Finally Going to Mecca

Or at least a Radiohead concert.

I bought my seats this morning, two in section 6 of Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Row Q. I cannot say how excited I am for this. Now I just need someone to go with me.

Something that dulls my excitement is having to deal with these large ticket distribution sites. I used LiveNation today, but Ticketmaster is just as guilty of price gouging. Why complain about scalpers when companies are doing the same thing? I'm not quite sure why it takes nearly 25 dollars to process two tickets, but it does. At this rate, I'll have to get a job soon. It reminds me of a comic I saw once.

Happy Trails, Bobby

Last year I had the pleasure of working with the press for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Winston-Salem. Without a doubt, my favorite part of this was watching the Tar Heels play from my courtside seat. The next best part of this job (besides getting paid very well) was sitting in on two Bob Knight press conferences. Coach Knight was his larger than life self in the pregame conference before the Texas Tech team matched up with Boston College. I had the thrill of hearing him comment on strange Jim Crow-esque laws, Albert Pujols, and his saying that, "Adolph Rupp was a son of a bitch."

What I'm saying is that I have a soft spot for Bobby Knight. I would probably hate him if he won more after I was born, since I was a couple months late for his 1987 championship. But still, I really enjoy the fellow. From a distance. We all knew he was getting old - he took a fall while going up the steps to the interview room when I was working, and it wasn't "my buddy just fell flat on his face, haha," but "oh no, Grandma fell and hurt her hip!" that everyone thought. The man is getting up there in years, and he looked rather frail last March.

I'll miss Bobby Knight. Now if only ESPN would take him on as an analyst. Maybe he would punch Mike Roberts in the face.

Note: the picture above is one I took after Knight's Texas Tech team lost. It was his last NCAA tournament game.

Podcast Delivered

Here is the first bit of the podcast I promised on "Trapped in the Closet." At the moment it is set to be expanded with at least one more person speaking who is well equipped when it comes to the hip-hopera. Make sure to take some time and browse around the site. I've been very impressed with what you can incorporate into an English class.

Trapped in the Podcast

"It has all the trappings of a Shakespearean Comedy"

I was interviewed yesterday for a podcast produced by Erin Stoneking. The podcast was supposed to be about the literary qualities of a piece of music. So what did she want me to answer questions about?

R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet."

It isn't often that being an English major, Music and Poetry Writing double-minor, and having a love for both high-brow concepts and low-brow culture intertwine. This was one of them.

I promise to link to the podcast site when it goes up.

"Really, it's doggerel, but I love it still."

UNC vs. Boston College

I would give a run down of yesterday's game since I was in attendance, but I won't for one particular reason - my seat was very far away. How far? I was in row Q of the upper level at the Dean E. Smith Center. The large video screens were at eye-level for me. I will say this though - the game was oddly enjoyable from such a distance. It reminded me of watching game film when I played ball. You can get a better feel for just how an offense works from up there because it looks like little guys on a diagram. Being used to having seats close to the action, where standing is mandatory, watching from the upper deck was oddly relaxing. It was much more like watching a baseball game. I like that.