the limelight.

After Floyd's assassination, Harris issued a statement mentioning the murders of other African-Americans, systemic racism in American society, and police vandalism: "In recent times, we have seen the tragic and terrible of Ahmad Arbe in Bremon, Georgia. Forced to face the murders. Taylor in Kentucky, and now, George Floyd in Minnesota. These are not isolated incidents, but the result of widespread systemic racism that exists in our country… police brutality It is a matter of life and death for black people in the country, and we have a vow to be clear about the injustice within our criminal justice system and to demand accountability to the communities, protect and serve communities . "

Harris' selection would excite African-American voters, especially women, against their low turnout in 2016 as election day. About 98 percent of African-American women - who are the backbone of the Democratic Party - and 96 percent of black voters voted. For Hillary Clinton in 2016, the Pew Research Center analysis shows.

According to a national survey conducted in conjunction with market research company Morning Consultation Political trickster On July 24–26, more than 25 percent of voters wanted Biden to choose a person of color as their running mate. According to a poll conducted more than a month ago, "it was six percentage points. The increase was driven by liberal voters (36 to 46 percent)", according to Morning advice.

In an open letter to Biden earlier this year, hundreds of African-American female voters wrote that "they are important to ignite black voters in all demographics to show in record numbers". according to this NBC NewsVoters wrote: "In more than 40 years there has not been a Democratic presidential candidate who has won the White House without the leadership and vote of Black women - including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter."

Harris would certainly attract more African-American voters than an American presidential contender, especially after the Black Lives Matter movement engulfed America. The political dynamics in Harris' favor and against Trump have changed significantly since the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition, Harris ticketed many voters: He has law enforcement experience, legislative background, demands for age and racial equality, and unwavering commitment to civil rights.

Annie-Marie Sloter, CEO of New America, a think tank told Political trickster Harris is a "woman of color who is a prosecutor who challenges some men's conservative perceptions about women who are soft on crime and about some white Americans where black Americans stand on law and order issues".

Keisha Ann Bline, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh, feels Harris's broad progressive and inclusive platform with her commitment to advancing racial justice, expanding health care, and protecting vulnerable populations is most needed today - perhaps more. Never before "." There is no doubt that Harris will face media scrutiny - most likely compared to his predecessors - he may very well hold on to Biden's victory in November, "Blaine reported Paulitico.

Challenge for Trump to launch personal attack

Personally harassing Harris due to his diverse family background, race and ethnicity would be a misunderstanding for Trump. Any comment on his race would attract African-American voters more, with American racial lines deeply polarized. She is the first Asian-African woman Vice President, whose mother was an Indian.

The president has a scandalously controversial record of using racial slaves and attacks against African-American women lawmakers, mayors and journalists — and where Harris is facing a challenge to Biden combined with community-wide support can give. Republican pollster Sarah Longwell told Reuters Harris "will play very well with suburban women".

Trump labeled Representative (Democrat) Maxine Waters as an "exceptionally low-minded man"; Republican Congresswoman Mia was convicted of losing re-election in Utah because they did not support her; Described his former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman as "disgusting and dishonest". And told Cnn White House reporter that she asks a lot of "stupid questions". His infamous war with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the city's violence made headlines this year.

according to this Cnn, Many of Trump's campaign advisers wanted Biden to choose another candidate, but not Harris. "He is certainly formidable. She will inject some much-needed energy into the campaign, ”a source close to the campaign told. Cnn. In addition, Harris has a more favorable view among the GOP than Biden. a Reuters/ The Ipsos poll conducted on August 10–11 shows that 21 percent of registered Republican voters showed a favorable influence of Harris, compared to Breiden's 13 percent favorable view.

At a critical juncture with the United States - ravaged by COVID-19, the budget deficit swelled to $ 2.8 trillion in the first 10 months of FY 2020 and curbing the havoc of racism in the country - Harris may launch personal attacks is. Clinton's top aide in 2016, Neera Tandon, reported Reuters If Trump "wants to use misinformation against Kamala Harris, I think it's very challenging for her. She has no room for fault with suburban women".

It would also not be a good idea for Trump's deputy Mike Pence to try to attack Harris during the October debate with him because he is a tough fighter who retaliates more viciously. The grilling of then Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his Russian contacts in 2017 and Senate confirmation in 2018 is a particularly big warning to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanuagh's team Trump and Pence.

The writer is a freelance journalist. Views expressed are personal

Find the latest and upcoming Tech Gadgets online at Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadget reviews and ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparisons.

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[polss]

Elizabeth Warren maims 4, kills 1 in bloody Nevada Democratic debate.

Popcorn consumption was up about 2000% across the country last night as the Democrats had their Nevada debate.

Candidates knew they were against the wall. Bernie (and really the whole field) could see former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had just polled in at 2nd place nationwide, becoming the candidate to beat without ever being seen by most of America. 

Joe “Rip Van” Biden, a strong favorite among African American voters seemed to have just recently been informed that if Bernie wins Nevada going away and Bloomberg’s ads continue to chip away at Biden’s support, that Biden’s firewall in South Carolina (where roughly 65% of expected DNC voters are black) could crumble away, putting super Tuesday and all other polling days at risk.  He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and pulled away the mighty cobwebs that had held him back in New Hampshire and was poised to give it an honest go.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Amy Kloubachar,  the Darlings of the DNC’s Alabaster Filter, seemed shocked to discover that people of other colors exist.  With legacy issues with people of color in their careers dimming their chances, they agreed to a knife fight in the parking lot with the winner taking exclusive control of the rest of Nevada’s white male DNC voters...after Joe, Michael, and Bernie got theirs... The sad reality that South Carolina’s DNC voters are only 35% white, and that the runs of Darlings of the first two races would likely be over by Super Tuesday due to a sudden and total lack of momentum.  The thought hung over their heads like a death shroud. 

Elizabeth Warren, the forgotten Oklahoma grandmother in the DNC Presidential race who shakes with emotion like someone on meth, was absolutely brutal to the other candidates last night.  (Don’t take offense Warrenites.  The description is accurate, but it doesn’t change my love of a good Warren take down...) Fiercely popular with white female voters and people who love bloodshed, Warren was on point tonight.

I don’t know that she gained more than a percent or two because if you cannot control your adrenaline and constantly appear you are on the verge of jumping over the podium, it is difficult to gain the advantage of appearing “presidential”, but its a fixable flaw and at the end of the day, she absolutely mauled the field.  Any gains were absolutely earned.

Finally there was Micheal Bloomberg, an incredibly lifelike cartoon of white male entitlement in NYC, who clearly strolled in with no preparations whatsoever for the debate.

It was practically the plot of a major motion picture.... Probably a comedy.

We’ll start with Warren’s destruction of Bloomberg, a feat so awesome to behold it generated the following meme, less than an hour after the debate.

Warren stammered and stumbled through her questions but managed to drop major bombs on every candidate she targeted.

In rapid-fire sequence she caught Bloomberg acknowledging that he really has no idea what he should be feeling sorry about implementing the policy as mayor of NYC that had the police essentially shaking down black kids and ignoring white ones.

Bloomberg struggled to figure out what it was the American people wanted him to say, buying time with a snippy assed comment to the moderators about giving him his full allotment of time, but that train went nowhere.  He really has no idea what he should be apologizing for.

Warren added a second knock down when she pinned Bloomberg down in a corner and got him to admit to having to buy the silence of several (presumably) female ex-employees with non-disclosure agreements.

She recorded a third when Bloomberg walked into her glove. She asked Bloomberg how many non-disclosure agreements were out there and the audience was treated to seeing the gears grinding and smoke billowing out of Bloomberg’s head as he clearly was trying to ascertain if there was a correct numeric answer.  “72 sounds...a bit much...? maybe...25?  Maybe 10?”  The silence was deafening.

Then for good measure she knocked his ass out by asking him if he would release the ex-employees from their non-disclosure statements.

Bloomberg looked entirely undone as he stammered a bit and said he would not.

At that point the only thing missing was a Mortal Kombat “K.O.!” sound effect.

It was Tyson-esque --- no ear biting----I’m talking early Mike Tyson...Just a savage, bloody beat down.  Probably 5 minutes into the debate, Warren had absolutely destroyed Bloomberg, reducing him to simply “The Democratic Trump”. 

Now Bloomberg Dems who have spent years screaming “Hypocrite!” at anyone in a MAGA hat for Republicans supporting Trump after decades of championing and INSISTING on ethical behavior, now have to decide if they want to continue to support Bloomberg and endure rightfully being called the same.

Smiling Joe Biden then stepped in and echoing the late great Chris Farley basically told Bloomberg, “Hey, you remember when Elizabeth asked you about all those confidentiality agreements that women are paid to sign when rich guys like you are dicks to them at work?  You remember how you said you wouldn’t release any of them from their confidentiality agreements?”

“....That was great, wasn’t it?”

And it only got better.

Mayor Pete who is constantly aware of the political calculus clearly figured out that “there is only room for one long shot white candidate in this race.” much like he figured out a few debates ago that there was only room for one former military patriot in the race when he attacked Tulsi Gabbard with a bunch of bullshit out of the blue.  He went after Amy Kloubachar and attacked her on an issue that Kloubachar was clearly unready to address.  Kloubachar was clearly driven off her game and showed actual anguish and stress.  It was a fight or flight moment for Amy and Pete was not letting her flee.  She launched a counterattack that scored some damage, but not as much damage as Pete inflicted. 

Kloubachar had a tough night.  She was also busted by the moderators.  She had apparently gone on Telemundo or something and had totally forgot the name of the president of Mexico and appeared for all the world like she was ignorant of all dealings between the US and Mexico.  It was apparently a meltdown, The super tightly wound and always prepared Kloubachar was clearly uncomfortable talking about it. It also rattled her.  

She and Bloomberg looked as far from presidential as a candidate could possibly be tonight at their worst moments. Kloubachar could only painfully stumble through getting the name of the president of Mexico out as her defense. And it was even painful to watch her say that name.

Warren, as she had repeatedly done in other debates, came to Kloubachar’s rescue much to the plucky mistress of midwestern colloquialisms’ relief.  Warren said everyone forgets names.  It happens.  Then she spiraled and threw her big right fist at Kloubachar saying that ....one should still be able to talk politics.  Kloubachar was amusingly caught on camera swallowing her tongue in surprise to Warren’s expertly executed sneak attack.

Things weren’t much better for Kloubachar’s rival Mayor Pete.  Pete clearly hopes to be in the running but really is trying to position himself for the VP job. In this regard he is not coming hard after the front runners.  Tonight, he seemed positively predatory in his take down of Kloubachar.  Pete has been playing the calculus and launching BS fueled surprise attacks rival candidates at the bottom of the race, but it seems likely that female voters are catching on that aside from a 15 second sneak attack on Andrew Yang, Pete is only actively attacking all the female candidates.  He’s gone after Tulsi, Warren, and repeatedly after Kloubachar with mostly empty BS filled arguments.  Black voters don’t like him, Mexican voters are fairly ambivalent towards him. If female voters also don’t like him, how is he expecting to win?

I think Pete proved that people will consider a gay candidate, but there is growing polling evidence that outside of his home turf, Dems won’t support a dick.

Sleepy Joe had gone almost the entire debate knocking softball questions from the moderators out of the park.  Any time Pete, Amy, and Bloomberg tried to launch an offensive the moderators called on someone else. He was able to boast about his qualifications, get noticed anytime he asked, and overall, look presidential. 

He had in five minutes become the last hope of the ant-Bernie crowd at MSNBC and was sitting pretty. But that wasn’t stopping Warren last night.  She managed to penetrate the moderators’ defense and remind America that Joe Biden once made a friendly gesture to his longtime Senate colleague Mitch McConnell, stating that he couldn’t wait for McConnell to be re-elected so they could continue to work together. McConnell would go on to win that election and then actively obstruct every policy of Barack Obama for six years.

“Punch in the head for you too, Joe!”

Bernie was actually the forgotten man in this debate.  He did his solid Bernie thing.  He boiled a little.  He yelled about random stuff like a crazy old dude.  He even mounted the best defense of his healthcare plan I have ever heard, framing it in ridicule that America is so financially destitute than the US cannot afford socialized medicine while every country in Europe can. His point was rough, but he is on the way to building a winning argument there.

Bernie dodged most damage but did trade some blows with Bloomberg.  Bloomberg argued that Bernie’s rhetoric would drive voters to trump.  Bernie challenged Bloomberg with the question of whether anyone one should be a Billionaire, Bloomberg rejected that, but was clearly staggered when Bernie told Bloomberg that the former mayor was a rich as the poorest 125 Million Americans COMBINED.  Clearly that was not a thought Bloomberg had ever considered and to some degree you could see his conviction in his answer slipping.

Bloomberg called Bernie a communist and Bernie said Bloomberg wasn’t a democrat.   Nothing to see....Glancing blows we have all heard before.

Bloomberg did have one indisputably strong moment. He asked if any of the other candidates ever owned a business.  He was greeted with silence. His point was made.

Biden probably won the most gains at the polls in the debate, but Warren was clearly the star of the night.

Believe it or not, I am not a Warren supporter, but I do have the utmost respect for her fire and when someone RIGHTEOUSLY kicks ass they deserve to be celebrated.  Warren’s attacks have often been of the BS variety in this race --- just as empty as Mayor Pete’s --- but tonight they were valid and on point and had every one of her targets presenting that “Oh Shit.” face. 

You only get those from on point attacks....And I love a politician wearing an “Oh Shit” face.

As a voter subjected to hours of insincere bullshit by these people, I found last night to be immensely therapeutic.

She might not be a favorite to win, but tonight I think she earned support in Nevada and made the case that she could be a very, VERY effective VP candidate.

[bobbystompy]

My Top 75 Songs Of 2019

Previously: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

First time going below 100 songs since 2015, and I cannot wait. Giving this extra juice already.

As always, criteria and info:

This is a list of what I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track

Each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check them out for yourself; there is also a Spotify playlist at the bottom that includes the majority of the songs

This is usually the part where I put up a pump up video, but we are going with something a little different this year.

(It was stuck my head. Blame Blink-155.)

75) YG - “In The Dark”

The video begins with YG chugging a full tequila bottle -- sure. This song is very bad. It’s like he’s in a competition to make the verse lyrics worse than the chorus lyrics (spoiler alert: the verses “win”); not even satanic imagery can save this.

74) Solange - “Stay Flo”

Here’s a weird take: wouldn’t Solange’s career be way more fun if everyone slept on her? Instead, it’s hype on hype -- plus being Beyoncé’s sister -- which makes it nearly impossible to deliver. This has a fun beat/vibe but is kinda boring... and was still easily my favorite off her album.

73) Art Alexakis - “The Hot Water Test”

My doctors told me that I had a disease / I will slowly fall apart until there’s nothing left that looks like me

This song makes the stakes clear immediately. It was released a few months after I saw Art play in June 2019 on my birthday. At the intimate show, he revealed his multiple sclerosis diagnosis as if we were all his closest friends. Something like this is never easy to deal with -- a similar announcement by the Lucky Boys Confusion singer did not help matters -- but music can help such a painful situation, and it’s clearly Alexakis’ exile here.

