Top 10 Tunes

From the home office in London, here’s the Top 10 song chart for the week ending April 29, 2012:

1) The Raveonettes – “Night Comes Out”
2) The Raveonettes – “Too Close to Heartbreak”
3) Antilles – “You and Me”
4) The Raveonettes – “Into The Night”
5) Ladyhawke – “Vaccine”
6) Beach House – “Myth”
7) Young Prisms – “Gone”
8) The Raveonettes – “Bad Ghosts”
9) John Coltrane – “Blue Train”
10) Cocteau Twins – “Lorelei”

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Mad Men: “Tea Leaves”

This episode begins with Bobby and Sally trying to zip up Betty’s dress. It seems that she’s gained a lot of weight recently. Henry calls for Betty from the staircase, as they’re late for a political function. But when he comes upstairs he finds her in bed, refusing to go. Henry gives her a kiss and leaves.

mad_men_s05_e03_01

Meanwhile, Don and Megan get ready to meet Heinz for a dinner, and Megan has no problem fitting into her dress. She’s talking to her mother on the phone, and then hands the phone to Don, who doesn’t understand her because he doesn’t speak French. Don hands the phone back, and Megan hangs up. Don says that they have to beat Heinz to the restaurant.

At dinner, Megan begins somewhat awkwardly. When asked how Don and Megan met, she accidentally blurts out that Don was divorced. She rebounds by asking Raymond and his wife, Alice, about their teenage daughter, Emily. Alice says that she’s too old for camp but too young for a job, and complains that Emily plays her music too loudly. Raymond asks Don if he’s heard of the Rolling Stones. Don says that he is, and Raymond mentions the song “Time is on My Side”. He says that he’s imagined them singing “Heinz is on my side” instead. He mentions that the Stones are going to be in New York, and asks Don if he can get them to record it for them. Don, clearly not excited about the idea, says that it doesn’t quite work that way, be he’ll see what he can do.

The next morning Pete and Lane wait for Roger to show up for a meeting, only to be told that Roger has scheduled it for his office. They go to Roger’s office and inform him that Mohawk called, and it’s now just a matter of time before they come back to SCDP. Pete says that he thinks Roger should handle the account, dismissively adding “since you were here when they were here, they think you know their business”. Lane then mentions some of Mohawk’s business troubles, and Pete mentions that Mohawk will need a dedicated copywriter. Roger says that they won’t accept a woman in the role and asks if they’re still paying Don. Pete says that Don won’t do such a middling task. Pete tells them to hire a local guy with experience and be done with it.

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It’s made of AWESOME!

Holy crap, how come I didn’t know about this until three days ago? It’s a 9 minute excerpt from an 1983 episode of MTV’s Cutting Edge with The Go-Go’s being interviewed at The Varsity restaurant in my hometown of Atlanta. Apparently the girls were playing a gig at the nearby 688 Club later that evening, and MTV chose to have the interview there!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM2vejgNn9o

Goodness, what fun memories! The best part about the interview is that it goes into surprising “behind the scenes” depth at the restaurant. The Varsity has been featured in no telling how many things on Food Network and Travel Channel, but usually those pieces show the counter, and maybe some hot dogs being made, and that’s usually it. It’s hilarious watching Belinda Carlisle trying to cook french fries! And yes, Old School Atlantans, you can see Erby Walker in this clip!

Top 10 Tunes

From the home office in London, here’s the Top 10 song chart for the week ending April 22, 2012:

1) Beach House – “Lazuli”
2) Beach House – “Wild”
3) Beach House – “Myth”
4) Beach House – “Other People”
5) Marsheaux – “Destroy Me”
6) Roxy Music – “Same Old Scene”
7) Saint Etienne – “Tonight”
8) Katy Perry – “Hot N Cold”
9) Saint Etienne – “Method of Modern Love”
10) Marsheaux – “Summer”

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Mad Men: “A Little Kiss”

Season 5 of Mad Men kicks off with African Americans protesting for equal employment opportunities outside the offices of ad firm Young & Rubicam. Y&R execs, fed up with the protesters, drop water-bombs on them. Several protesters go up to the Y&R offices to complain, but the receptionist assures them that no one on the executive floor would do such a thing… and, just at that moment, the Y&R execs walk in to the reception area with several additional water bombs.

We then see Sally waking up at Don’s new apartment. She walks down the hall, allegedly looking for a bathroom, but instead she knocks on Don’s bedroom door. She’s greeted by her father, but can’t help seeing a half-naked Megan in the bed:

mad_men_s05_e012_01

Don then cooks breakfast for Sally, Bobby and Gene. Sally gives Don his birthday present from the kids – a new shaving brush – as Megan walks in. Megan asks what the kids are doing today, and Don says they’re going to the Statue of Liberty, to which Bobby says that they’ve made many plans to go there, but never have. We then see Don dropping the kids off at Henry and Betty’s large, but soulless, home.

The next morning, we see Pete on the train, heading in to Manhattan from Connecticut. A fellow commuter strikes up a conversation, in which Pete laments how his sexy wife has become a boring mom. The commuter says that Pete now takes the 17:25 train home, but will one day take the 19:05 train home, and that if he got his driver’s license he could push it back even later.

At the office, Roger goes to Don’s secretary and laments his diminished role at the agency.

We then see Joan at home, changing the baby. Joan also skirmishes with her somewhat overbearing mother, who has come to help with the baby. Mom offers to take the baby for a walk, and Joan, who really wants a nap, readily agrees.

