The Very Worst

The feeling hits everyone at a different time. Some first felt contempt for this man in 2008, when his Memphis crew led by Derrick Rose and the most talented college basketball team in a decade somehow squandered the National Championship to a Kansas squad whose players currently ride someone’s bench in the NBA. Others began to lash out after the questionable recruitment of superteen John Wall from the Raleigh area before his first season at Kentucky, and Wall’s subsequent, prompt exit from the team for the NBA after one season, fattening this man’s already swollen list of didn’t-even-come-close-to-graduating “student-athletes” on his basketball teams. You certainly lost some respect for him after it was determined that his 1996 UMASS team (that’s right, UMASS, that school that you thought had not been relevant since the Revolutionary War) and his 2008 Memphis squad would be forced to vacate their remarkable NCAA Tournament success in light of investigations that revealed a hodgepodge of player “gifts” and bogus SAT scores. Even if the aforementioned shenanigans failed to dissuade the casual observer from harboring even the slightest amount of respect for University of Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari, it goes without saying that, following this past Sunday’s historic Elite Eight matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats, every level-headed American would agree that John Calipari is the sleaziest coach in the United States. Surely you felt it when CBS inexplicably elected to bypass footage of the priceless, warming goofiness of John Henson or the classiness of a Roy Williams wardrobe in favor of showing Calipari, whose greasy glare and slicked-backed hair make Sonny and Michael Corleone look like the patron saints of a non-profit organization. Granted, many will now say, “Gee, he can’t be worse than Krzyzewski, can he?” Well, a closer look indicates otherwise. Krzyzewski actually can claim a few admirable qualities. First, he is loyal. He has sacrificed the sheer anticlimax that is living in Durham to remain the coach of Duke University for, basically, his entire career, even turning down stratospheric contract offers from the Los Angeles Lakers. He also encourages his players to stay all four years and graduate, a strategy that essentially benefits all parties involved except the North Carolina Tar Heels and their supporters. Calipari, the itinerant Mafia coach, is characterized by neither of those attributes, and come next week, watch and marvel at the exodus of nineteen and twenty year olds from his “program,” bound for the NBA, where at least the money that they will be paid is wholly legal.

dis right here is my swag

From time to time I volunteer at the local homeless shelter. It's a pretty sweet gig. I hang out with the kids on the playground and eat some snacks with the parents. Not a huge time commitment, but totally worth it at the end of the day. So the last time I was hanging out at the shelter, I was playing some ball with one of the coolest kids there (or so the other kids tell me) and we were playing a sick game of knockout. Obviously I was losing because let's face it, I'm pretty awful at all hand-eye coordination sports, but I've learned to live with it so don't worry. But the kid I was playing with was clearly dominating the game. And all of the sudden, out of the blew, he breaks out into song. This kid is the definition of thug in the best way possible. He wears his pants down low, his hat off to the side, and his shoes untied (the cool kind of untied though). So you're probably wondering what on earth he's singing about in the middle of knockout. My question exactly. Instead of "This Right Here Is My Swag" he belts out "This Right Here Is My Knowledge". I let him finish the song because he's killin it, but when he's done I start pestering him with questions. Obviously he's super freaked out because I hardly know him and he clearly thought I wasn't listening. The song was to the tune of "Swag" but with an intellectual twist. For a 10 year old, I thought this was pretty awesome. But as soon as I bring it up he blushes and pretends like he never sang it in the first place. Oops. I guess people don't like to sing to strangers in public at such a young age. Either way, I was pumped that he remixed the song about stuff he was learning in school. I can hardly write an acrostic poem when forced. I didn't pester him much more because he wasn't feeling it. We kept playing and acted like it never happened. Thought this was a pretty cool experience. Whatever it was I was digging it.