72) The Cranberries - “In The End”

A very suitable sendoff for the band following the passing of singer Dolores O’Riordan. The recording story (via NPR):

O'Riordan died suddenly in January 2018 at 46 years old and left behind the vocal tracks to what was intended to be the band's latest album. Now, O'Riordan's bandmates have decided to complete that album, In The End — the last album the band will release — in her memory. 

[...]

In June 2017, O'Riordan and Hogan started emailing album ideas and demos back and forth to each other. O'Riordan had been very open about her struggles with mental health and addiction, which would affect the band at times, but they wanted to make a new album. Hogan says that when they were emailing those demos, she was in a good place. They started laying down her demos.

"All of that was kind of behind her," Hogan says. "She's kind of found a way to cope with the mental health thing. That's why she wanted to write so much. That's what she kept saying, 'I have so much to say, I just need the music to put it to.' "

Hogan says O'Riordan's apparent stability is what made her death even more tragic and devastating. (Officials ruled O'Riordan's cause of death to be accidental drowning due to alcohol intoxication.) But after a period of mourning, the remaining band members remembered they still had O'Riordan's demos. As Hogan remembers, they finally had the courage to start listening to them again in late February and, with her family's permission, started recording in April. "We spoke to her family and said, 'Look, how do you feel about us finishing the album?' And they were really supportive," Lawler says. "They were delighted, actually. They gave us their blessing."

Hogan says, in a sense, they were used to O'Riordan not being in the studio when they recorded — "Dolores hated hanging around the studio once we worked on our parts" — but, of course, this time was different.

71) Raleigh Ritchie - “Time In A Tree”

Exercise time. Play the first minute or so of this song without looking at any YouTube visuals.

/waits for you

OK, who are you picturing singing this? Got your image?

Well, whatever it was, you’re wrong -- it’s GREY WORM HIMSELF.

This was the best thing about “Game of Thrones” in 2019, sadly.

70) Culture Abuse - “Goo”

Simple, effective, gets out before you can dislike much.

69) Lil Pump f/ Lil Wayne - “Be Like Me”

Sometimes, a song starts, and you can just tell it’s going to be ignorant. Even before the vocals kick in. This was probably our moment here:

Between that and the beat, it’s like the only thing you can think is “Ohhhh, he’s about to say some horrible things about women.”

Other choice lines:

- “Yes, I’m hella ignorant, I don’t give a fuck” (he even says it in the song)

- “I take drugs like it’s Vitamin C / I’m a millionaire, but I don’t know how to read”

This song almost feels like it existed already.

68) The Get Up Kids - “Satellite”

Finally, our first rock song with some punch. This probably takes the crown from both DMB and P.O.D.

67) Bad Religion - “My Sanity”

BR is historically my favorite band, so it is rather deflating to see them so far back on this list. That said, it is Year 40 (!!!) of their existence, so some can be forgiven. Yet... we’ve never needed them more, you know? It’s this weird mixture of resentment but understanding.

66) Billy Liar - “The Righteous & The Rats”

Gonna see him (them?) open for The Bombpops in March; looks quite promising. Has an old school Brit punk feel.

65) Beach Slang - “AAA”

Beach Slang never lets you forget they love -- no, like, LOVE -- The Replacements. When this cover dropped, I googled “replacements AAA”, and, surprisingly, nothing came up.

Ohhh, what I fool I was. After more digging, I discovered a band called Grandpaboy who performed “AAA”.

“Oh, damn -- he finally went outside the box with this pick.”

No. Grandpaboy is fronted by Paul Westerberg. Singer of, you guessed it, The Replacements.

James Alex wears his heart on his sleeve so hard, he might as well give the heart a little jacket so his heart can wear its own heart on its sleeve.

HE DID THAT TOO?!

You can’t even make jokes about this band; they live in the jokes with their damn earnestness.

64) Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd - “Lost In The Fire”

Even lesser known Weeknd-involved tracks sound like they could lead a soundtrack or close out a festival. Are you familiar with this one at all? It has 87 million views on YouTube. Abel is never not not playing.

63) FIDLAR - “By Myself”

Started from the bottom and I’m still at the bottom

Falling apart never felt so carefree and burdenless.

62) Constant Elevation - “Fuck Runnin”

As hardcore punk as this list is gonna get. All glory to Vinnie Caruana. Though none of his solo tracks from 2019 made it, this has an undeniable energy and confidence. Plus probably the best song title of the year.

61) Maren Morris f/ Brandi Carlile - “Common”

A focused duet that drills into relationship dynamics before throwing a personal theology wrench in the middle of the chorus.

60) Anti-Flag - “Christian Nationalist”

AF going in on the white, religious right. This is like throwing a 50 mph pitch to -- /looks up good baseball players -- Pete Alonso.

59) Cokie The Clown - “Punk Rock Saved My Life”

This is less of a song and more of a confessional essay, and it gets harder and harder to look away with every revealing detail. If NOFX’s Fat Mike needed this character as a vehicle to get all of these autobiographical details off his chest, hopefully it’s a helpful therapy.

58) White Reaper - “Might Be Right”

“Judy French” is such an untoppable song, but “Might Be Right” has a similar dynamic.

57) Denzel Curry - “RICKY”

Denzel Curry as a rap moniker is such a slam dunk.

/looks up actual name

!!!

56) Ariana Grande - “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored”

It takes a special kind of hot girl twisted to issue this unflinching request while totally pulling it off.

55) Goody Grace f/ blink-182 - “Scumbag”

Not sure if Goody is a Soundcloud rapper, punk rocker, or some kinda emo hybrid of both.

A few asides:

- Have we ever -- ever -- heard Travis Barker this subdued on drums?

- On the Blink-155 podcast, Goody said he gave Tom from the Plain White T’s a songwriting credit because he unintentionally lifted some melodies from “Hey There Delilah”, but... I really don’t hear it at all; like, it sounds maybe in the same key but not much else?

54) Jonas Brothers - “Sucker”

Despite their popularity in the past, I do not think I could name a single JoBros song. That changed in 2019 with this poppy, light, clappy, Maroon 5-style single.

53) Goo Goo Dolls - “Money, Fame & Fortune”

Someone -- coulda sworn it was Brendan Kelly -- said this was Goo Goo Dolls sounding like Fake Problems, and that is spot on.

52) AJJ - “A Poem”

A poem is song that no one cares about

This short, folky tune led to one of my favorite Twitter exchanges of the year, when I reached out to a music journalist with a question and AJJ came flying off the top rope.

51) DaBaby - “Suge”

This song is fun, but I really don’t get it. Beat is cool, flow is fine... this is the new face of hip-hop? His name is DaBaby! What are we doing here?!

50) Laura Stevenson - “Jesus, Etc.”

Taking a classic and doing it full justice/adding some harmonies.

49) blink-182 - “Not Another Christmas Song”

Blink’s 2019 album “Nine” was very, very bad because it tried too hard and was not good. This song, released later in the year, takes an opposite approach and actually works. We get lyrics that are discontent, even clumsy at times -- the “I miss fucking in the rain” line is so out of place/cringe-y but actually feels real and not workshopped by 10 producers. The trio can hopefully use this better b-side to figure out the best songwriting should flow out of you without having to go through multiple stations on a conveyor belt first.

48) Dave Hause - “Eye Aye I”

This song has a lot I love (catchy chorus, wistful thoughts, hairline analyses) and a lot I don’t (genuine use of the word “old bores”, Van Halen getting respect), but one thing is clear: Dave Hause is in complete control.

47) Beck - “Up All Night”

I’ve casually followed Beck’s entire career and would not have guessed this was him if given 100 chances. As an exercise, I’m going to pull up the 2020 Coachella lineup and randomly point to an artist.

/pulls up lineup and points

I got Daniel Caesar. If you told me this was Daniel Caesar, that would probably make more sense here.

46) Shawn Mendes - “If I Can’t Have You”

Randomly came into Shawn Mendes tickets in 2019, and good gracious, that was something. Other than parents, we were the oldest people there by a lot. Getting to watch thousands of teens and preteens legitimately having the best moment of their lives was downright inspiring. When you’re that young, it’s not even hyperbole. Phones were flagrantly out; I’m talking 20+ minutes of straight video being filmed. I wanted to judge so badly, but if you gave me an iPhone at my first concert when I was 14, who the hell knows how egregious my behavior would’ve been. As fun as the whole experience was, I never wanted to be in a grimy punk club more. Sometimes, leaving your comfort zone makes you appreciate your home base more.

This is a rock solid pop song, but there are way too many you/you rhymes to not penalize it some.

45) Big Thief - “Cattails”

The whitest song you will ever hear that isn’t written by Vampire Weekend.

44) Bayside - “Prayers”

Bayside went super metal with their 2019 release “Interrobang” (such a sick name). So yes, the guitars are a touch harder than you might be used to, but the chorus soars; a great hook transcends genre.

43) Naughty Boy & Mike Posner - “Live Before I Die”

Few had as interesting of a year as Mike Posner. Following a breakup, the death of his father, and the death of Avicii, he decided to walk across the United States of America. He legit became Forrest Gump, right down to the beard and grown out hair.

In the video, you can see how a snakebite hospitalized him and almost derailed the whole trek. After a rehabilitation period where he almost lost his leg, our man finally makes it to the Pacific Ocean. If nothing else, watch for the ending -- it’s exhilarating.

42) Post Malone - “Wow.”

Post is flexing in this one; we’ve got slow motion jamming with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, international flights, a dancing beard guy, and a Fall Out Boy name check which really makes them sound cooler than they are now.

41) Bryce Vine f/ YG - “La La Land”

Sometimes, these summertime Cali songs write themselves. That is until YG comes in and flips over the board before you can finish the game. By the time the Coachella reference is dropped when Bryce comes back in, you realize 1:47 may have actually been a better endpoint for the song than its 2:47 length.

40) David Rokos - “Backseat Drives”

It’s winter in Chicago, again and until forever. If you haven’t been to the Jewel in the South Loop or Marshall Field’s before they changed it, just listen to this so you don’t actually have to.

39) Simple Creatures - “Drug”

Mark Hoppus and the dude from All Time Low give us this synth-pop bop that feels like the duo shooting their shot at a real mainstream pop hits. It didn’t quite get there, but they should feel OK about where it landed.

38) Chris Cresswell - “To The Wind”

My interest in The Flatliners ramped up considerably in 2019, as their near decade old record “Cavalcade” got plenty of spins (peep “Filthy Habits”; just stunningly incredible punk). Though they did not release anything this year, their singer put out “To The Wind”, a longing song about missing someone.

37) Kesha f/ Big Freedia - “Raising Hell”

Kesha, with the help of New Orleans’ Big Freedia, gives us another one. I’ve personally dug Kesha for a while now, but when is it time for us as a society to put her into the all-time conversation for pop artists? She has at least, like, seven HOF certifiable bangers. Plus she kills a guy in this music video.

In conclusion, I think this could translate to a country song very easily.

36) No Lenox - “Marquee”

Illinois/Japan’s No Lenox are back with Reuben Baird on the mixer and legendary masterer Collin Jordan (of The Boiler Room) on the, well, master, and the fullness in sound leads to the assault that is the “I saw your name on the marquee / Your friends were milling around outside” part. They only play it once, but I really could’ve gone for closer to five.

35) Red City Radio - “Love A Liar”

Rapid fire Red City Radio gets this one done in exactly 120 seconds.

34) Barely March - “Lead Single”

This sounds like Joyce Manor turned up to a 17 out of 10 before unexpectedly turning into a hellogoodbye song.

33) New Lenox - “Old Words”

Not a typo from two songs ago -- legitimately a different band. This one was written by your boy. The first 15 seconds were from a demo recorded 1/2/16 before developing the rest in 2019 (after some encouragement). We have Dave Rokos on guitar/bass, Dave Hernandez on hums, and Brian Bedford on some very temporary sleigh bells. Themes: online dating, resolutions, exes, currents, Black Wednesday, hope, and Carly Rae Jepsen stage banter.

32) MakeWar - “Sails”

Honey, I can’t make it on my own

You might get some Gaslight Anthem vibes as the vocals come in, but by the time the song ends, MakeWar leaves their own imprint on this impassioned ballad.

31) Sheryl Crow & Johnny Cash - “Redemption Day”

Was gonna say Johnny’s voice could move mountains before realizing no, Johnny’s voice is the mountains.

30) American Football f/ Hayley Williams - “Uncomfortably Numb”

Sensitivity deprived I can't feel a thing inside I blamed my father in my youth Now as a father, I blame the booze

An unlikely collaboration that makes you forget about its unlikeliness by the two minute mark. The two voices trade spots, mesh, harmonize, and weave throughout this beautiful song.

Asides:

- Blake from “Workaholics” in the video?!

- Choose to interpret this song’s title as a Pink Floyd diss

- “I’ll make new friends in the ambulance” should be a 2005-level emo lyric that we all mock, yet it’s somehow one of the most stunningly appropriate closers of the entire year

- I wish my friend Luke was with us to hear it

29) Stuck Out Here - “Embarrass You”

Stuck Out Here got onto my radar with 2014′s amazingly named “Getting Used To Feeling Like Shit”. Five years later, they’re back -- and not feeling much better. The Toronto quartet’s Bandcamp describes the song like this:

They’re fucking up, but unlike previous releases, they’re finally holding themselves accountable. 

You can even kinda hear their Canadian accents in the “I’m sorry I embarrass you...” part.

28) The Weeknd - “Heartless”

The Weeknd will be on these lists as long as he continues to make music even 1/8th as good as this.

27) The Chainsmokers f/ blink-182 - “P.S. I Hope You’re Happy”

A simple song that’s a touch more clever than you first realize. The Chainsmokers guy is giving me some real Owl City vibes. Also, how airtight of an apology is the line “I blame myself for when I was someone else”. It’s like the modern way of saying “When I was a child, I spoke like a child”. 

Also also, the “I will find a way somehow...” harmony in the pre-chorus is as pretty as music got in 2019. The Chainsmokers are so sonically pleasing, whether you end up liking the music or not.

26) Vampire Weekend - “Harmony Hall”

ooooooooh, that crisp guitar in the intro

25) Alex Lahey - “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself”

If Carly Rae Jepsen can get a sword, why can’t Alex Lahey get a god damn saxophone? HIT ME.

That solo, combined with the “Mighty Ducks” reference in the chorus, make this song untouchable.

24) Lizzo - “Truth Hurts”

Let’s be clear: this did drop in 2017 but was technically re-released in 2019, so it does qualify for our list despite the criteria threatening timeline. Anyway.

The walking piano part, the iconic intro line (with a lawsuit!), the Minnesota Vikings reference (causing a Green Bay radio edit), and all of the damn positivity. Lizzo was among music’s big winners this year, and her success made you wonder how the hell someone this talented was slept on for those two years.

Let’s end with the purse.

23) An Horse - “Ship Of Fools”

Awkward band name, but a song that makes you pay attention. Kinda like Tegan and Sara, had they stayed more rock. So much urgency in the vocals and lyrics.

