Song of the Week – Truth Sets In
Avi Buffalo is a band of melodic youngsters from Long Beach, led by a Shins-influenced frontman whose bar mitzvah probably doesn’t even predate Garden State. While uneven at times, Avi Buffalo’s self-titled debut album also contains several brilliant tracks, including the one that leads off said album and is Song of the Week…
Avi Buffalo
For more Avi Buffalo, check out their website at http://avibuffalomusic.com/.
Human of the Week – Pete at Radio Shack
I’ve had an iPhone 3G for the past two years, and a few weeks ago right before the iPhone 4 went on sale, I started scouting possible purchase locations. I learned that in addition to AT&T and The Apple Store, iPhone 4 would be sold at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Radio Shack. Thinking Radio Shack would probably get the least traffic (and have the shortest campout lines) of those retail establishments, I checked with a couple of their stores in my area.
Just as a lark, I also asked about iPhone 3GS, but was quickly told that iPhone 4 would quickly replace all other models in their stores. One guy, a store manager named Pete, took down my info just in case they ever ended up getting anymore 3GS in stock.
Shortly thereafter, a variety of factors (almost entirely financial) conspired to prevent me from obtaining an iPhone 4 at the time, so I just figured I’d have to wait for an upgrade for another few months. Well, yesterday I got a call completely out of the blue from Pete, who informed me that not only did they get in a 3GS, but it was also the last day of their promotion to issue a $100 store credit for any 3G models still in good (non-scratched/cracked) condition.
Since the 3GS just happened to cost $100, as well, I quickly came to the glorious realization that I would be swapping out a two-year old 3G with a brand-new 3GS basically for free. All I would have to pay is the seven bucks and change in sales tax!
Needless to say, by then I had become a huge fan of Pete at Radio Shack, but he would prove to be even greater than I realized. When going through the upgrade, unbricking and authorization process, it became apparent that the home button on the 3GS was defective, which for all intents and purposes rendered the phone totally useless without sending it back to Apple for repair.
To keep me from having to endure such an enormous hassle, Pete called around and found another store in a nearby suburb with one last new 3GS in stock. He then took it upon himself to drive all the way to that store in a driving rainstorm, just to get me the phone.
For all of his efforts above and beyond the call of duty, especially getting me a brand-new 3GS for seven bucks, Pete wins Human of the Week!
Pete at Radio Shack (or a virtual approximation thereof)
The Sunderland Experiment
As I’ve previously admitted right here on this very blog, I’ve never been much of a soccer fan. It still hadn’t yet blown up as a huge youth sport here in America back when I was a kid, so most of my interest in the sport has been limited to the World Cup and an occasional FC Dallas game (even then, only if free tickets were involved). But with the World Cup still fresh in the recent past, I’ve allowed myself to become intrigued with England’s soccer version of the NFL: The Premier League.
Thanks to a co-worker who is a hardcore Premier League follower, I have decided to follow the lead of The Ticket’s Craig “Junior” Miller and choose a team to root for in the upcoming Premier League season. But while Junior limited his options to only those teams with a legitimate shot at contending for a championship (he settled on Arsenal), I decided to take the opposite tack and support and underdog who very well could get relegated (the bottom three teams at the end of each season get demoted to a lower tier).
Admittedly, my remaining selection criteria were highly superficial, at best. I condsidered such largely insignificant things as how much I liked the logo, uniform and nickname. I also looked at the city in which the team is based, wanting to avoid some of the larger and better-known metropolitan areas.
I came very, very close to going with Blackpool, but they had just been promoted last season for the first time ever, so their risk of relegation seems too high. I need at least a sporting chance, which is why I decided to cast my lot with The Black Cats of Sunderland A.F.C. Located in the City of Sunderland (population 280,207) up in far, far northeast England on the coast of the North Sea, this team was actually founded all the way back in 1879.
Their history is storied and includes six First Division (what is now known as The Premier League) championships, though the last one was in 1936. They’ve also won two F.A. Cups, with the most recent in 1973. So, this is a once-proud franchise desperately seeking a long-awaited return to glory. Plus, they play their games on a pitch in the awesomely-named Stadium of Light.
Like Junior Miller, I may find that my interest will wane after several months, but the only way to find out is to give it a go. It should be fun!
Song of the Week – Vaporize
James Mercer (frontman of The Shins) and Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton (one-half of Gnarls Barkley) joined forces to form the two-man indie supergroup known as Broken Bells. Their eponymous debut album contains many familiar elements from their respective bands, yet melded together in a very unique way. This album has continued to grow on me throughout the year, especially this Song of the Week entry…
“Vaporize”
Broken Bells
Be sure to visit their official website at http://www.brokenbells.com/home.html.
Human of the Week – Jim Schutze
Jim Schutze is an often controversial columnist for the Dallas Observer, whose focus is typically on local politics. I’ve always more closely followed the writings of his cohort, the great Robert Wilonsky, but I was beyond impressed with Schutze’s column this week on the shocking difference in public reaction to two recent tragedies involving local officials.
It would be a complete disservice to Schutze’s stellar offering if I were to outline those differences here, so instead, I will highly recommend that you do yourself a favor and read his column for yourself…
“Reactions to Horrors Involving Coppell Mayor, Dallas Chief Tell a Tale of Two Tragedies”
Jim Schutze
Nailing The Triple Lindy 