J. Biebz

Justin Bieber, the international 17-year-old teen pop-star phenomenon, has experienced an unprecedented amount of worldwide fame and success over the past year. His career is a perfect example of how social media has proven to be a major vehicle of globalization over the past decade. As the world continues to become more interconnected and geographic distances continue shrinking due to our growing use and dependency on the internet, social media and entertainment sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are thriving.  Justin Bieber comes from a small town in Canada where he entered a singing competition and his mother uploaded videos of his performances on YouTube to share them with family members who lived in other cities. Scooter Braun, a young rising record executive in Atlanta, was searching the web one day to look for interesting videos on YouTube and he came across a video of Justin that had reached a couple thousand views. After hearing the angelically pure voice of this fourteen year old boy, Braun knew he had to get a hold of this undiscovered raw talent. He hounded the family via contacting Justin's school, family members, friends, and even local government officials until Justin's mother agreed to come down to Atlanta on an all expense paid trip to explore Justin's potential future in the music business. Justin recorded a few songs in the studio, met some record executives and producers, signed with Def Jam Records, and the rest is history. Topping the charts of iTunes downloads and making appearances on the front cover of  the most popular magazines every week, Justin has gotten a taste of what it feels like to be on top. With the recent wrapping up of his worldwide My World tour, the premier of his MTV film "Never Say Never", and a rapidly growing fan base following him on Twitter, Facebook, and of course, YouTube, Justin shows no signs of stopping. He has collaborated with music sensations such as rapper Ludacris, Sean Kingston, and most recently with Rascal Flatts in his song "That Should Be Me." While he is the teen heartthrob that has captured the hearts of people spanning from all nationalities, ages, and musical tastes, Justin still acknowledges and respects his roots. He knows that he would not be where he is without the support of his fans, who feel as though they were the very ones who discovered him on their home computers on YouTube a couple of years ago. His humility, irresistible charm, incredible musical talents, and of course that gorgeous head of hair has caused the multitudes to experience an epidemic that can only be described as "Bieber fever" and it seems as though there's only more "Beliebers"to come in the future.

Spring Break...what else?

Obviously spring break is coming up and I almost can't contain myself. The thought of having well no thoughts is incredibly exciting. I can literally stare at a wall for hours thinking of nothing, doing nothing, and feel completely unashamed. There won't be any tests, papers, or other various college issues to deal with. Fortunately, I won't do that. But the fact that I have that option is great. Since you are all clearly extremely interested in how I'll be passing these lovely ten days of glory, I'll tell you. First, this afternoon, at roughly 4:15 I'll be shuttled to the pisgah national forest in the north carolina mountains to embark on a staff backpacking trip. I'm looking forward to being completely cut off from society, no phone, no facebook, none of that nonsense. It's only for four days however, I return monday evening only to drive to my hometown, Charlotte. Queen city :) My stay will be short lived as I head to Flo Rida the following tuesday morning. Then it's rest and relaxation to my hearts content. There are always classic beach activities I enjoy doing with the family. We always put up a puzzle to entertain ourselves when the sun gets too overwhelming and we need an excuse to be indoors. Fishing with this massive net, even though I don't enjoy seafood it's still fun to fish! Ah the childhood memories.

Speaking of childhood memories, I know everyone has those random sentimental smells or games that bring them straight back to the glory days. My childhood can be summed up in a few words. Candyland and The Fox and the Hound. Favorite board game and favorite movie. At least when I was little. Apparently I watched the fox and the hound 8 times in one day. My movie addiction started early. Some things never change, I can watch the same movie over and over again like it's my job. I watched Slumdog Millionaire every night for a week and Shakespeare in Love I could literally watch on repeat continuously. There are some movies that just never get old for me. I'm a sucker, I gotta say. Amongst my other favorite movies are 127 hours and the diving bell and the butterfly. Haven't seen those quite as many times, but I would never turn down an opportunity to watch them. I'm afraid this blog has been pretty self-centered. Sorry for chatting about myself and only myself. I'll be more engaging next time.