22) Charli XCX f/ Lizzo - “Blame It On Your Love”

Trippy vid; Charli continues to give us anthems. Wasn’t super high on the Lizzo cameo, but it somehow made more sense in the context of said video.

21) Sincere Engineer - “Dragged Across The Finish Line”

Sincere Engineer is back -- you can tell from the second those guitar leads get goin’. Drums from 1:19 to 1:36 = /heart eyes emoji. My buddy Cox said his next tattoo very well could be the outro lyric “Too dumb to succeed, too honest to cheat”.

(Bonus fact: they did a beer collaboration/show with Pollyanna Brewing Company in 2019.)

20) Lil Nas X - “Old Town Road”

Was unwilling to listen when this first dropped solely because of how horrible Lil Nas X’s name is (”What if a rapper came out named ‘Lil Jay-Z X’?!”)... what a foolish notion. One billion streams and a Billy Cyrus cameo later, I wouldn’t have been able to miss out on the Song of the Summer (and year) if I tried. More notes:

- Picked this because I had to, but “Panini” is legit good (200+ million streams)

- Went with the original (sorry, Billy), which is a beautiful 1:53 long (brevity, brevity, brevity)

- Did you know: Lil Nas X uses a Nine Inch Nails sample on the beat? This Rolling Stone interview with Trent Reznor is super interesting

Reznor calls “Old Town Road” “undeniably hooky,” but once it exploded, he took a back seat to the phenomenon. “The reason I haven’t stepped in to comment anything about it is, I don’t feel it’s my place to play any kind of social critic to that,” he says. “It was a material that was used in a significant way and it turned into something that became something else, and those guys should be the ones the spotlight is on…. They asked if I wanted to do a cameo in the video, and it was flattering, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t feel like it’s my place to shine a light on me for that. I say that with complete respect.”

Still, Reznor is amazed at how the song became a juggernaut. “Having been listed on the credits of the all-time, Number One whatever-the-fuck-it-is wasn’t something…I didn’t see that one coming,” he says. “But the world is full of weird things that happen like that. It’s flattering. But I don’t feel it’s for me to step in there and pat myself on the back for that.”

19) Gryffin & Carly Rae Jepsen - “OMG”

What doesn’t this little bop have? It’s kinda Chainsmoker-y and tingles like cool breath hitting the back of your neck.

18) Craig Finn - “Blankets”

You travel your whole life just to get out to the place you’re gonna die

I love everything about this song: the artwork, the intro, the climax, the command Craig Finn has from start to finish -- with such a payoff. Now several albums in, the greatest compliment we can give is that his solo stuff now feels more essential than Hold Steady releases*. You can even hear it in this line: “When we got to the Twin Cities / I said ‘Man, I know some songs about this place’”. Another life.

17) Carly Rae Jepsen - “Now That I Found You”

Carly always keeps us in the sky; picking one song was difficult because the album is even more fulfilling as you get to put the pieces together.

16) Billie Eilish - “Bad Guy”

Different genres*, but Billie Eilish lived up to her hype in the exact same way Lana Del Rey did in the earlier part of the decade. Lana said she was the gangster Nancy Sinatra and totally fucking was. Billie feels like something potentially even bigger. Nearly everything about her aura lets you project (or even second guess, if you’re a skeptic). Is she dead-eyed because she’s high or disaffected? Or just Aubrey Plaza? Is it her or her brother that’s pulling the strings? How can someone so young be so good already? In the skinny fashion era of All Achilles Everything, how is she rocking such loose fits?

“I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean that’s why I wear big baggy clothes,” she said. “Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath.”

“Nobody can be like ‘Oh, she’s slim-thick, she’s not slim-thick, she’s got a flat ass, she’s got a fat ass,’” she continued. “No one can say any of that because they don’t know.”

It almost seems too easy, but how much sense does that make to you?

Great jokes aside, I have so much anticipation for what’s next, with assured belief in its potential. Pitchfork: 

In 10 years, she will still be well under 30. Let’s hope the planet survives that long.

Yes.

(* - though not totally)

15) Ben Gibbard - “Filler”

Before you check Gibbard’s, please listen to the original by Minor Threat. That’s what he had to work with. From there, a total transformation while doing the near impossible -- keeping its beating heart.

14) Martha - “Wrestlemania VIII”

Third favorite song title of the year/favorite music video of the year. This is energetic, bratty punk at its finest; also surprised to find out it was British, but, based on the upcoming tour dates and YouTube description...

This is a silly & frankly quite rubbish video but when you are a band trapped within surveillance capitalism's endless hunger for content trying to promote a tour sometimes things will be a silly & frankly quite rubbish. 

I love them. Seriously didn’t even notice the accents in the singing until I knew to look for them; now, it’s all I can hear. Also, the part in the video where they finally show someone with an instrument, only he stops playing guitar halfway into the solo (/crying emoji).

THEY SAY ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDA

13) Chance The Rapper f/ Ben Gibbard - “Do You Remember”

Chance The Rapper dropped a one hour and 17 minute album in 2019 because he is a monster. I could not name three songs on it, but this one stood out big. It’s Chano doing what he does best: reminiscing and evoking summer in his city. Gibbard on the hook gives it that 2005 nostalgia while also making you say “Damn, it’s been nearly 15 years since 2005?!”

Fav two lines:

1) “Used to have obsession with the ‘27 Club’ / Now I'm turning 27, wanna make it to the 2070 club / Put the 27's down, Lord, give me a clean lung / Took the ring up out the box, I know this ain't no brief love”

2) “That summer left a couple tan lines / I love my city, they let me cut the line on the Dan Ryan”

(If you know, you know.)

Two more asides:

- If you Google “death cab for cutie”, the next autofill from there is “do you remember”. Rough for the legacy.

- “My daughter on the swing like the 2017 Cubs” is a line that confused me, but here’s how Genius explained it:

Chance is talking about a memorable summer and the things that made him happy. This line continues that theme when he raps about his daughter happily on a swing and how that’s similar to the 2017 Cubs. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016; therefore, the 2017 season was one of celebration and relaxation as the pressure of the 108 year drought was over. 

12) Lana Del Rey - “The Greatest”

I miss Long Beach, and I miss you...

Listening to this song feels like watching the cement dry on a classic in real time. Lana Del Rey’s galactic “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” dominated lists at the end of 2019, and she -- to borrow her word -- fucking deserved it.

- The Beach Boys line is so god damn perfect

- The guitar solo (soooo sick)

- The breathy singing; the crooning; the notes that go up and then down until you’re surrounded by melody

- The perfection of this album name (minus the very iffy exclamation point) will have me comparing nearly any other all-time album title for probably the rest of our lives 

- Tried playing this album during my Monday night pickup basketball run, and it very much failed... but that’s about the only thing it couldn’t do

- I’m told the dude with her on the album cover is Jack Nicholson’s grandson (named Duke Nicholson, because of course)

11) Off With Their Heads - “No Love”

If you do not like punk rock, this will be unlistenable. If you do, what a treat! I love how dissatisfied and put off he sounds, and, while there are a few more lively songs remaining on the list, none in 2019 got fast-tracked to my workout/pump up playlist at this speed.

Factoring in the band’s van accident (occurred after the release of this song), the “There’s nothing I could say that’s ever gonna make it right” outro becomes hauntingly clairvoyant.

10) Drake f/ Rick Ross - “Money In The Grave”

We need to face facts: it was a down year for stadium hip-hop. Nowhere on this list do you see Jay, Em, Kendrick, or Kanye (rest in peace). This was my favorite rap song of the year, and it couldn’t even crack the Top 5. Similar to his beloved Raptors -- who are being celebrated here -- it’s almost as if Drake needed some injuries outside his own locker room to get the crown. But I’m done being bummed, let’s focus on the good:

- Ohhhh, the intro (”I mean where. the fuck. should I. really even start?”)

- The way he says “grave” in the hook like he can barely contain 

- The hook itself -- read it out loud: “When I die, put my money in the grave”

- How cool Ross sounds when he breaks in

- The Zion reference

The bad:

- Rarely take this angle, but really wouldn’t mind if it were longer

- Misogyny

9) PUP - “Bloody Mary, Kate And Ashley”

Second favorite song title of the year, 6/8 time signature, satanic references, drugs, hallucinations (maybe), and, yes, the Olsen twins.

8) Better Oblivion Community Center - “Sleepwalkin’”

“It’s impossible to count...”

The intro, as the tempo gets jarringly slower and slower, ironically helps you acclimate quicker. This Phoebe Bridgers/Conor Oberst collab was my No. 1 played track of 2019 (the album coming out in January definitely helped). The song builds to Phoebe’s solo part:

You like beer and chocolate I like setting off those bottle rockets We can never compromise But fighting 'til the death keeps us alive

It’s sung so well, you can almost feel the heat of the spotlight on her through the stereo. The lyrics could be anything.

The chill guitar solo takes us out.

7) AM Taxi - “Saint Jane”

Adam Krier is such a rockstar, he had me shouting “I’m no hero, at best a zero!” within my fifth listen -- and I was skeptical as hell when I first heard the line. But that’s about where it stopped. You can tell this song is going to rip even before the vocals come in. When they do (”These fears don’t die, you get older and they multiply”), it’s just fucking time to go.

6) Taylor Swift - “Paper Rings”

My favorite pop song of 2019. Tay is firing on all cylinders; every lyric is exactly where it’s supposed to be; boppy and fun and sincere (while still being light-hearted). Still holding out minor hope it will be a single in 2020.

5) Pkew Pkew Pkew - “The Polynesian”

I’ve always said the best songs make you want to live the lyrics, whether they are positive or negative. This one had me researching “polynesian wisconsin” faster than I’m comfortable disclosing. And yes “bed bugs” and “needles” were both in the Top 7 recommended searches after those first two words.

Pkew Pkew Pkew collaborated with Craig Finn on some of their lyrics on 2019′s “Optimal Lifestyles”, and I’d be blown away if he doesn’t have fingerprints on this one -- the storytelling is pristine. Go into this open-minded, and I’d be shocked if you weren’t shouting the “Goatees, tall cans, camo pants, and Packers fans” mantra by the end.

Bonus story: this St. Patrick’s day in Chicago, I asked my friend Sara (Wisconsin native) if she’d ever stayed there, and she held up her elbow and showed me a scar from the hotel’s water slide. Your boy was over the moon.

4) Spanish Love Songs - “Losers”

It gets harder, doesn’t it?

Dylan Slocum has a way of not just writing depressing songs -- many lyricists are good at that -- but specifically depressing songs. This song contemplates death, homelessness, squandering your limited time on the planet, credit card debt, leeching off your parents because you have no other choice, crippling illness, and completely giving up because there genuinely is no other choice. The last lines are, without any hint of winking, “We’re mediocre. We’re losers. Forever.”

It’s wonderful.

Two straight Top 4 finishes for SLS; their 2020 album should be something special.

3) oso oso - “the view”

If Jade Lilitri is making personal progress in “microscopic strides”, you wouldn’t be able to tell by his songwriting. Every tune has a way of warming up your entire body and being. This grabs you, whether it’s the laid back guitar or the mismatched quick drums or the big ass chorus. While it came down to this one or “basking in the glow” (an actual single), the bridge here puts us over the top:

But not as much as the phone ringing Not as much playing my house Not as much as the way her goddamn voice sounds It's like taking in sun And then taking it back I fall into old habits I'm stepping over your cracks again

Her voice? This song.

2) The Menzingers - “Strangers Forever”

This song makes me want to rip up walls, sprint through streets with no destination, shred my lungs screaming off rooftops, bash hands drumming the steering wheel until my sprained fingers beg me to stop. It is such a perfect encapsulation of my favorite band of the decade and possibly of all-time.

Scranton’s sons gave me everything and more from 2010 through 2019, so it’s fitting they end so high here. This is probably the most clownable sentence of them all, but I am so constantly thankful I am alive to experience Greg Barnett’s songwriting. What he creates, I can only compare to the best books or movies or athletes or even personal relationships.

The way the guitar alternates in the headphones to start, the drums that go big and push the song along, the reverb vox that certainly could have less reverb, the “it is what it is”-style lyric of “My miserable memory’s making me more miserable”, the oceanic imagery, the quiet bridge that explodes into a final chorus. Barnett said the overall theme was inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”.

In it, the character Darya Alexandrovna learns of her husbands infidelity and declares: “Even if we remain in the same house, we are strangers — strangers forever!” The idea of becoming a stranger to someone you so intimately know stuck with me, and became the overarching narrative to this song. Dolly’s statement is definitive, but she also realizes the trappings of 19th century patriarchal Russian society. It’s a complex conundrum, and while lyrically I speak in the first person, this song exists in a world outside of my own personal experiences. I wanted to write about the finality of relationships that need to end this way. Strangers Forever. 

My only gripe is I wish there were more. But I’m the same person who never wants them to stop.

1) Signals Midwest f/ Sincere Engineer - “Your New Old Apartment”

Only one song could make me fear missing the chance to be with the love of my life the same year I married her. As discussed in “The Polynesian”, the best songs have the consistent ability to put you in someone else’s shoes. You are either reliving something you personally experienced or maybe taking it all in for the first time. And that can be powerful -- especially dealing with anything big picture.

“Your New Old Apartment” launches me into 2009 without ever asking. Age: 23. My life was transient, I had no career, I didn’t even believe in marriage. I left my retail job in the Chicago suburbs for an unpaid newspaper internship in New Jersey. When I saw the people I loved, I always tried to make it count. Still do.

The descriptors and feeling are suffocating, right from the jump:

I only saw you a couple times last year Once at a wedding, once at a funeral I wore the same clothes to both, and I was worried you would notice ‘cause yours were impeccable

That’s me, then. Not knowing how to dress but hoping to get by anyway. I remember talking to my buddy P before buying my “work clothes” and learning you needed to match your shoes with your belt. Boyish adulthood.

The song continues, and the narrator is filled in on 5-year plans. It may be cliche to speak, but every current moment is simultaneously your youngest and oldest. Being in my early 30s now, it is so easy to scoff at anyone’s best laid plans, but I’m also the same cat who thought The Wonder Years’ “Jesus Christ, I’m 26 / All the people I graduated with / All have kids, all have wives, all have people who care if they come home at night” was life-defining, because I was the same age when that dropped, and it always hits the hardest when it’s all around you.

What I love about these lyrics are the careful observation mixed with mature-behind-his-years restraint. For a very long time in my life, I did not think I would get to be with my wife as anything more than a friend. When you are forced to come to terms with those potential realities, you must make concessions and convince yourself they’re OK. So when it’s revealed the narrator’s muse is married, he resigns himself to hopefully seeing the person more and at least being adjacent to the life they are living. It is tragic but still something. It is alternate hope in the hopeless.

I can picture myself listening to this song that wasn’t yet written while leaving a 2009 or 2010 or 2013 wedding and wishing I told her everything. But I wouldn’t have -- not then. I would have poured my heart out into a diary and quoted a line or three from this at the bottom. But that was then, this is now. 

