SB Nation User Blog: Phildopip

Post Your Hawk: Week 9

Phildopip — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:57:46 -0000

Well, shit. The new and improved "optimist" version of me didn't work out. So fuck it. I'm back to being my old pessimist self. Even though I'm a pessimist, I'm thinking this is the game the Seahawks finally somewhat get back on track. Locklear might be back, Trufant has had another week to get ready...Matty is doing better.

But cat mittens!

This week I have John Carlson. 4 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD. Seahawks win 13-9 in a game that's WAAAAAY closer than it should be.

WHO YA GOT?

OFFTOP: 10/30/09

Phildopip — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:31:09 -0000

While in college, I was an active seeker of music. It was easy to dedicate the time needed to research, listen, and be discerning in what I listened to. After college, however, my music stagnated for a while. I had a lot of music, just nothing new.

However, when I finally discovered how great podcasts are, I immediately subscribed to some music podcasts (KEXP's Song of the Day, and Music That Matters; NPR's All Songs Considered) and started rediscovering my hunger for new music.

Here's a list of artists I've discovered in 2009 that I really really enjoy:

Alaska in Winter - Fascinating indie electronic. Check out the song Close Your Eyes - We Are Blind. Heavenly.
Asteroid No. 4 - I actually started listening to one of their albums in 2007, but didn't really appreciate it (and their other albums) until this year.
Bon Iver - Spare, ever-so-delicate indie folk.
Choir of Young Believers - Folk + dream pop + indie pop = awesome.
Dead Man's Bones - Ryan Gosling's band. Dark indie folk. Surprisingly good for a celebrity band.
Dr. Dog - Bright indie pop that's sort of a throw-back to the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Faunts - Incredible indie electronic. These guys fucking rock.
The Low Anthem - Indie folk that is occasionally quite rough around the edges, but is frequently beautiful.
Malajube - Bright indie pop from Montreal.
Patrick Watson - Crazy instruments and deep layering make for a very rich listening experience.
Sarah Siskind - Folk. She has one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard.
Sholi - Complex melding of dream pop and post-rock.
Vitality - Spare, strange. Sort of rap, but not really. The "rapper" kind of sounds like Dan Aykroyd.

Who have you discovered this year? Any new favorite artists? Any previous favorite artists who have disappointed you this year?

Post Your Hawk: Week 8

Phildopip — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:36:53 -0000

I've been handed the reigns of the Post Your Hawk series, so say hello to your new overlord.

This game pretty much scares the shit out of me. I have a bad feeling about the Cowboys' offense against our defense. But whatever. That's not the point of these FanPosts. I'm going to shed my previous pessimist exoskeleton, and become the new and improved optimist.*

My week 7 Hawk is T.J. Houshmandzadeh. 8 rec, 120 yards, 2 TD. Seahawks squeak by the Cowboys, 31-28.

WHO YA GOT?

OFTFOT750C: 100th Diary/Fanpost Edition!

Phildopip — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:40:49 -0000

Oh happy day, this joyous occasion is finally upon us. My 100th Diary/Fanpost! Next milestone: 10,000 comments.

To the questions:

Do you have plans yet for the holidays?
Upcoming video games you're looking forward to?
Will the Seahawks win on Sunday (potentially) without Hasselbeck?
How's your fantasy football team doing?
Do you have a Halloween costume picked out yet?
What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Football? Food? Family?
How weird is it having fall colors on the trees, yet it's 95 degrees outside? Well, 95 in Portland. I'm not sure what you guys were yesterday in Seattle.
Are you looking forward to summer being over?

Off-Topic FanPost: 04/30/09

Phildopip — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:07:50 -0000

Now that Rock Band has released the six albums they announced last year, those of us who play the game are anxiously awaiting the next round of announcements. My excitement is somewhat tempered with the Rock Band: Beatles game coming out, but I'm still hopeful that Harmonix won't completely forget about their flagship game. This is a sample of albums I'd like to see come to Rock Band in the near future:

"Dirt" - Alice in Chains
"Pet Sounds" - Beach Boys
"Perfect From Now On" - Built to Spill
"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" - The Flaming Lips
"Flight of the Conchords" - Flight of the Conchords
"You'd Prefer an Astronaut" - Hum
"Grace" - Jeff Buckley
"Are You Experienced" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
"Greatest Hits" - Journey
"Hot Fuss" - The Killers
"Above" - Mad Season
"It Still Moves" - My Morning Jacket
"Twin Cinema" - The New Pornographers
"In Utero" - Nirvana
"Satellite Rides" - Old 97's
"Vs." - Pearl Jam
"Mer de Noms" - A Perfect Circle
"Animals" - Pink Floyd
"Rated R" - Queens of the Stone Age
"Murmur" - R.E.M.
"The Bends" - Radiohead
"Sweet Oblivion" - Screaming Trees
"Chutes Too Narrow" - The Shins
"( )" - Sigur Ros
"Greatest Hits" - Simon & Garfunkel
"Siamese Dream" - Smashing Pumpkins
"Badmotorfinger" - Soundgarden
"This is Spinal Tap" - Spinal Tap
"Temple of the Dog" - Temple of the Dog
"Tenacious D" - Tenacious D (minus the talky skits)
"Greatest Hits" - Tom Petty
"AEnima" - Tool
"Joshua Tree" - U2

