Month: January 2013

Dogs Really Are a Mans Best Friend

Daphne Psaledakis1 Comment

My family has always had a dog around. In almost every memory of mine, one of our dogs is present. They are as much a part of the family as my little brothers, and a lot easier to get along with.

When we lived in London, we got a labrador retriever named Hattie, which was the first dog my younger brother was introduced to. My dad knew well before getting the dog that Peter was terrified of them, and well, he figured the best remedy for that would be to give him no choice.

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Unfortunately for Peter, Hattie took a particular liking to him. She used to chase him around the house and tackle him to the ground, and then spend a good amount of time licking him. At first, Peter was not very pleased. Eventually, you could hear his shrieks of laughter from a mile away, and he became the dog lover of the family. More so than the rest of us that is.

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This is England

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

It’s time for another movie suggestion everyone, so hold on to your horses. This week’s suggestion is Shane Meadow’s This is England.

The film documents the life of a twelve year old named Shaun while he struggles to grow up in the 1983 slums of England. Pretty early on in the movie, Shaun falls into line with a gang of much older skinheads who take him in and treat him like one of their own.

Now, keep in mind these are pre-racist skinheads, or original skinheads. Being a skinhead then basically meant juvenile delinquent.  The style was actually brought over from Jamaica by the Rude Boys there and eventually led to music like ska and 2tone. But back to the movie.

Remember how I said Shaun hangs out with non-racist skinheads? Well that all changes in about 30 minutes of the movie when Stephen Graham comes into the scene. Leave it to him.

The rest of the movie is about how little Shaun goes from this…

To this…

Little scamp.

Anyways the movie is an amazing portrayal of Falklands-era England and what was going on back then. Big thumbs up. Its Netflix watch instantly too, go check it out.

Best of Stand-Up

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

This past weekend, while I was sick, I spent a lot of my time sleeping and watching movies. I also revisited some of my favorite stand-up comics. While I’m here, why not make a list of them?

If there has to be a number one spot, it would obviously go to George Carlin. Carlin is by far the funniest and most political of all stand-up comics. His shows changed the way people thought about comedy, and he certainly brought it to some new extremes.

Some new comedians that I’ve found recently are the panel hosts on 8 out of 10 cats, an English TV show. Jimmy Carr, the host, makes his living off of offending people. What’s so beautiful about it is how well he does it. I kind of think of him as a new and really adult Eddie Canter, because most of his jokes are one liners, and he looks like he belongs in the 20’s. I wish I could put a video up of him, but I’d be hard pressed to find one I could post without offending someone.

Someone whose stand-up I can post, however, is Jon Richardson. Most of Richardson’s comedy revolves around him having low-level OCD. It doesn’t sound funny, but the tiniest things bother him. He manages to make a bit about how he mispronounces “An Onion”, and makes it really funny. Plus, his bit at the end about watching a man eat an apple is gold.

He does swear in this, children, so cover your ears.

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A collection of Haikus

displacedlocalLeave a comment

Thoughts lie on smooth stones
Water rushing across them
They erode in time

The head of a pin
covered in dark graphite
a mouse’s pencil

a light far away
slightly to far to reach
a path of lost dreams

The Making of the Chip Kelly Era

backinphilly1 Comment

Obviously, as a huge NFL fan, I would love to cover the games that happened today. However, I believe that since we have a full two weeks before any meaningful NFL action, that can all wait until next week sometime. I have wanted to publicly address Chip Kelly, the new Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach for a few days and never got the chance.

So, here goes.

As the reports had shown two weeks ago, Chip Kelly, then the head coach of the University of Oregon, had decided to decline the jump to the NFL and stay in college. 10 days later, Chip was hired as the Eagles coach. I was ecstatic to say the least. He was my pick to replace Andy Reid since day 1 of interviews. I wanted him even while we still had Andy on the payroll.

I strongly believe in this man as our head coach in Philly. He has so far built a very reasonable staff chock full of NFL experience, including our new offensive coordinator and former Browns’ head coach Pat Shurmur.