In 2019, her new old apartment will be my new old apartment, and that will never be lost on me.

* * *

Bonus coverage. Since we are at the end of the decade, I rounded up our No. 1 song from each year and have that below:

2010: The Menzingers - “Time Tables” 2011: Jay-Z & Kanye West - “Gotta Have It” 2012: Carly Rae Jepsen - “Call Me Maybe” 2013: Kanye West - “On Sight” 2014: The Menzingers - “Where Your Heartache Exists” 2015: Big Sean f/ Kanye West - “All Your Fault” 2016: The Menzingers - “Lookers” 2017: The Menzingers - “After The Party” 2018: Horror Squad - “I Smoke The Blood” 2019: Signals Midwest f/ Sincere Engineer - “Your New Old Apartment”

* * *

It’s time to stop writing. Thank you so much for reading.

Spotify playlist is here, featuring 70 of the 75.

[megacircuit9universe]

Poison Dart

FRI DEC 20, 2019

Trump was impeached two days ago, and just in those two days, a new poll shows that public support for his removal ticked up two points... to 52%.

In the mean time, nothing much has changed with regard to the House holding off on sending those articles of impeachment over to the Senate.  It’s clear this is a stand off that will not be resolved until after the Holidays.

McConnell gave a televised speech to the Senate, in which he attempted to frame this move as cowardice, saying that the prosecution was getting cold feet, because their work product (the articles) was shoddy.

But... clearly a woman does not get to be Speaker of the House twice, if she lacks courage, and... well we know from experience, she never bluffs, and never makes a power move like this for no reason... even if that reason isn’t clear.

As a reminder, she won the stand off with Trump last January over the government shutdown... not just by holding firm... but by threatening to refuse Trump his State of the Union Address to a joint session of congress in the House.  She knew him.  She knew that would do it, even when everybody thought she was crazy.

Not that Leader McConnell is suddenly gonna agree to a fair Senate trial, just because she’s delaying the transmission of these two articles of impeachment. 

But McConnell did look like kind of an idiot in his response to the move.

Trying to goad Pelosi into doing something by calling her chicken is... just lame. She won’t care. Nobody else is gonna buy it. It makes him look like a green neighborhood alderman who just got into politics yesterday, but then you realize why, when he says, “it looks as though the prosecution, Mr. President, has gotten cold feet.”

This was not a speech for the public, or for the Senate or the House... it was a speech to coddle the ego of, “Mr. President,” even though Trump was not present.

Now, it’s not news here, that McConnell considers himself part of Trump’s defense team... because he openly admitted that earlier in the week, before the articles were passed.

What’s new here, is that he’s a pretty bad member of the defense team, because he doesn’t really understand what the prosecution is doing... and doesn’t care, because the only thing that matters is openly soothing his boss’s ego, in front of the world, with hollow reassurances.

Don’t worry, Mr. President. She’s chicken!

When clearly, she’s not, and anybody with two brain cells would be very worried about what exactly she’s up to.

So what exactly is the power move Pelosi is truly making here?

Well, in the above analysis, the withholding of the articles has already forced McConnell to double down again in public on his blind devotion to Trump, but, thanks to the timing of the holidays, it gives the American public the two deadest weeks of the year... when social media, mass media, and politics all go into a deep state of hibernation... to really think about everything.

Then, when the unresolved issue of Trump’s impeachment trial returns in January... it will be in the politically supercharged environment of the primaries of an election year... which means the debate in the Senate, about how to hold a fair trial... will be under the glaring spotlights... no matter how long it takes.

And it is that fierce debate... about the rules of the impeachment trial... that will become... the impeachment trial.

It will become a debate far more potent and relevant than any formal impeachment trial could ever be... because... let’s face it... formal impeachment trials don’t matter.

What?

Okay, in the last entry, I looked at how impeachment itself, by the House, is a radioactive curse that swiftly destroys the political career of the accused, despite any acquittal by the Senate.  

In Andrew Johnson’s case, he lost the nomination of his party in the following election.  In Nixon’s case... just the threat of House impeachment forced him to resign before articles were even passed by the full chamber.

In Clinton’s case, it destroyed the political careers of both Al Gore, and his wife, Hillary Clinton... just thanks to their proximity to him when it came down... despite his having been acquitted in the Senate just like Johnson.  

And in Hillary’s case... she remained too radioactive, sixteen years later, to beat the world’s biggest idiot in what should have been a slam dunk Presidential election for her.

By this metric... Speaker Pelosi has already defeated Trump, even if she never sends those articles of impeachment to the Senate. The poison dart has hit it’s mark. 

And because... in this somewhat tortured analogy, the poison in the dart is radioactive... the more time we have for Trump’s dearest lieutenants to snuggle up close, and mop his troubled brow with tender reassurances... the more radioactive they will themselves become.

And that’s by design, because the founding fathers really hated the shit out of would be dictators and anybody stupid enough to follow them.

Sensing this... extremely dimly... one constitutional scholar, yesterday, put forward the argument that Trump wasn’t really impeached yet... because it’s not an official impeachment until the articles get sent to the Senate.

Tell that to the front page of every single newspaper in America, small and large, across the country from coast to coast, with the headline, “IMPEACHED!”

It’s a lame argument that holds no water, but it does tell you how desperate the GOP are to undo this, somehow... even though they all believe he’ll eventually be acquitted in the Senate.

Well... almost all of them.  

Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham, came out with an editorial yesterday, arguing for the removal of Trump from office, on moral grounds.

Talking heads poo-poohed this as insignificant, because Christianity Today doesn’t have that large of a readership.

But that’s looking at it backward.  Christianity Today is not some dark horse trying to sway public opinion... their editorial is, rather, a sign of what the larger evangelical base is already thinking.

And for what it’s worth... Trumpians blasted them today as being a “far left wing publication.”

Okay?

In reality, the editors of CT probably also dimly see the same thing as that guy who wants to say Trump isn’t really impeached yet... that this is a poison dart, and it doesn’t matter how the Senate votes in the trial.

Only, CT is not in denial about it, and wants to try and save Mike Pence, and Mitch McConnell before it’s too late... so that they can get another conservative judge into the Supreme Court, to one day overturn abortion... which is the only issue that has ever truly mattered to them.

Given that these are the warning flags... two days after impeachment became official... and given that we have ten more months before the 2020 elections... the outlook for Trump and his Junta is not great.

Lastly, Speaker Pelosi did formally Invite Trump today, to do his State of the Union speech in the House, on Februrary 4th.  

People are trying to read into this... is it shade?  Is it an admission that she knows he won’t be removed from office?  

It’s just procedure.  

But...

Maybe also a little reminder to everybody that she kicked his ass in the shutdown by leveraging this simple invitation last year... and that she has the power to leverage that, and other things like articles of impeachment this year... thanks to the voters who gave her back the speakership in 2018.

When the President hands you poison... make a poison dart.

That’s what we the people did.

And nobody can take that away from us.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK OPEN FOR BUSINESS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - It's clearly the first days of school time for the Hartford Wolf Pack as the team's brand new head coach, Kris Knoblauch, is trying to find his "sea legs" as much as his roster of 32 had a strong, two-hour practice on Monday. As they prepare for their first exhibition game Wednesday night in Danbury against the Springfield Thunderbirds, Knoblauch was very non-committal as he goes forward day-to-day. “This is my first head coaching job at the AHL, of course, I‘ve had time in juniors, but this is a completely different setup. The Rangers gotta be at 23  (roster permitted under the CBA) so I think a day-at-a-time right now. I can’t think too far ahead right now. I’m really happy with the teamwork so far, and we had some solid play in Traverse City. It was my first look at the team, and we had some very strong play, so it was a good first step.” Personally, for the Knoblauchs, getting settled in has been a whirlwind. “We got here in mid-August. Three days later, the kids (age 11 and 9) are starting school. Then, I’m off to Traverse City for a week. I come back, get things set up at home, and with the team, its been an awful lot of work, but we're excited to be here,” said Knoblauch. Coordinating practices is not as simple as just throwing pucks out there and putting the nets on their magnets. Despite a large number of players, Knoblauch has felt the longer practices (two hours) will help the acclimation process for coaches and players alike. "The ice has been pretty good and held up well. We set-up our structures and foundations,” Knoblauch, who had a lot of three-on-three drills for "Red Squad" (mostly veterans), "Blue Squad" and navy colored jersey squads accenting twenty feet and in around the end on offense and defensive side of things. Getting to know the players beyond scouting file is Task Management 101. “I know some of the guys, but a lot I have to learn and the process is day-to-day. Having an assistant like David Cunniff is gonna be important for me to lean on because he has been in the AHL seven or eight years. It’s the support system the Rangers have set-up. It’s gonna make my job easier on and off the ice.” One veteran player on defense, an extremely contested position in Hartford and with the parent Rangers, was free agent, off-season, signing Jeff LoVerde. “I can see right away why he was the LA organization all those years as a valuable part of their team in Ontario. He really conducts himself very well and had jumped in to help the younger players and I think he’s gonna be a very important asset back there." Clearly, goaltending is a position of major organizational interest. Ex-Pack, Alexander Georgiev, is presently penciled in as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Russia's highly touted rookie with plenty of KHL experience, Igor Shesterkin, has a serious stack of bricks of his shoulder pads with the very high expectations that have been five years in the making. Former UCONN netminder, Adam Huska, has had a strong camp for the Rangers. ‘We'll have two goalies battling, we have a third (Tom McCollum) here as well, and they all want to be playing, and all three will be in the mix. We're going to have some strong competitors in net. There are so many variables and possibilities that will be there both of them have played well." Knoblauch was non-committal as to who will start in net tomorrow or if there will be games split between rookies Francois Brassard and Jake Kumsky, a Union College grad who already had a deal with Ft. Wayne (ECHL) and who's in training camp on a PTO. Up-front, one player who has stood out from Traverse City to the early stages of this training camp, has been Lewis-Zertet Gossage, a Kent Prep grad, who has had a strong five-game audition at the end of last season. “He has stood out right in rookie camp. He came in in great shape and his speed with his size is quite good. It gives him an advantage among a variety of factors of course that go into (evaluation).” The backline has an abundance of players and contracts and will be a position where some players could be on the outside looking in. “We have a real mixture here of guys from some still unsigned, to some who are, and some young guys coming up who have shown their skills and also players still with New York. There are a lot of moving pieces here. One of the other good things is we have Gord Murphy, who we're very fortunate to have, and he will be a very important part of working with our defense and the group we put together.” A few players of note are back in camp ready to tackle a new season, and the changes since John Davidson, the team's new President, has taken over and the wholesale new coaching staff both in style and quantity has been unmistakable. “It's kinda hard to define. There is clearly a more upbeat feel this year and it’s really all brand new. I’m still adjusting to it, so it's all-new for me," forward Gabriel Fontaine, who was just sent down and entering his third and final season of his original entry-level deal, said. He was a defensive center his first year and battled for more ice time. He got quality offensive shifts including powerplay time, but Fontaine, after a summer spent back home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and after this camp, which he stayed at longer, is aware of his role from the outset. “I’m gonna take any tools they send my way and put it in my bag and continue to work toward getting to the NHL. It’s a pretty big change here. It's just gonna get bigger and faster and be part of the leadership group here in Hartford. Clearly, a different vibe here, it’s hard to describe right now.” Fontaine is fully embracing a defensive role as he readies to embark on his third pro season. “The Rangers want me to concentrate more on becoming a reliable center defensively, take  (important) faceoffs and that’s gonna help me make that jump to the NHL. I won’t be a first line guy on the powerplay,” Fontaine said with a laugh. "Everybody wants points on the powerplay. This is gonna be my path to the NHL.” The other player is the sunny, smiling, Ty Ronning. He spent some of his off-season in Phoenix seeing his one-year-old nephew and training back home in Vancouver. “New coaching staff, I’m a little older. I'll be 22 next month. A virtual graybeard. I'm really excited and I realize its a big year here. Expectations are big, I got two years left on my contract, so it’s a big year,” remarked Ronning. Speed has been his calling card in juniors. Ronning felt he needed more improvement. “I worked on getting my three strides quicker. I’m a small guy, and if I can gain more space in the offensive zone, or coming off the wall in the defensive zone, I can be faster to the puck. I think I will have more success because the speed and decision making here is so much quicker than juniors and in Maine. Bad decisions often wind up in the back of the net,” Ronning said. His summer training partner was his father, Cliff Ronning, who tallied NHL goals and the maturation of Ronning is really underway. “I learned to listen to him more this summer than in past years. Just trying to be more mature rather talking back. When you're younger, you tend to not listen. He has 20 years of (NHL) experience. He helped me in working on my shooting and learned a lot about my release and nuances of scoring and I learned a lot about him.” Another key to Ronning’s career development was the late legendary, Pat Quinn, who was a giant in the hockey business as a player, coach, GM and franchise owner at every level. “He was a grandfather figure to me. He drafted when he was the owner of the Vancouver Giants. He was very open-minded. If you could play he wanted you. He wasn’t like you play, but you're too small. He believed in me. I really can’t state enough how important that was at the time in my life…just tremendous,” Ronning, who has a small tat near his left bicep in his Quinn's honor, said. Maybe the luck of the Mighty Quinn will help him in his second pro season. NOTES: The team kept their collective focus and discipline when the building alarm system test went off during practice. Phil DiGuiseppe was assigned by the Rangers. but has to clear waivers first. Sean Day was among five assigned to Hartford and Knoblauch was awaiting what his medical status as he is recovering from off-season hip surgery. He has been a red no-contact jersey since training camp began. “I think he is close, but his medical clearance will come from New York and I expect it sooner rather than later." The other players included Connor Brickley, Tim Gettinger, Nick Jones, and Dawson Leedahl. Knoblauch confirmed Finnish defenseman, Tarmo Reunaren, is heading back to play for Lukko Rauma (Finland-FEL). “He got better in Traverse City and he played well in New York. He’s 21 and its numbers right now the organization has a lot of defensemen and he has a European option. He will be getting quality playing time. He has a future here because he showed he can play there are just so many spaces.” Over the weekend training camp, tryout rearguard, 6’4, Mason Geertsen (Colorado Eagles last year) was last season was sent to Hartford, Joey Keane, Patrick Newell, Ryan Dmowski and Jake Elmer. One of the training camp invitees includes former Springfield Falcon, Bryan Lerg, who played in Switzerland last season with HC Ambri Piotta who spent time working with Elmer doing pass, catch, and shooting drills. Some other players of note assigned to the AHL or camps include; Ex-Pack’s Cole Schneider (Milwaukee), Chris Bigras (Lehigh Valley), Mike Paliotta (Binghamton), Brandon Halverson (Toronto), Chris Mueller (Syracuse), Adam Tambellini (Stockton), Rob O’Gara (San Antonio), Hubert Labrie (Belleville), John Albert (Manitoba), Ryan Haggerty, Dustin Tokarski (Wilkes Barre/Scranton), and Brian Gibbons (Charlotte). Ex-Sound Tigers, J.F. Berube (Lehigh Valley), Griffin Reinhart (Belleville), Mitch Gilliam (Toronto), and Matt Donovan (Milwaukee) CT Connections Karl El-Mir from UCONN (Toronto), Alex Lyon of Yale, and David Drake of UCONN (Lehigh Valley), Brogan Rafferty of QU (Utica), Jordan Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford/QU) Stockton, Chad Krys (Ridgefield) Rockford, Tommy Cross Simsbury/Westminster Prep) Springfield, Craig Martin (QU) Toronto, Luke Shiplo (QU) Bakersfield, Sam Anas (QU) Iowa, Ross Colton (Taft) Syracuse, Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep) Charlotte, and Wiley Sherman (Greenwich/Hotchkiss Prep) Providence . Sons/nephews of Whalers; Cole Cassels (Belleville), Cayden Primeau (Laval), Jake Leschyshyn (Chicago), Hayden Verbeek (Laval), Henrik Samuelsson (San Diego) and Mark Kastelic (Belleville). Sons of New Haven Nighthawks/Senators/Beast/ Knights; Mathieu Olivier (Milwaukee), Mike Mersch (Texas) and Drake Rymsha (Ontario). New NCAA signees Cody Milam (Michigan St.-Big 10) Laval, Billy Christopoulos (Air Force Academy NCAA –Independent) Hershey, Jacob Jackson (Michigan Tech-WCHA) San Jose, Hayden Hawkey (Providence College-HE) Stockton Joe Wegeworth (Notre Dame-Big 10) Colorado and Carl Hesler (Dartmouth College-ECACHL) Rochester. Now that makes 216 Division I collegians have signed pro deals and 286 collegians total have signed North American and European pro deals. Ex-Pack Ty Conklin was named volunteer goalie coach for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (HE). Taylor Raddyysh, the older brother of the Wolf Pack’s Darren Raddyysh, was assigned to Syracuse by Tampa Bay. Big win by building operator Spectra in securing US vs. Canada in a women's hockey battle coming on December 14th at the XL Center. The two top women's programs in the world will be a marquee event to be apart of and attend. Read the full article

[highbuttonsports]

Made in China: Calgary Flames Past year & Future.