I don't expect any of these to happen. They'd either be too expensive (U2, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix), unattainable because of Warner Bros. vs. Music Games (Built to Spill), or just plain unpopular, but dammit I'd love to see some of these.

Any other thoughts? What would you like to see in Rock Band (if you play it)?

As usual, have at it. Oh, and, um, I can't believe that one thing happened in Lost last night. I did NOT see that coming.

Through four games, M's outfield defense as good as advertised

Phildopip — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:06:13 -0000

Baseball Analysts have a nice little write-up (and graph) on how the M's outfield defense has performed so far over the first four games of the season. Obviously, small sample size caveats apply.

There have been 40 balls in play to Seattle's outfield so far and the average outfield makes 21.75 outs. The Mariners made 25 outs. They are 3.25 outs above average just four games into the season (how many over Raul?).

I'm excited to see how much coverage and recognition the M's outfield defense has been getting early in the season. And, holy shit, I can't wait for Ichiro to return and we can see this outfield at full strength.

OTFPOTD 2/27/09 - They say it's your birthday

Phildopip — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:34:52 -0000

If today is your birthday, you share it with many important folks:

Chilli from the "R&B" group TLC
Tony Gonzalez, Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs (sorry NOLA)
Matt Stairs
Adam Baldwin, awesome actor
James Worthy, former NBA player...loved those glasses, man
Neal Schon, guitarist for the band Journey...DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'!
[a political figure]
Liz Taylor
John Steinbeck, writer
Constantine I

Additionally, some very important things happened on this day:

1974 - People magazine first published
1951 - 22nd Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
1844 - Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti...yay Beltre!

In news, Rock Band is releasing Stevie Ray Vaughan's eponymous "Texas Flood" as a full album on Tuesday. I've never cared for Stevie's music, but I may pick up "Pride and Joy". We'll see I guess.

Question:

1. What kind of bear is best?

2008 Football Outsiders Awards

Phildopip — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:53:22 -0000

The good folks over at Football Outsiders posted the results of their Annual Awards. I urge all of you go mosey on over there and check out the results.

The Seahawks cleaned up in a couple of categories, including most underrated offensive player, with John Carlson and Leonard Weaver coming in at #1 and #2 respectively; most underrated defensive player, with Brandon Mebane using his huge ass to crush the competition. He accounted for 30.5% of the total vote, with the #2 player (Asomugha) accounting for only 5.6%.

And, once again, Field Gulls takes home the prize for favorite team-specific website or blog. Congrats to John Morgan, Scruffy Lefty, the newcomers Doug Farrar, and abender20, and of course Shrug for making this website totally awesome.

Edit by John Morgan: Thanks everyone and special thanks to everyone who makes this community great. I'm taking my wife out to dinner.

2/4 OTFPOTD: The 'How To' Edition

Phildopip — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:39:34 -0000

Ever wondered, "How can I be hot?" Now you can find out.

Ever wondered, "How can I limit my alcohol intake?" Now you can find out.

Ever wondered, "How can I be on MTV's 'Grind'?" Now you can find out.

Ever wondered, "How can I draw a Manga dog?" Now you can find out.

And now for something compelely different: Best Buy is offering an exclusive deal that if you preorder the re-issue of Pearl Jam's iconic album "Ten", you will receive a redeemable code to download live versions of "Brother", "Alive" and "State of Love and Trust" for Rock Band for free. Does anybody know if these tracks will be available for purchase through the Rock Band store, or if you'll only be able to get these tracks if you preorder the actual album from Best Buy? If a preorder is required, I may have to go back on my boycot of Best Buy, dammit. "State of Love and Trust" is one of my favorite Pearl Jam tunes, and to sing it in Rock Band would be otherworldly.

1/29 OTFPOTD - More evidence that SportsCenter sucks edition

Phildopip — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:31:11 -0000

I was watching SportsCenter this morning while eating breakfast (as I normally do...because, really, what else is on at 6:45 in the morning?) And according to Josh Elliot, Aaron Heilman was traded to the Cubs from the Mets for two players. Seriously, WTF? Is it that hard to look at the transaction reports? Isn't that their job?

It reminds me of the Incredibad song "Ka-Blamo". And I quote:

When you're mining for coal and you forget what coal is. And you're sure to be fired because THAT'S YOUR JOB.