While a lot of skeptics don’t particularly care much about the signing, I love the move.

Shurmur is a former Eagles QB coach and very skilled in the West Coast offensive formations, meaning that Chip, who brings the run and spread options to the NFL, is willing to compromise and is open to many different mentalities. I also like the fact that we now have two head coaches on our staff. Chip and Pat both have that type of experience.

I will be talking about a certain theory I have in the upcoming week. It pertains to Alabama coach Nick Saban and DC Kirby Smart, who is a leading candidate in the Eagles’ DC search.

Keep on reading! I’m very close to something huge!

Aside Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

As a kid, we all have that one thing that brings us comfort. Sometimes it’s a blanket, or a stuffed animal, or even a lullaby sung every night by your mother. We all have that safety blanket we run to whenever things get tough. For some, the teddy might stick around a little longer than […]

Lakers: Proving it IS in fact possible to lose with this team

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Kobe, Nash, Howard, World Peace, Gasol.

What could go wrong with such a winning lineup?

Well, apparently, a lot. The Lakers proved today that it is possible to lose with a team so star studded as this. In fact, they can make it look easy.

You have to admit, today’s game was almost comically bad. Howard got kicked out before the half, Kobe hitting TEN for THIRTY-TWO shots, and Gasol flopping his lanky arms around the rim every play in a feeble attempt to make the ball go in.
FLOP
I honestly don’t know what’s going on with the Lakers. The talent is obviously there. Is it the age factor? Is it that no one on the team can play together? Is it that D’Antoni’s  mustache has cast a spell over the entire team? The latter seems quite possible.
What is he hiding under there?

Whatever it is, the Lakers need to figure it out, and fast. They’re falling dangerously close to not making it to the playoffs, with an even more dangerous schedule ahead. I say dangerous with my tounge-in-cheek because we did just lose to the Raptors. The TORONTO Raptors. Canada is not notoriously great at basketball.

And we’re back!

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

Well, Saturday marked the first day of the 2012-2013 NHL season, well I guess the 2013 season at least.

It was a long and frustrating lockout, but the teams are back lacing up the skates and getting out on the ice.

I witnessed a moment in history that will only happen once, and that was watching my beloved Los Angeles Kings raise their first Stanley Cup banner up into the rafters at Staples Center.

While watching the captains of the team skate the flag out to center ice I started to feel something.

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The Native Americans Plight

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The Native Americans who stood on long held land, were once asked to leave.

The Native Americans, aghast at the Europeans request politely refused.

It was their right to refuse.

However their greatest mistake was to trust the Europeans word.

In order to take from the Native Americans they had to rationalize their request.

The Native Americans of course do not really need their land and besides we can convert them to.

So the forced removal began with the Native Americans fighting to hold onto their homes.

It was for naught, the Europeans could easily destroy the Native Americans with unseen weapons.

Disease, an invisible force that cannot be fought decimated the Native American tribes.

The Europeans in all their false righteousness eventually won out.

Sleepless San Francisco.

eternity10301 Comment

Last week for our English 11 Honors class, Mrs. Wilson asked us to write a personal essay about the site we wanna live. And all of the sudden San Francisco came out of my mind. I’ve been there only once, but I just couldn’t help myself thinking about it all the time. I want to live there.

Sleepless San Francisco

There is a place that I would love to leave my heart there without hesitation. My sleepless San Francisco would be the dream I want to keep even when I am awake.

Located on a peninsula between the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean, San Francisco has its own definition of city – compact, busy, but scenic and comfortable as well. I would first arrive into San Francisco from the north via the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, the place for a good start. I would be the first one to watch the born of sun, and enjoy the amazement of the golden sunshine.

Then my journey would start. When there came the noisy bells, the yellow cable cars would be on their way heading to me. I would choose to stand on the edge of the car and hold on to the handrail. “Ding-dong, ding-dong” – as the car drove, my hair would swing with the wind and the views would greet me as I passed by. Built on several hills, the roads are steep but also well-organized in a grid. The most exciting moment would be the downhill part, where I could experience a gentle roller-coaster.

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