Made in China. We see it on everything. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with the whole buy local, support home thing. Made in China had a different meaning for the Calgary Flames this year. The start of a new year, a new season, a new journey to the Stanley Cup. Anyone who has played hockey before knows that heading out on a road trip is the best time to get to know the boys, bond and hang out. Although the travel was gruelling, it was setting up to be a good start. The Flames were beginning the year with some fresh faces in the lineup this year thanks to some work by GM Brad Treliving. The additions of Noah Hanafin on the blue line, Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan up front. Free agent signings of Austin Czarnik and James Neal, the summer sun wasn’t the only thing that was bright in Calgary. All these new faces mixed with this early road trip things were looking up after a lacklustre season in 2017-2018. 

Fast forward to October, and the dreaded home and home with the Canucks is on the docket to begin the year again. The Flames got off to a decent start at the beginning of the year. Nothing that would of gave anyone the assumption the team was going to have a record year. The talk around the town was the same as usual. Win some games, lose some games, let’s see what this team can do. Goaltending this, forwards that, nobody was happy about all the pieces together. Talk radio was riding Mike Smith’s lacklustre starts, James Neal was bouncing up and down the lineup, it was a typical October in Calgary. I remember watching a game early on against Colorado when David Rittich absolutely stood on his head and the Flames won 3-2 in OT. I said to myself at that point, and although still early, this is going to be a fun year. Boy, was I right, to an extent. October was very mediocre for the Flames, basically winning a game, losing a game, winning a game, losing a game. October 25th, 2019 was the true turning point to the season, and you can ask everyone in the city, on the team, in the media about that game. I remember sitting up high in the 200’s, hands in my face sitting there saying WTF is this. What are we watching. Why did we just pay money to be here. Thank god the Saddledome beer is like gold, because it was needed by all. An absolute thrashing from the Penguins, 9-1. The only upside, James Neal scored, one of his 7 goals on the year. You don’t hear the term rock bottom thrown around a lot, but in those post game scrums it was used more than once. It was the low of lows. I think everyone in that dressing room used that thrashing as motivation, and if you look at the season totals after that game you can see it definitely struck a nerve. The Flames started rolling. A 9-6 win over the Blue Jackets in an absolute gong show of a game, a 7-2 win over the Blues, 7-2 over the Knights, 6-3 over the Jets. It goes on and on. Night in and night out the Saddledome started to fill up even more, get louder. The buzz was finally hitting this city like you’d expect any NHL city to do night in night out. Obviously there was still many speed bumps, many obstacles and many questions to be answered throughout the year, but one thing that was for sure, is this team was for real. 

The real test was still yet to come, they still had the Christmas break and the All-Star break to get through. You know how easily that can cool off a hot team. Unfortunately it cooled the Flames off for a little bit. The true trying time was after the All-Star break followed by the mandatory 5 days off. Sure it was great for some ailing bodies, some lingering injuries, but I bet if you asked most guys in that dressing room they would of fathomed to keep going. Why stop now. You know when you get in that groove, and then all of a sudden you fall out of it. For most of us average folk how hard is it to get back into that grove. I can’t imagine the pressures of the NHL and being at peak performance all the time and hitting this lull. The Flames had a hell of a schedule coming up in February with multiple trips out east, back west, back east and then home. Let’s sum February up with this. 17 days on the road, finishing with a record of 8-3-2. That’s pretty impressive. Can you imagine travelling for 17 days straight, competing at the highest level of your profession night in an night out, and surviving like that. *Insert applause here*. The home stretch to the end of the year was now upon us, and the Flames were battling night in and night out. 

St. Patricks Day, the ol’ luck of the Irish. The Flames were in. Playoff bound, here we go. As I mentioned earlier the city was buzzing for a good portion of the year, but now, the C of Red was alive. The city was taking it to the next level. We know our Flames were going to be hosting a Stanley Cup playoff game. We knew the city was going to be jumping behind the team as support whether it was the bandwagon or not. Do you know how cool it is to be in a city where everyone cares about the same thing for once. Political views out the window, life views out the window, nobody cares who you are, where you come from, we are all Flames. How cool is that? Calgary ended the year with home ice, and drew Nathan Mackinnon and his Colorado Avalanche in the first round. Playoffs, everyone knows it can go either way. It doesn’t matter where one team finished, who clinched when. It’s a new season. You can look at Colorado in a sense they clinched so late, they had to play at such a high level late that they could roll right into the playoffs with the hot hand. But hey, Calgary has had some guys get some much needed rest, they’ll be fresh, maybe they have the upper hand. Calgary opened with a win in game one, and everyone was satisfied. This is what was expected. What wasn’t expected is what happened in the next 4 games. Game 2, Saturday night live in Calgary. The city was insane. The rink was insane. It was a lot of run, and hey! We got overtime on a Saturday night. Anything can happen, and who finishes it but my hometown boy Nate. A pure snipe. What could you do. 1-1 heading down to Denver. I can go on and on about the rest of the series, but everyone knows how that ended up. Colorado absolutely dominated. They skated circles around Calgary. I was in the building for the final game in Calgary, game 5. A couple of jerseys were thrown on the ice late, and the building was silent. I don’t think anyone in that building had any thoughts running through their head. Sure there was frustration, but we all know you can’t think clearly during times like that. The season came to an abrupt end. Treliving described it perfectly, “It’s like running a 100M dash in a 80M gym”.

 Everyone was in shock. There were so many questions, so many frustrations. Where do you begin? Everyone new this was stepping up to be a special year. Many thought it was our time. Such is hockey, such is playoffs, such is life. I can go on and on about where I thought it went wrong, what I wasn’t happy with, but realistically we just have to move forward. There were a lot of good things to come out of this year. Rasmus Andersson showed that he can play top pair minutes and stick there. Noah Hanafin and Travis Hamonic put them selves up as one of the top D pairs in the NHL. Jusso Valimaki although hindered by injury most of the year showed he can hang with the big boys as a 19 year old. Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau had career years. Mike Smith and David Rittich played the 1A, 1B tandem to a near perfect T. Although goalie questions came up all year long, Mike Smith showed he belonged in the playoffs. Sam Bennett was an absolute beast and truly found his own this year. Garnett Hathaway was probably one of the best penalty killers in the NHL this year. Let’s stick to the positives, and leave the negatives aside. We can build off both, but having a positive outlook on the negatives can go a lot further than tearing someone down. There were a lot of great things this year, a lot of experiences had that I truly think this can be built off of. Calgary can do it again, they will do it again. Looking into the future, there are many great pieces sitting in the cupboards. There were a few prospects like Dillon Dube had signs of a full time NHLer when he was called upon this year. Alan Quine played only 14 games with the big club this year, but showed that he can be a reliable speedy third or fourth line player.  Although a few questions will be raised, and a busy off-season will be had. Brad Treliving reiterated that “there will be changes”. One can only begin to guess what changes will be made, but lots of rumours are floating around. Calgary qualified Matthew Tkachuk, David Rittich and Sam Bennet, all who are going to be key pieces moving into the coming pieces. Andrew Mangiapane was also qualified, and he turned out to be a firecracker out there this year splitting time between the third and fourth line. This goes to show you the depth that these scouts go to to find guys that can hang at this level after almost being counted out just based on draft position alone. The biggest question mark is who will be tending the pipes next year. Part of the puzzle has been all but decided, but that is one cupboard that is missing a few solid pieces. 

I’ll leave you with one lasting thought until next time. Buckets. What the hell does this guy mean about buckets. Well let me explain. Buckets was a term that was used when describing last year. We had guys in this bucket, and guys in that bucket. One bucket was half full with guys that wanted it, the other bucket was full of passengers. Let’s up that size of bucket so everyone wants to be in it no matter how tight, and everybody is driving.  The everlasting Flame from the C of Red is definitely shining a little brighter.

-Mike Murrant

[illusion-of-sea-axes]

Party Crashers

Assasins Gavin Free and Michael Jones are hired to take out a politician at a fundraiser.

(This is a sort of mix between my Eleven Little Roosters AU and their Hitman Immersion video.)

Words:  2517

Ten Little Roosters, all gathered to dine.

One choked on his rage, and then there were nine.

“You look rather top, Mikey.” Gavin murmured, smiling as he readjusted Michael’s red face mask. His own was a pale green that made it difficult to see his dark green-hazel eyes underneath.

“As do you.” The other man, Michael, replied and he straightened out Gavin’s black bow tie. Or at least, he pretended too.

“Although, it is a shame you have to hide those freckles.” He stepped back to observe Michael, who wore a simple dark blue shirt that proudly proclaimed support for some stupid politician named Mike Hawk. Or as Michael called him, Sir Cock. Gavin wore a similar shirt.

The two readjusted their own wigs. Gavin’s was a more vibrant shade of blonde and was smoothed down backwards. Michael’s was a light shade of a similar blonde and hid his dark curls well.

He was also wearing contacts, since the mask didn’t grant him space to wear his glasses as usual. He was alright with that though.

The two linked arms and walked out of the small abandoned room and approached the elevators. Both of them checking each other over. Whether it was because they wanted to confirm their partner was well disguised or for some other personal reason, you wouldn’t know.

The elevator was empty as it rose them up to their destination.

“Ready?” Gavin asked his partner. Obviously it seemed so, but he liked to ask him before the two officially began their job.

“Absolutely.” Michael answered back confidently, just as the doors opened.

The two slipped out into a hallway, merging with a crowd of people as they entered a grand party room with a podium set up in front of a large blue banner matching the design of the shirts which every other attendee was wearing.

“Alright.. How many people will be attending this fundraiser?”

“From what I’ve seen, over two hundred attendees. I wasn’t able to get an exact number.”

“That’s a lot.”

“Yeah, a lot of people to hide behind.”

The only differences among the crowds were the security guards, who wore ear pieces and black overcoats, and the waiters who wore red blazers.

Michael had heard that the security guards were all armed with tasers, and he was sure he could see the outlines of them in their pockets.

In Michael’s own pocket was a sticker and some dissolving poison pills. The sticker had a toxic compound mixed into the adhesive that would seep into the bloodstream within moments.

“How much security are we dealing with?”

“Five. Two upstairs, two downstairs and a bodyguard for Mike Hawk.”

Michael glanced over to Gavin as the two entered the room, pausing by a pillar with a table full of glasses of champagne. He knew full well he had to keep an eye on Gavin. The brit was well known to get drunk when able and that was difficult when on a job.

“To Mike Hawk!” Gavin and Michael cheered as Mike Hawk went on with his speech, clinking their glasses together and then downing their drinks in one swig. One glass or two wouldn’t hurt.

Gavin seemed to think it meant he was allowed to drink more than that.

After Michael set down his empty glass, Gavin took another glass, downed that one, and picked up another to repeat the process.

“Hey, I’m gonna scope out the area real quick.” Michael whispered before walking around his partner to peer at the room they had been informed was the security office. He quickly turned back to his partner as Gavin downed a fourth glass. “Shit, we have a guy standing right outside the security office.”

Gavin picked up another glass. “Let’s just mingle until he clears out.” Michael answered and Gavin handed him two glasses of champagne.

 “Wanna double this?”

“Yeah, yeah, this looks normal. Let’s just get shit faced,” Michael answered, downing one of the glasses while Gavin picked up two more for himself.

Gavin took this moment to take notice that Michael’s british accent was fading. It had been stronger, maybe stronger than Gavin’s, back when they still shared the same body and even after they had first been separated. Of course, this was due to Gavin being the main conscience and not Michael.

The original Michael, as Gavin was told, had not been British and was instead raised in the states. A long way from where Gavin had started his assasin’s career in the United Kingdom. Although, Gavin wasn’t going to complain.

“Alright, he’s moving..” Michael murmured, setting down his second glass. “I’m going in, boi. Watch my back” He whispered and casually walked over where the guard had been before. Gavin wasn’t sure why, but they had started referring to each other as bois. Something Geoff said the original two of them had done often.

Before they were murdered, of course.

 “This is how you champagne.” Gavin poured one of the glasses into another and held it up, causally following Michael. He noticed the guard speaking into his earpiece. He managed to catch ‘position’ and ‘circulating’ but didn’t try to listen too much as he walked away and gave Michael an opportunity to slip into the security office.

Michael wasn’t sure what he expected. The office was small and clearly in need of some proper maintenance. It had several fold able-leg tables stacked in the corner. It seemed more like a storage closet than a maintenance office.

The man smirked as he saw two guard uniforms (black overcoats with a white shirt underneath on a plastic fold-out table, two knives settled beside them.

“These are nice.” Michael murmured, stripping off his facial disguise so it would be easier for him to slip on the uniform. “Maybe I should steal these..” The fabric was smooth and the inside was soft and comfortable. Then again, these guys stood in one position for hours so he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Quickly, he buttoned the overcoat and slipped his mask and wig back on. He picked up one of the knives and dropped it into his overcoat pocket before readjusted his facial disguise one more time to be safe.