Pete asks Ken, Peggy and Stan if they are ready for the Heinz presentation. They say that they are, but they’re waiting on approval from Don and Megan’s designs for the coupons. Pete, irritated that he can’t get his secretary Clara on the intercom, storms out of his office to see Roger flirting with her. Pete rudely dismisses Roger and yells at his secretary. Finding out that Don has arrived, Pete goes to talk to him. The other partners appear, and Roger says that they should run an ad poking fun at Y&R for the water bomb incident. The men finish their impromptu meeting, and Don calls Megan into his office. He flirts with her, but she’s somewhat reluctant, because she doesn’t want people in the office talking about them. Caroline buzzes that Pete wants to see Don, so Megan leaves, but not before Don talks her in to opening her blouse for him.

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Bring Back the Buzz!

I haven’t paid attention to professional basketball in 20 years. And with my hometown Charlotte Bobcats rockin’ a 7-53 record (“only 36 games out of first place!”), it’s unlikely that I’ll come back to the NBA any time soon. Frankly, I wouldn’t care if the Bobcats left town or just shut down operations completely.

But here’s the thing: if we’re gonna have an NBA team in this town, we might as well have one with a proper name. Many Charlotteans are turned off by the “Bobcats” name, as it’s a big reminder of former owner Robert “Bob” Johnson and his giant ego. Johnson was not only not from Charlotte, he seemed to do his best to alienate local businesses and fans, and even had the nerve to show up late for a public appearance with the excuse of “I don’t know where anything is in this town! har har har!”

But here’s the good news: New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson has just bought the New Orleans Hornets, and has expressed a desire to rename the team to something with a more local flavor. So in the next year or two they might become the New Orleans Cajuns, or the New Orleans Crescents… or whatever. In any case, this would give Charlotte the almost unprecedented opportunity to get the “Hornets” name back.

hornets

And that’s important. During the Revolutionary War, local militia fought the British so hard that General Cornwallis referred to the city as “a hornet’s nest of rebellion”, and the hornet has been a symbol of the city ever since. It’s on the Mecklenburg County seal and flag. CMPD police badges are shaped liked hornet’s nests. When professional baseball came to the city in 1892, the team was called the Hornets. And although minor league teams and leagues have folded over the years, whichever team replaced the old one, they were always known as the Hornets… until 1976, when wresting promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. bought the Asheville Orioles and brought them to Charlotte (in 1987, Crockett sold the team to Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn, who renamed them the Charlotte Knights, although the current Knights team is not technically the same team: in 1993, Shinn bought an International League franchise affiliated with the Cleveland Indians, and the original Orioles team moved to Nashville and then Mobile. Shinn sold the Knights to Don Beaver in 1998, and the team became an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and agreement which still stands). And let’s not forget that the short-lived World Football League team was also known as the Charlotte Hornets.

Go to any sports bar in Charlotte and you’re much more likely to see an old Charlotte Hornets pennant or poster on the wall than a Bobcats one. Go to a Bobcats game, or even just walk around downtown, and you’re much more likely to see someone wearing a Hornets shirt or hat than a Bobcats one (Panthers quarterback Cam Newton even wore a Hornets hat to a recent Bobcats game!). Heck, not only is Charlotte Hornets merchandise still being made, it’s mostly likely the best selling NBA gear for a team that doesn’t exist any more!

So… what can you do if you want Michael Jordan to bring the Hornets name back? There are two online groups hoping to make this happen: Bring Back the Buzz and the Facebook group We Beelieve: Charlotte. And, beeelieve it or not, the movement appears to be picking up steam! The groups have been repeatedly interviewed by local media (and even got a story on ESPN’s site). They’ve apparently been influential in getting local sports writer Tom Sorensen to change his mind on the issue. Not only are they writing letters and starting online petitions, they’re actually going to Bobcats games and chanting “Charlotte Hornets!” until their throats are raw. And although a name change won’t instantly make me a fan of our local NBA franchise, I’d be much more likely to cheer for the Charlotte Hornets over the Charlotte Bobcats! So let’s bring back the buzz and make this happen, folks!

DOWNLOAD: Steelers 2012-13 Schedule for Outlook!

The NFL released the official 2012-13 schedule today, and once again I was ON IT! The new Steelers schedule for Outlook is ready to go in near record time!

The download is available in the traditional CSV format (used by Microsoft Outlook and Yahoo! Calendar) as well as the iCal format (used by Google Calendar and iTunes\iPhone). Be sure to choose the correct version when you download!

The CSV version of the schedule is compatible with Microsoft Outlook 98 or later. It might also work with any calendar app that can import from CSV files; it has only been tested with Outlook 2010, however.

The iCal version of the schedule has not been tested at all. I used this handy online tool to convert the CSV to iCal format, so if there are any problems with the iCal version, please take it up with the webmaster there!

Both schedules contain all preseason and regular season Steelers games as well as the name of the network airing the game. All times are for the Eastern (USA) time zone. A reminder is also scheduled for 8:00PM the day before each game. Note that the start times for three of the Steelers’ four preseason games are unknown at this time, and are listed as “TIME TBA” in the calendar. UPDATE: I’ve found the start times for the preseason games, and also marked the potential flex-time games with an asterisk. If you downloaded the calendar before 23:20 on 04/17/2012, please download the updated version below!

There are two versions of each type of schedule: the Steelers 2012-13 schedule only and the 2012-13 Steelers schedule with the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl XLVII. Pick your poison by clicking the appropriate link below:

CSV (OUTLOOK FORMAT):

Steelers 2012-2013 Schedule
Steelers 2012-2013 Schedule with NFL Playoffs

iCAL (GOOGLE\IPHONE FORMAT):

Steelers 2012-2013 Schedule
Steelers 2012-2013 Schedule with NFL Playoffs

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