twenty four hours

if i can't keep track of people in real life, well then....facebook it is.

spitting venom

the new modest mouse? the band's kickin' it old school (well, relative to their own sound) with a johnny marr edge. it's good stuff, the whole album is, really.

'dashboard' is a great summer song, and an awful catchy first single. i can see it being just as huge as 'float on' was for them a few summers ago.

but the real gem here is 'spitting venom', 8+ minutes of classic marr guitar laced in perfect doses with some of the best west-coast indie rock modest mouse has ever made. if one song told marr and the band that their little experiment was going to work -- this was it. featuring all the hooks, strained quirky harmonies, and diabetic melodies that modest mouse craft so well, but this song pulls it off while sounding infinitely more mature than the band ever has. and the results are....awesome.

it takes you on a journey, as any great song should, and the understated use of horns as the lush arrangements and layers build are the cherry on top.

nice. very nice.

in other news, i need to sleep earlier.

also, i'm planning on planning a trip to the bar sometime next week, perhaps after multisport. yay or nay? i crave some catching up people, lets work together on this project i will title "not forgetting simon exists".

agent zero's latest blog post on NBA.com is one of the most insightful basketball ramblings i've read all year. definitely worth a great read, especially if you follow the game, and love the game.

just another reason why i'm really starting to love the guy. he's right behind steve nash in my fanbook.

march into the sea

i'm using this huge, giant, ridiculously oversized computer monitor right now that's plugged into my laptop.

i don't want to give it back. this thing is....awesome.

anyone see the new gilbert arenas commercial? the "impossible is 0" one?

youtube it. it's an awesome commercial if you like gil.

incomplete

i just watched stranger than fiction.

A SEA FOAM FENDER STRAT!!!

that's my dream guitar! i wanted to buy a sea foam strat but couldn't afford it, so i got the white dano.

stranger than fiction indeeeeed. i wonder if this means someone is writing a book about my life.

i bet it'd be a pretty stupid book.

i need a friend with a boat

i've been told my recent lack of appearances are starting to push me into the fringe of our little socialsphere. well now, that's just unkind.

busy busy, but i'm trying to make time for people, i swear to god. my best friend right now is definitely....my car. and the soothing voices of CBC radio shows.

so it would appear that despite the protestation and snarky remarks about people who get into relationships then disappear from their friends lives, i have clearly become one of those people, hahaha

not that i have any regrets; nor would i conclude any causes should be directly shouldered by my lovely better half (or as facebook calls her, my "significant other") that i could not arguably rationalize as equal parts due to work and school responsibilities.

i am, however, willing to concede that truly, i have become that which i at one time mocked.

naturally, i remain pragmatic and optimistic about the situation. i have but a month of school left, after which i hope to reconnect with people who i am essentially ignoring right now.

in the meantime however, this is a most general and impersonal attempt at an apology for my utter self-alienation. at least the irony is not lost on me, non?

keep sending me emails to stuff. at least then i'll know what i'm missing when i'm missing it.

and no, that was not sarcasm.

and neither was that.

now bed time. the favourite, most cherished part of the my day....

for agent 13

we can run all we want, but sometimes you just can't outrun the truth.

it's kind of funny. being purposely vague is like, just this thing i do.

i can't explain it, naturally.

dark horse

wow.

i'm so not as young as i used to be....

national anthem of nowhere

Raptors reaching new heights.

As the Toronto Raptors continue their unexpected success atop the NBA’s Atlantic division, the optimism surrounding the team is at an unfamiliar high.

Not since their mid-90’s playoff run to the Eastern Conference finals have fans and observers been so keen to see what lies ahead for the young basketball team.

Sporting the leagues third best winning percentage since the all-star break behind such perennial powerhouses as Dallas and Detroit, much of the turnaround concerning the team’s future centers (no pun intended) around first overall draft pick Andrea Bargnani.

The seven-foot Italian has quickly proven draft night critics wrong, developing faster than perhaps even the Raptors expected. Bargnani, averaging 11 points and nearly 4 rebounds per game, has quickly become a valuable contributor to the surging team off the bench.

Witnessing the ball movement, unselfishness, and rapid development of their prized rookie, one cannot help but wonder what could have changed so drastically in Toronto over the course of a year.

When Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo arrived in the city a year ago, his vision was to build a team that many coined “Phoenix North”.

Colangelo acquired players that fit the Phoenix run-and-gun mold -- athletic, unselfish individuals who could all handle the ball, and shoot from the perimeter. Indeed, much was made about the Raptors pushing the tempo and attempting 100 shots per game during the early stages of the season.

As the games wore on however, the Raptors eventually realized that running the floor was in fact not their greatest advantage. Rather, it was their players.

With all-star Chris Bosh and Bargnani both comfortable on the perimeter, the Raptors have begun to move the ball in their half-court offense, daring opponents to double Bosh in the low post and leave one of his teammates open. This is particularly frustrating because almost every player on the Raptors roster has a solid outside jumper, and is capable of making it should they receive that pass from Bosh.

Moreover, Bosh and Bargnani have been creating mismatch nightmares for opposing defenses, running a high-post screen and roll with point guards TJ Ford and Jose Calderon. Defenders are forced to step out on the speedy guards, creating space for either of the Raptor big men to roll to the net and receive the pass, or pop out and shoot an 18 foot jumper.

Although almost every team in the NBA utilizes this same play, the Raptors have been able to make it their bread-and-butter offensive set. And the reason the Toronto can run the basic basketball play so well, lies with the team’s personnel.

In their point guard platoon, the Raptors have two pass-first point guards with high basketball IQ’s. This is a necessity in an effective screen and roll, and a vast upgrade over the shoot-first mentality of ex-starting point guard Mike James.

Most importantly however, Bosh and Bargnani have developed a comfort level with their guards, setting solid screen and making good decisions that usually result in the ball being in their hands, and an uncontested look at the rim.

The results have been astounding, as the Ford and Calderon combination is averaging nearly 12 assists per game, Bosh (23 ppg) is having a career year in scoring, and Bargnani is now a leading candidate for rookie of the year honours.

However, the most curious aspect of the Raptors rise is not their current winning record, or even the emergence of Bosh and Bargnani to the cusp of superstardom.

Indeed, the most fascinating aspect about Toronto is their tantalizing potential. Watching teams struggle to defend the teams prized pair of big men, one cannot help but see the future of Basketball blossoming in the cold corners of Canada.

7 footers who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor, shooting off the dribble, and stepping outside to shoot the three are rare. 7 footers who do all that while also rebounding, contesting shots at the rim, get their teammates involved, and play tough in the post however, are nearly impossible to find – and Toronto has two of them.

A team built around a pair of such versatile big men has never been assembled, and so there is little precedence for where the Raptors may go from here.

Historically, dominant centers and guards have ruled the NBA. With a new generation of ball-handling forwards however, the mold created by Kevin Garnett, and expanded by European imports such as Dirk Nowitzki, continues to evolve.

With do-it-all giants such as University of Texas freshman Kevin Durant set to enter the league, the paradigm of what players an NBA champion needs to be built around seems to be shifting.

The recent emphasis on skill brought on by the Phoenix suns fluid style of play only magnifies the potential of big-men equally comfortable playing with finesse and power.

It is fitting then, that the small ball era Bryan Colangelo started in the desert, will grow (literally) and take its next step here in Toronto. Regardless of whether the new, larger NBA turns out to be a fad or an actual revolution, Raptors fans will have front row seats to watch it unfold – fittingly in the home of the world’s tallest free standing structure.