Quietly as possible, he slipped through the doors and took a quick look around. However, Gavin wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Michael cursed in his head and closed the doors, approaching the top of the stairway to look down on the crowd in hopes of finding his partner.

Another guard was approaching, likely to change position, and Michael quickly slipped out of his way as inconspicuous as possible.

Taking on the stance that the guards had (crossing their arms in front of them), Michael slowly approached the crowd, doing his best to hide his mounting frustration. They may be partners, but this was an annoyingly common occurrence. He internally made a promise to murder him, even though he’d never be able to do it, it made him feel slightly better.

Michael slowly shifted back up the stairs as the guard moved away again. He was surprised (and relieved) to see Gavin standing in the corner. For a moment, Gavin tensed at the sight of Michael before realizing it was his partner and not an actual security guard.

“Thank god, I was worried you got drunk and ran off somewhere to do something stupid.”

“Have a little faith in me, Mikey.” Gavin casually replied, sipping from what was probably his eighth champagne glass.

“I can never have faith in you when you’re surrounded by alcohol. You arse.”

Gavin shrugged and Michael put a hand in his pocket, showing Gavin the knife handle.

“I got the knife. We could just get ‘im on the way out.” Michael whispered, dropping it back in his pocket and resuming his guard-like stature next to his partner. Gavin turned and pointed with his glass, almost like he was toasting someone.

“M’kay, then. How ‘bout this?” He gently nudged Michael in the arm when his attention shifted to some of the attendees walking around them. They would have to be quick or they’d become suspicious.”We’ll wait for them to be over there, right?” He gestured to the room next to the security office where the attendees that were coming up the stairs were heading towards.

“Don’t-don’t point.” Michael hissed and Gavin lowered his hand and took another sip of his champagne before continuing.

For a brief moment, they had the space at the top of the stairs to themselves.

“He’s having drinks, right. I’ll take out his body guy, you take out him. We’ll come down and kill that guy on the way out.” He gestured to the guard at the doorway. “Well, let’s mingle, shall we?”

“Let’s mingle.” Michael answered, pushing his mask up a bit as Gavin walked ahead of him, drinking the rest of his champagne.

“Aww man, all the booze is gone, ya see that?” Gavin answered as they walked back down the stairs and saw the now empty table that once held a bunch of champagne glasses.

Michael heard the static-y sound coming from the guards’ ear pieces and was sure they were looking at him and Gavin.

 “You know, maybe we should pretend like we know each other.” Gavin whispered as he picked up a random glass from a table. Damn, he needed to slow down.

“No, that’s fine, we don’t.” Michael answered, his voice quiet before he slightly raised it to speak again. “Sir, Sir, back off sir.” His faint accent seemed to vanish briefly as he took on a more authoritative tone of voice, sounding less like a party-goer and more like the role he was dressed up for.

“Sorry, Sorry. I just- wanted to make friends.” Gavin seemed to stumble over his words a little bit as Michael (kinda begrudgingly) put some distance between them. “I’m kinda socially awkward at these.” A few attendees cast him annoyed glances and Michael forced himself to not snap at them for it.

The politician was approaching now, surrounded an entourage of attendees, his bodyguard, and his announcer.

Michael glanced back around to let Gavin know, not trusting the brit to be observant after all the champagne he’d had. He quickly caught sight of him and walked over, drifting by slowly to whisper to him. “Target is approaching, target is approaching.” He hissed to Gavin who picked up another glass and slowly walked over to the politician, worming his way through the attendees swarming around him.

Gavin silently pulled the poisoned sticker out of his pocket and stripped off the back, walking over to the bodyguard who stood by the wall.

“Hey, thanks for doing all the work you do.” Gavin whispered, attaching the sticker to the guard’s hand and casually walking away as the poison worked into the guard’s bloodstream and caused him to slump against the wall and slide down.

He could hear another nearby guard talk into his earpiece. Gavin could only pick up ‘back up’ but that was a good enough hint that he should get the fuck out.

Michael slowly walked up behind the politician as he took a sip out of his champagne glass. As he did, Michael slipped out the knife and stabbed it into the man’s back. Repeatedly.

He was always the one to go a little overkill.

The man cried out in pain, blood gurgling in his throat as he staggered back and then fell to the floor. He quickly walked out of view of the attendees, reuniting with Gavin who took the same route of action.

“What’s going on?” Some of the attendees were calling out

“Did you see who did that?” Michael asked, keeping with his cover as he joined Gavin on the stairs.

“That guy there was suspicious.” Gavin answered, pointing at a random attendee. His british accent was easily identifiable.

“Dude, I went all over him.” Michael whispered to Gavin, failing to keep the chuckle out of his voice though the others were too loud to hear it, thankfully. Gavin smiled back at him.

“I’m going to go take out that guy, you keep walking.” Michael whispered, pulling out another poison sticker and stripping off his back as he joined another guard who was pointing at random attendees.

“Take off your masks. Everyone take off your masks.”

“I’ve seen a suspicious individual around here.” Michael added, quickly attaching the sticker to the back of the guard’s neck. He let out a small noise of shock and then collapsed to the floor as the poison took effect.

“There’s a guard sick back there.” Michael called out as he walked away from the now dead guard and into the sea of attendees.

Gavin passed by a waiter who was still handing out drinks and he gratefully took one. “Don’t mind if I don’t.” The champagne was nicer than what Gavin had been able to have in a while. Besides, if they were going to be convincing, he may as well drink a couple glasses.

He quickly found Michael approaching the now unguarded door, everyone else’s attention turned on the three dead bodies now on the floor making it easy to walk over.

Gavin cast another look around, glass still in hand as Michael opened the door. He slipped out and held the door open as Gavin walked in. In a moment of drunk victory, he made a cheers gesture with his glass before joining Michael outside.

Another successful job.

As the two quickly made their way out of the building, Gavin sipped on his champagne.

The two slipped in Michael’s car. Once they were safe inside the vehicle, Michael pushed up his mask and his head slumped against the headrest.

“Whoo! We did it.” He let out a faint chuckle and pulled off the wig and the mask, carelessly throwing it into the backseat. Gavin did the same. Their hair was ruffled, but it was totally fine seeing as they were no longer really in a formal setting and they never genuinely cared about it in the first place. He rose up his champagne and downed the rest of it.

“Hell yeah!” He added, smiling. Michael turned to him.

“I think I should stop bringing you to places with alcohol.” He said as Gavin set down the glass.

“Noo.” He whined, leaning back and looking at Michael.

“.. Damnit, Gav.” He groaned, slipping his car key out of his pocket and starting the vehicle. “I can’t believe we shared a body at some point.”

“Awww.” Gavin whined and Michael rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, Gav. Let’s just get back to that Burns guy and get our paycheck and then we can go home and just sleep and watch TV.” Michael loved the thought of passing out in the enormous bedroom back in their apartment. It had been a long day to him with obtaining the disguises and other preparations.

“And swimmy bevs?”

Michael cast a glance at the car’s digital clock as they quietly pulled onto the road. It was pretty late now.

“... We’ll see.”

“Yay.” Gavin cheered, earning another smile from his partner. “I love you Mikey.”

“Love ya too, Gav.”

[rachaelwatchestv]

Baywatch - Season 1 Episode 3 - Heat Wave

Here I am, watching yet another episode of what might be one of the most campy shows ever to grace America’s television sets.  Why? Because somewhere along the past two episodes, I’ve become Baywatch trash.  And now I want to watch another episode before bed.

Alright so the official hulu synopsis of this episode is “During the hottest day of the summer, Craig has to choose between his career as a lawyer and the job he loves being a Baywatch lifeguard.  The choice is made when two boys get trapped in a storm drain which is rapidly filling with water.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Craig chooses Baywatch.  You know...because that’s the name of the show...of which he is a main character. Also, I’m going to be daring and say that the kids get stuck in a storm drain because of bad parenting.

Only time will tell if I’m correct.  So let’s get started.

So I'm going to be skipping the theme song from now on.  This is the last time I'm going to say skip.  Skip.

We open on a seedy hotel with suspenseful music playing.  Honestly not at all what I was expecting for an episode about a heat wave. A guy with a gun is clearly looking for someone while another guy is in a hotel room with his sleeping son.  He quickly grabs his bag and gets out of there, avoiding the guy with a gun.  He takes his son with him too.  Obviously.  The guy tells his son that they'll be in LA by morning, so clearly they'll meet our favorite lifeguards while they're there.

Cut to LA where said guy and his son show up at Mitch's house.  Turns out Mitch and the guy, Steve, are old friends.

Steve lies and says they're there because his son, Mike, has never seen the ocean.  Steve and Mike stay for breakfast and catch up and Steve implies that he wants to stay at Mitch's place.  Mitch agrees.

At work, Mitch confers with Craig how he thinks something's going on with Steve.  They also bring up the custody battle over Hobie, so that story line didn't just get dropped!  Craig says that he can't work Baywatch today, he's gotta go be a lawyer and make the money he needs to afford his loft (alright he didn't say it, I did, but same thing).

A lot of other lifeguards are calling out too, so it's mainly rookies on the beach.  It's expected to be a crazy day due to the heat wave coming in.

Steve takes Mike and Hobie to the beach.  Eddie finds a kid throwing wet sand at sunbathers and drops him off with his mom who vaguely lectures him and then tells him to "go find something to do." 10 bucks says this is one of the kids that get stuck in the storm drain.

Steve and Hobie go into the water and leave Mike behind on the beach.  Wet sand kid joins him and is obviously a little turd.  He convinces Mike to walk the beach with him.

At the office, Craig is lectured by his boss that he doesn't want his priorities split and wants him to be a lawyer seven days a week.  He needs to make a decision by tomorrow.

Time for this episodes montage!  This one is of how busy the beach is and Mike and Wet Sand Kid getting into trouble.  They break into a construction zone (eye roll).  I'm gonna go ahead and say they're the two that get stuck in the drain.  And it is because of bad parenting....look who was right!

So the kids disappear into the drain, and two construction workers show up to lock the door.  Because of course.  How else would they get locked in there?

Meanwhile at Baywatch HQ, it's popping with missing children.  50 so far and it's only 11 am.  Steve shows up and says that Mike is missing and asks Mitch for help.  Mitch assures him that they get hundreds a day and they all turn up sooner or later, but Steve isn't happy with that answer.

In the drain, Mike and Wet Sand Kid try to get back out but there's obviously now a lock on the door.  They shout for help but no one can hear them over the water and the tide is starting to come in.

Gina's at home painting when Craig gets home early because he needs to have time to himself to make a decision.

Craig decides to go do his thinking at the beach, and Gina remarks that that says something about what his choice will be.  Gina is definitely an I'll-support-you-whatever-you-decide-type.

Meanwhile Gun Guy from opening seen shows up at Mitch's house having tracked down Steve's car somehow.  This was the 80′s before there were trackers on cars, I'm assuming, so I really don't understand the logic.  From there, he goes to Baywatch and talks to Mitch about Steve.  Turns out Steve did not actually get custody of Mike, and he kidnapped him from his ex-wife.  

The water is getting high at the front of the drain so Mike and Wet Sand Kid (whose name is Ricky) run back to the end of the storm drain. They crawl through a narrow tunnel, because that's a good idea.

Gina shows up to the beach and meets Craig to encourage him to leave the law firm and be his own lawyer on top of life guarding.  She is so supportive and I love her.

In his search for Mike, Steve accidentally grabs the wrong kid and ends up in a fight with the kid’s Dad.  Eddie has to break it up and Craig intervenes before Steve can get into trouble.

Mitch confronts Steve about being a kidnapper.  It's revealed that gun guy is actually an investigator looking into the kidnapping.  Craig is there to be a legal consult and Steve confesses that technically, he did kidnap Mike because of how much he loves him.

It's been a while since Ricky and Mike have gone missing, so Craig and Mitch decide to get the junior lifeguards involved (including Hobie) since they have a unique perspective on where kids would disappear to.

And it's time for a second montage!  This one is the junior lifeguards running around looking for the boys.

Meanwhile the boys are still taking their sweet time crawling through this tunnel when a massive rush of water comes in and pushes them into a larger chamber where their heads are just barely above water.

Also according to closed captions, Shawnie's name is actually spelled Shauni.  Apologies for my mistake, I will spell it correctly from now on.

Hobie talks to Shauni about the drain who says that maintenance guys were there to put a new lock on the gate.  She calls Mitch and they decide that it's worth checking out. They follow the tunnel to the storm drain and collection chamber to see if the boys are there.

Sure enough, looking down into the storm drain, Craig, Mitch, and Hobie are able to see Ricky and Mike.  The water is slowly rising, and is deep enough that they have to tread water. Mitch and Craig decide to go into it from the riverbed.

The fire department finally shows up to try to get the grate off so they can get to the kids easier, but Craig and Mitch will probably get there first because, you know, heroes.

Sure enough, here comes our heroes crawling through a tunnel.  They get to the end of their tunnel but a grate is blocking them and they watch as a huge wave comes in and sends both boys underwater.  Mike comes backup but Ricky doesn't.  Mitch is finally able to break through the gate and pull Ricky up.  They save the boys and the fire department gets them up with a ladder.

Steve hugs Mike and says that it's time to give his mom a call and go home.  So maybe he won't actually be in trouble for kidnapping after all?

Gina shows up at the beach again to talk to Craig.  He informs her that he's decided to take her advice and open his own practice while life guarding.  The episode ends with a shot of marital bliss and damn if I don't want my own marriage to be like that forever.  Craig and Gina are OTP material, that's for sure.

[thisdaynews]

Tranmere 0-6 Manchester United: Reds' fans voice anger during FA Cup win

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Tranmere 0-6 Manchester United: Reds' fans voice anger during FA Cup win

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What a hit! Maguire scores first Man Utd goal

Manchester United supporters used an FA Cup fourth-round hammering of League One Tranmere Rovers to again voice their frustration with the club’s owners and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

United scored five times in an amazing first-half at Prenton Park, with skipper Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot scoring their first goals for the club and Phil Jones getting his first since March 2014 under David Moyes.

Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial were also on target in the first period to give the 2,000-strong visiting support a high point in an otherwise tortuous season and end any thoughts of a shock FA Cup defeat heaping further pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But they also spent five minutes chanting against the Glazer family and Woodward, who was not at the game. The chants appeared to be sung by the vast majority of United fans and ended with “We’re Man Utd, we’ll sing what we want”.

United’s fans are annoyed at what they view as a lack of investment in the team, a long-held belief that has grown during the current transfer window with the team fifth in the Premier League and in obvious need of reinforcements yet with no signings having been made so far.

The team did not need additional assistance today though, with Mason Greenwood adding a second-half penalty as United scored six for the first time since 2011, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge.

When asked about the chants after the game, Solskjaer said: “We are just going to keep on working and trying to get the results right and move the club forward.

“Supporters are always happier when you win games and are successful. We will just keep working to get this right.”

Watch BBC One coverage of Shrewsbury v Liverpool

Watch all the FA Cup fourth-round goals

Man Utd’s flying start

The visitors made their first trip to Tranmere against the backdrop of fan disenchantment, a dispiriting home defeat in the Premier League and knowing they must overcome a sticky pitch in addition to opponents who were responsible for knocking Watford out of the competition three days ago.

When the covers on the pitch were removed an hour before kick-off they revealed a heavily rolled but patchy surface that was part sand, part mud and part grass.

United assistant manager Mike Phelan went for a walk along the worst areas with some trepidation before the visitors began their warm-up and the players’ warm-up cut the pitch up further.

Once the match began, it was clearly going to be a difficult surface with one strip down the touchline in front of the dug-outs a spongy mess and it wasn’t long before the front of Jones’ shirt was covered in mud.

United were not daunted by such an unfamiliar surface, going ahead when Maguire powered home a shot from outside the box and doubling the lead three minutes later when Dalot drilled in a right-footed effort across keeper Scott Davies.

Lingard added to the one he scored in Astana in the Europa League as the visitors took total control within 16 minutes.

When Martial’s deflected effort went in, it was the first time United had scored five goals in the first-half of a game since the 6-1 hammering of Arsenal in 2001 – when Solskjaer was among the scorers.

A positive day for Jones

Few players are currently ridiculed as much as Jones.

He was a member of England’s World Cup squad in 2018 but his star has waned so much since then it has been suggested the 27-year-old turned down the offer of a testimonial because he felt no-one would turn up.

His propensity for pulling amusing faces or finding himself in strange positions means he is a rich source of content for social media.

And in the first five minutes today he managed to get booked, get his shirt covered in mud and get himself on the wrong end of a nasty challenge from Corey Blackett-Taylor.

For a while it looked as though Jones might not be able to continue but he carried on and amid some manic arm-waving and a couple of last-ditch challenges, he also managed to score his first goal since the short-lived Moyes era.

It reminded us that the former Blackburn defender – who at one point in his career was compared to legendary United and England midfielder Duncan Edwards – had gone through the entire Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho eras without scoring.

His goal was well received by the visiting supporters, who sang a song in his honour, which has not happened for quite a while.

Internal dissent at Old Trafford

There has been plenty of debate about the songs heard during Wednesday’s Premier League home defeat by Burnley against United’s owners the Glazer family and Woodward.

The supporters who made the short journey to Merseyside took half an hour to identify their target again.

Prior to that, they sang repeatedly in honour of Solskjaer, who it is clear will remain a hero to the fans no matter how his managerial stint works out.

First, they sang the chant about Woodward that caused most of the controversy before turning on the Glazers with a succession of songs including “We want the Glazers out”.

The last – and longest – chant involved most of the United fans and was followed by another round of songs backing the club and vowing to continue supporting it.

There was no repeat until the final five minutes, when the Woodward chant was voiced again, although it soon disappeared.

Man of the match – Harry Maguire (Manchester United)

Maguire produced a classic captain’s display, scoring and assisting on a tricky pitch

‘Everyone wanted us to fail’ – what the managers said

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, speaking to BBC Sport:“A lot has been said and written about this pitch. We played it well. We didn’t want to make it a long-ball fight because that’s not the game we wanted. We put the ball down and scored nice goals.

“We have good footballers. They give everything in every game.

“It’s important we spread goals through the team. We’ve lost Marcus [Rashford] for a little while. Our two strikers scored ��� it is a confidence boost for everyone.

“You can see everyone wanted us to fail but it doesn’t bother me. I can’t be up and down [emotionally]. I’m happy but won’t relax. Two big games coming up.”

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon, speaking to BBC Sport:“You can see the quality they have. It was no surprise to us. Some of the goals they scored, we wouldn’t face that kind of quality [in League One].

“We got everything we needed out of this cup run. We knew we were up against a fantastic team – the players gave everything. We can draw a line under it and get back to the bread and butter [of their relegation battle]. The finances hopefully will let us improve group. That can hopefully let us drive ourselves out of our situation.

“We were undone by a centre-back shooting from 25 yards into the top corner, that’s the quality we were up against. The quality was a level above what you’re used to.

“We will endeavour to do it [stay up]. No distractions now. We have 19 leagues games left to drive forward. If they keep showing that level of fight and endeavour we’ll be fine.”

Rampant Reds – the stats

Manchester United recorded their biggest away win any competition since beating Nottingham Forest 8-1 in February 1999, a game in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored four goals.

They had six different scorers in a match for only the second time in their history – the other occasion was a 10-1 win against Wolves in the top-flight in October 1892.

Manchester United have lost just one of their last 53 FA Cup matches against teams from outside the top-flight (W45 D7 L1), a 1-0 home defeat to Leeds United in January 2010 – they have won their last 12 games of this type.

Manchester United scored five goals in the first half of a match for the first time since February 2001, when they were 5-1 up at half-time against Arsenal; Solskjaer scored the fifth goal that day.

Manchester United scored with each of their first six shots on target.

Tranmere Rovers have conceded 32 goals in their last nine home FA Cup games against Premier League opponents, letting in six goals in three of their last four (6-2 vs Swansea and 7-0 vs Spurs).

Jesse Lingard scored only his second goal in his last 42 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions, and only his fifth goal in 49 appearances under Solskjaer.

This was the first time Manchester United had scored six goals in a game since Sir Alex Ferguson retired – they last scored six in an 8-2 win over Arsenal in August 2011.

What next?

Manchester United travel to Manchester City for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) while Tranmere host Sunderland on the same night in League One (19:45 GMT).

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[alamante]

A raging epidemic of Trump Derangement Syndrome broke out among reporters covering the summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, as journalists gave the American president hellish reviews for his performance in Helsinki at a joint news conference.

No reporters knew what actually transpired in the main event of the day – the private meeting between the two presidents. So journalists put themselves in the position of critics, grading President Trump’s news conference performance.

The critics provided the most outlandish and hyperbolic reactions to Trump since election night 2016 – making the president sound like he was following in the footsteps of the despised Revolutionary War turncoat Benedict Arnold.

Yes, unbelievably, the newest charge against President Trump was treason.

Treason, by the way, is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: “the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family.”

So President Trump was trying to overthrow the government he leads or trying to kill or injure himself or his family?

USA Today reported in a front-page story: “Every nation has an infamous traitor. … And now, after a news conference Monday in Finland, the term is being used in relations to the 45th president of the United States. Donald Trump, master of the political insult, finds himself on the receiving end.”

The New York Daily News screamed “OPEN TREASON” on its cover page with a cartoon showing Trump holding Putin’s hand and holding a gun in his other hand and shooting Uncle Sam in the head. Really.

CNN host Fareed Zakaria wasn’t satisfied with “treason” as a descriptor. “I feel like treasonous is too weak a word, because the whole thing has taken on an air of such unreality,” he said.

Zakaria had lots of company: CNN analyst Max Boot, MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, and, of course, former CIA Director John Brennan, who now works for NBC and MSNBC.

CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said “the spirit of what Trump did is clearly treasonous,” and declared that the president “came off as being a puppet of Putin.”

MSNBC brought on presidential historian Jon Meacham and he agreed that, with the Russia connection, “the definition it meets is the first word of the impeachment article in the Constitution, which is, treason, bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Even when news organizations weren’t talking treason, they were still hyperventilating about America going to hell in a presidential handbasket. Check out this video of highlights of anchors and commentators on MSNBC and CNN erupting with anti-Trump fury.

CNN was Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 level panicked, devoting 87 percent of its evening coverage (more than seven hours) across three nights to fire-and-brimstone reports designed to inflame its viewers.

The network’s team responded just as the boss wished. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper called the Trump news conference “perhaps one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader certainly that I’ve ever seen.”

And CNN anchor Chris Cuomo – the son of one New York Democratic governor and the brother of another who may seek his party’s presidential nomination to run against President Trump – continued his longstanding feud with the president by claiming a Trump tweet bashing the media was an “admission that you hate your country.”

MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle let his anger take over. He called for a complete abandonment of the republic. “Rewrite the Constitution and have another president take over right now,” he told the audience, failing to explain just how that happens without a military overthrow of the government.

MSNBC legal expert Jill Wine-Banks piled on the outlandish historical comparisons, actually claiming Trump-Putin news conference “will live in infamy as much as the Pearl Harbor attack or Kristallnacht.” She added it was the same as “Cuban missile crisis in terms of an attack, or the 9/11 attack.”

Even ABC wanted a ride on the “Highway to Hell.” Anchor George Stephanopoulos, who used to work for President Bill Clinton before becoming a “newsman,” urged retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona to back his criticism of Russia “with action.” Stephanopoulos wanted the anti-Trump Flake to withhold his vote to support the president’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. This no doubt thrilled Team Clinton.

“The View” co-host Joy Behar bedeviled Trump by comparing his actions to ignoring “when they bombed Pearl Harbor in World War II.” (She also said it “rises to the level of treason,” but that was hardly original at that point.)

The hellish outrage over the Helsinki news conference had its desired effect … for now. Newsweek posted a story on an opinion poll that declared: “According to a new Ipsos poll, 49 percent of Americans said Trump was “treasonous” during the summit and ensuing press conference, with only 27 percent disagreeing.”

2. Tomorrow Is Another Day: Even in a hot summer made hotter with fiery politics, things can always get worse. Remember, we are less than four months to the midterm elections. And when those finish, the presidential election heats up.

That also means the More Stupid Than Usual Season is upon us. (It’s like a leap season that only happens election years.) Despite several Democrats calling to “abolish ICE,” the broadcast networks weren’t interested when a vote on ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) took place.

None of the three – ABC, CBS and NBC — covered Democrats doing their best “Run away!” Monty Python impersonations. This, even though lefty Vox was critical of the fact that Democrats weren’t “ready to actually vote for an ‘Abolish ICE’ bill.”

Since it is political season, you’d think media outlets would send their A-listers to do the top stories. You’d be … completely wrong.

The New York Times assigned a massive, 8,700 word magazine piece on the left’s own Daddy Warbucks (Daddy Globalist Bucks?) George Soros to a guy who writes about tennis and wine. Author Michael Steinberger is also a blatant liberal partisan who voted for Hillary Clinton, freaked out election night when Trump won and called the president the “Orange Menace.”

CBS used some seasoning itself as host Gayle King (the Democratic donor) defended possible Democratic 2020 presidential nominee Joe Biden against President Trump’s criticism. She whined that Trump’s attacks were “nasty,” “condescending,” and “hurtful,” while downplaying one of the biggest gaffes in Biden’s career.

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[tophatal]

Time For Change …

Baseball has entered the last complete month of its regular season and there is a great deal on the line for several teams . The likelihood is that there will be major changes within several of the organizations either from a managerial standpoint or among the front office. We already know the Miami Marlins will see a change in ownership with the Sherman group coming in led by Bruce Sherman , Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan . Jeter and Jordan give more visibility to the ownership group because of their high profiles .,instant visibility and name recognition . Yet, I am not so sure that will be enough to turn around an organization which his has been mismanaged and starved of resources by outgoing owner Jeffrey Loria .

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Within the NL East the Miami Marlins have played themselves out of contention for the divisional title and while their hopes are faint for a wildcard berth , they remain in the hunt for one of the two positions on offer. Fans have been salivating over the season attained by Giancarlo Stanton and his having hit a franchise record fifty-four home runs. Sixty remains out of his reach and while this is all admirable for the player , I don’t believe he will be taking home the NLMVP for this season . I believe it would be a great disservice to the other leading candidates who have contributed to a winning season for their teams who have been in the hunt throughout much of the season. The same cannot be said for the Miami Marlins at any point during this season . Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly and his managerial staff are likely to be retained but I do believe Derek Jeter will be looking to bring in his own people to run the front office. Jeter’s role will be to oversee the overall operations with the new general manager reporting to him directly.

The Miami Marlins will be in action over the weekend as they continue their current series against the Milwaukee Brewers at home. With very little to play for other than pride , it is imperative the Marlins round out their regular season on a high note.

Say what you will , but I do believe seven years is more than enough for a Big League Manger to try and turn an organization around . The New York Mets have been a complete bust with the triumvirate of front office executives , Sandy Alderson , JP Ricciardi and manager Terry Collins at the helm. The trio have gotten to the stage, where they might be even funnier than The Three Stooges and The Marx Brothers. Comedic pratfalls being one thing, but the level of incompetence seen with the Mets over the past seven years has sunk to a new low. This team has been far from being competitive and there has not been one saving grace to suggest they have been worth watching at any point during 2017. Their fans are not only opinionated . but also clearly delusional and obnoxious as always. The Mets have several free agents at the end of this season as well as players set for arbitration and it will be interesting to see the decisions made by Sandy Alderson as they will undoubtedly make changes.

An injury-prone and non-productive David Wright is of no use to the New York Mets and it is unclear why he remains part of the Mets roster . Wright’s best years are behind him , certainly not ahead of him and it is hard to envisage who is meant to be the leader on a team of highly overpaid players . Granted , the Mets don’t have a payroll which ranks alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees their crosstown rivals . Yet clearly the organization believes they rank up there alongside teams of that caliber, having not shown anything of note this season much less over the past five seasons. Another failed year and the idiocy of continually suggest they have prospects when many of them since 2010 haven’t stepped up to the plate , leads me to believe this organization and their fans are just eternal optimists.

Terry Collins will lead the team into action on Saturday when the New York Mets will face the Atlanta Braves at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta , Georgia . The opposing pitchers will be Jacob deGrom of the Mets as he goes up against R A Dickey , the knuckle-baller who once played for the Mets. This game isn’t critical for both teams but it should prove to be interesting just as many of their regular season meetings have been this season. If this is to be Terry Collins’ last season with the Mets , then his departure can’t come about quick enough along with the dead weight of players who have under-performed over the course of this season. The same can be said for Sandy Alderson and JP Ricciardi .

For Dusty Baker a great deal of weight has been placed upon his shoulders ever since he assumed the role as manager of the Washington Nationals succeeding Matt Williams in the position. With stars such as Bryce Harper , Gio Gonzalez , Stephen Strasburg and Daniel Murphy on the roster , it was assumed it would plain sailing for the ball-club . Instead near misses and a lack consistency prevailed with regard to their postseason ambitions . Washington has seen the rise of the Chicago Cubs with the end of their one hundred and ten-year drought . I get the feeling Baker and the entire Washington Nationals’ organization wouldn’t mind being in the driver’s seat while being called World Series champions.

The Washington Nationals have not made a postseason appearance since 2014 when they appeared in the NLDS losing to the San Francisco Giants in four games . In the three subsequent yeas the ball-club is eager to make another return to the postseason. A commanding lead in the NL East , the Nationals will be there and everything suggests they will be among the favorites for the NL Pennant . . Baker and his team are in the midst of a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers being played at Nationals Ballpark in Washington , DC. Game two of the current three game series takes place today , Saturday 16th September , 2017. It will be interesting to see what Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper are able to do in this series against the Dodgers. Dusty Baker and his managerial counterpart Dave Roberts are different stages of their managerial careers , but both are under a great deal of pressure to succeed.

While I wasn’t surprised by the sale of the Miami Marlins , the price paid by the new owners was simply ludicrous and outrageous. The Marlins are not a big market team and their accessibility by way of marketing revenues is nowhere as great as baseball’s hierarchy would have us believe. Bruce Sherman and business partners may well have paid $1.2 billion for the team , with Jeffrey Loria’s original asking price being in excess of $2.1 billion , but even in this day and age of wealthy owners within the game of baseball. Unless that ball club is competitive , profitable and a perennial contender then there’s no way in hell they’re worth the type of money now being banded about within the game. The only thing driving these upward trends within baseball’s economics remains the television deals and marketing which MLB continues thrive off.

Baseball’s players are some of the highest paid athletes in the world , but their names are not among the most widely recognized or the most marketable , while being able to attract major commercial sponsors. Mike Trout might well be considered the best player in baseball , but beyond North America the two-time ALMVP is not universally known across the planet. It is indicative of one of the many reasons the sport hasn’t really resonated around the globe even in light of the miserably mundane World Baseball Classic which elicits about as much excitement as watching paint dry on hot Summer’s Day . From Bud Selig to Rob Manfred , baseball and its hierarchy is still figuring out to make the game more widely accepted across the globe.

At this stage last season it was difficult to foresee what was about to happen as the postseason approached . It certainly wasn’t the case where there were many believers in the chances of Chicago Cubs pulling off the impossible , changing the course of the club’s history with their improbable run to the 2016 World Series . Once again they have all but sealed the deal , leading the NL Central as they look to round out the season with another divisional title. Having just ended their weekend series against the St Louis Cardinals with a decisive 4-3 home victory , Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon will now take his team on the road to face his old club the Tampa Bay Rays in a nostalgic visit to Tropicana Field , St Petersburg , Florida on Tuesday 19th September .

While Chicago’s fortunes have risen , the same cannot be said for the Tampa Bay Rays since Joe Maddon’s departure from the organization. The Rays remain in a state of disarray and for manager Kevin Cash things have not come easy for himself and his managerial staff . This team lacks confidence even with the leadership of Evan Longoria at the helm of the roster and the continued lack of self-confidence is no longer bewildering . Rays’ front office executives Brian Auld and Matt Silverman will have their work cut out for them this off-season as they will undoubtedly have to make some changes up and down the team. The penny-pinching , continues as team owner Stuart Sternberg continues to gripe over the reticence of the local governmental authorities to build them a new stadium at their expense.

There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of support coming from Rob Manfred as Stuart Sternberg vies to have a new stadium built. A stark contrast to the efforts of the Miami Marlins, New York Mets and New York Yankees. It seems when you have the ear of baseball’s hierarchy , as it actually counts for something, rather than continually being seen and treated as if you are at the bottom of the food chain. Sternberg is unwilling to put up any of his own money as a sign of good faith to even get the possibility of the project started . Furthermore , there is no evidence to suggest even with the new venue the Tampa Bay Rays’ fan-base of a paltry 23,500 would be able to continually support such an extravagance, with the stadium likely to take years to pay for itself were it to be publicly financed.

Kevin Cash’s position is not necessarily in jeopardy, but how his team looks next season is going to be far more different than the opening day roster of 2017. Make of it what you will , but these are the continued dire times for the Tampa Bay Rays who have been plodding from season to season over the last eight years without a real plan for growth and stability. It might well be another four or five years before the Rays make another return to the postseason. This is an organization devoid of leadership a t all levels within the ball-club and it shows. Evan Longoria has long been considered the franchise’ s best player , but he has never really led by example . Pretty much sums up what to expect from professional sports’ franchises within the Tampa Bay area in general .

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Byron Scott, the now fired former coach of the Hornets. GM , Jeff Bower who has now assumeed the position of head coach on an interim basis. And assistant coach , Tim Floyd. It’s safe to assume that the reins may well be handed over to Floyd at some time in the future given the fact Bower has no experience as a coach of any kind with regard to the NBA . picture apears courtesy of nbae/ getty images / Richard Tyson …………..

Rays’ third baseman , Evan Longoria at the plate for team. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Vic Hallam

Carl Crawford’s three-run home run in the sixth inning highlighted Tampa Bay’s three-game sweep of the Angels. The Rays are five games over .500 for the first time in team history. photo appears courtesy of the Associated Press/ Mike Carlson ………….

Gatots’ player Tim Tebow (15) and his coach Urban Meyer discuss their options during a game. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Chris Dickson ……………….

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s steroids proposal, made to the union last month, calls for a 50-game ban for first offenders, a 100-game penalty for second offenders and a lifetime ban for a third positive test. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press / Adam Roundtree …….

Carolina Panthers’ Julius Peppers saluting fans as he walks off the field after the Panthers’ 23-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers have decided the price is too steep to keep their all-time sacks leader. It means five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers is about to become one of the top prizes in free agency. Agent Carl Carey says the Panthers have told him they won’t place the restrictive franchise tag on Peppers for a second consecutive year at a cost of more than $20 million. The move Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010, comes two days before the tag deadline. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Rick Havner ……

Mike Dunleavy (#17) of the Indiana Pacers goes up for the lay up against Brendan Haywood (#33) of the Dallas Mavericks during a game at the American Airlines Center on February 22, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Glenn James ……………….

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, left, and head football coach Rich Rodriguez, right, are shown at a news conference in Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. The NCAA has found that Michigan’s storied football program was out of compliance with practice time rules under coach Rodriguez. Incoming athletic director David Brandon disclosed the finding Tuesday. He says there were no surprises in the NCAA findings. He also says Rodriguez remains the coach. Michigan has 90 days to respond and will appear at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Paul Sancya ……

Los Angeles -January 13th 2010. New head coach of the USC Trojans Lane Kiffin shakes a hand as he makes his way to his press conference at Heritage Hall in Los Angeles, California. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Harry How ……………..

Duke’s Jon Scheyer collides with Virginia Tech’s Malcolm Delaney, left, during the first half. Scheyer scored 25 points and collected 10 rebounds in the win. The Blue Devils defeated Virginia Tech (Hokies) 67-55 in the game . photo appears courtesy of Associated Press / Sara Davis ……………..

Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts speaks to the media Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010 at the Chicago Cubs spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz. photo appears Assoc. Press/ Matt York ….

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, right, along with coaches Matt Sinatro, middle, and Lester Strode watch pitchers warm up during spring training baseball camp practice Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, in Mesa, Ariz. photo appears courtesy of Assoc. Press/ Ross D. Franklin ………..

Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Mauer swings in the batting cage at baseball spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press/ Nati Harnik …….

Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, left, watches batting practice with Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez during spring training baseball Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, in Jupiter, Fla. With the smallest payroll in the majors last year, the Marlins won 87 games and finished six games behind eventual league champion Philadelphia in the NL East. Visiting spring training to watch the first full-squad workout, Loria said the 2009 Marlins underachieved. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press/Jeff Roberson ……..

Israeli model Bar Refaeli seen here doing a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition phot-shoot.

Ray Allen (#20) of the Boston Celtics looks for a play against LeBron James (#23) of the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 25, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Brian Babbineau …..

Floyd Mayweather, left, and current WBA welterweight super champion Shane Mosley exchange words during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The press conference was to promote their May 1, 2010 fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press/ Seth Wenig ……..

Floyd Mayweather, left, and current WBA welterweight world champion Shane Mosley pose for a picture during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The news conference was to promote their May 1, 2010 fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press /Seth Wenig

Scott Boras, chided for bonus demands for amateur clients, says the Major League Baseball draft needs restructuring. “In this system, everybody thinks this is about money. No, this is about saving money. It allows for less mistakes,” he says. photo appears courtesy of USA Today Jason M. Millstein ………………..

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig and actress Sarah-Jessica Parker take part in an on field presentation during the 79th MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on July 15, 2008 in the Bronx borough of New York City. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images North America / Jim McIsaac ……………

Stacey Dash , actress , designer and entrepreneur .

Jennifer Aniston shows us that she’s more than willing to be your ‘friend’ ?

Model & Playboby playmate Naureen Zaim . Who wouldn’t mind teaching her a lesson or two on human anatomy ?

Cuban American actress & model Natalie Martinez

Martinez again looking good as only she possibly can !

Oh mon ami ! she possibly can ! Je t’aime !</strong

Who wouldn’t want to play with Natalie Martinez ?

Well hello there !

Model & actress Natalie Martinez ……….

Actress & model Natalie Martinez …….. Who wouldn’t want to get ahold of her rims ? I know I would !

New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez watches his fly-out in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, March 26, 2010, in Tampa, Fla. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press / Mike Carlson ….

Sarasoata , Fl ,. Infielder Adrian Beltre (29) of the Boston Red Sox throws over to first for an out against the Baltimore Orioles during a Grapefruit League Spring Training Game at Ed Smith Stadium on March 27, 2010 in Sarasota, Florida. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ J Meric ……….

St. Louis , Bobby Maze (3) of the Tennessee Volunteers looks to shoot the ball against Mike Kebler (20) and Draymond Green (23) both of the Michigan State Spartans during the midwest regional final of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Edward Jones Dome on March 28, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. Michigan State beat Tennessee 70-69. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Dilip Vishwanat …

The Duke Blue Devils hold up the trophy after a 78-71 win over the Baylor Bears in the south regional final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Sunday. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Ronald Martinez …

Butler’s Nick Rodgers hold up the West Regional trophy as the team returned home to Indianapolis amid a throng of fans after earning a spot in the Final Four with a victory over Kansas State Saturday. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ A J Mast ………..

West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler and Joe Mazzulla hug after the game. Butler scored 18 points and Mazulla pitched in a career-high 17 to help West Virginia hold off the Wildcats. The Mountaineers would defeat the Kentucky Wildcats 73-66 to make their way the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Jim McIsaac ……….

Russian actress & model Anya Monzikova . Who wouldn’t want some of Monzikova alongside some fresh Beluga caviar ?

2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. The player is widely expected to be taken number one overall in the upcoming NFL Draft. The team with the first pick are the NFC’s St Louis Rams . photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Chris Rogers ………..

Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb. The player is said to want to remain with the Eagles but it’s becoming clear that he will be traded sooner rather than later. Eagles’ coach Andy Reid and team President Joe Banner are willing to listen to offers for the Pro Bowler. photo appears courtesy of US Presswire/ Jody Gomez ………….

Tebow (15) left is seen here alongside his former college coach Urban Meyer. The two proved to be very sucessfule as a team combining to win two national titles in four years. photo appears courtesy of boston.com/ articles …………

DeMaurice Smith Executive Director of the NFLPA. Smith who assumed the position after the death of his predecessor Gene Upshaw. He was elected to the position by the board members of the Players’ Association. Smith was a corporate litigation attorney for the DC law firm Patton Boggs. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Phillip Mitchell

Carlos Boozer #5 of the Utah Jazz has his shot challenged by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on April 2, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers would go on to defeat the Jazz 102-96 in the game . photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Andrew D Bernstein ………..

Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles. The player was traded to the Washington Redskins a divisional rival in the NFC East. It adds to the flavor this upcoming season when the player meets his ‘former team’ . photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Hugh Malcolm ………………..

Baylor’s Brittney Griner and U Conn’s Maya Moore are seen here during the women’s Final Four game between the two teams. Geno Auriemma’s Huskies would go on to defeat the Baylor Lady Bears 70-50 in the game played at the Alamodome in San Antonio , Texas , Sunday April 4th 2010. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Alicia Mack ………..

Cleveland Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers and his lawyer Patrick D’Angelo, center, talk to reporters after leaving Cleveland Police Headquarters where Rogers was charged with one felony count of carrying a concealed weapon on Friday, April 2, 2010, in Cleveland, Ohio. Rogers was arrested at Cleveland Hopkins International airport on Thursday after he tried to take a loaded handgun through airport security. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Jason Miller …..

Butler head coach Brad Stevens , left to right, Gordon Hayward and Ronald Nored smile during an interview session for the men’s NCAA Final Four college basketball championship Sunday, April 4, 2010, in Indianapolis. The Butler Bulldogs will face Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils in the championship game Monday night to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis, Indiana. This in many ways will be very much a “home game” for the small and in-obtrusive college team from Indiana. The furor over over their improbable journey has resonated within the state and across the nation. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Mark J Terrill ……………

Los Angeles, April 4th 2010. Manu Ginobil (20) of the San Antonio Spurs goes to the basket against Luke Walton (4) of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday. The San Antonio Spurs would go on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 100-81 in a game played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Noah Grahame …………….

Tiki Barber and his wife Gina Cha. Barber’s wife is six months pregnant with twins and is now in the midst of separating from the former NFL star. photo appears courtesy of Wire Image/ Duffie Marie Arnoult ………….

23 year old Traci Lynn Johnson an intern with NBC Universal and who works alongside Tiki Barber on the NBC morning show “The Today Show” . Barber and Johnson are romantically involved and the former NFL star has now separated from his wife of 11 years , Gina Cha. The couple have two children with twin now on the way in terms of Cha’s pregnancy. photo appears courtesy of Social Media SEO ……….

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/tracker#dt-tabs:dt-by-round/dt-by-round-input:1

Playboy Playmate Kayle Collins …………August 2008. Is there a need to proceed further concerning Kayle’s attributes ?

Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic goes for the layup in the Eastern Conference semi-final game played against the Atlanta Hawks. NBAE/ Getty Images/ Fernando Medina ………

Head Coach Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz fields questions from the media following his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NBAE Getty Images _ Andrew D Bernstein

Kobe Bryant (24) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots against Deron Williams (8 )of the Utah Jazz in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NBAE Getty Images/ Noah D Bernstein

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 24: (L-R) Robert Vittek, Martin Skrtel and Radoslav Zabavnik of Slovakia celebrate victory after knocking Italy out of the competition during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Slovakia and Italy at Ellis Park Stadium on June 24, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images ……

Johannesburg , South Africa – June 24 th 2010. Kamil Kopunek of Slovakia celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Slovakia and Italy at Ellis Park Stadium on June 24, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images ……

Fabio Cannavaro, captain of Italy, leaves the field dejected after being knocked out of the competition by Slovakia during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Slovakia and Italy at Ellis Park Stadium on June 24, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images ………

In this Sept. 18, 2010, photo, Florida Marlins’ Dan Uggla bats in a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Miami. Uggla has been traded from the Marlins to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Omar Infante and left-hander Mike Dunn. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

This is a 2008 file photo of Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins baseball team. Uggla and the Atlanta Braves have reached a preliminary agreement on a $62 million, five-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press Wednesday Jan. 5, 2011 on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File)

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Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen (16), of Taiwan, comes into the dugout following the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

ST. PETERSBURG – AUGUST 04: Designated hitter Jeff Keppinger #7 of the Tampa Bay Rays fouls off a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the game at Tropicana Field on August 4, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

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Brady

— Picture gallery . By clicking on an individual frame you can view that picture while also reading the accompanying narrative.

This MLB postseason could very well be a very interesting one if the teams thought to be in the hunt play to their full potential . As for those on the outside looking in , they simply have to look at their issues and make the changes necessary .

Tophatal ……… 09/16/2017

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