Soundtrack of My Life: Baba O'Riley

Song: Baba O'Riley
Artist: The Who
Album: Single (1971)

Honestly, if I have to explain why this song is making an appearance on the Soundtrack, you hate music.

Without question, this is one of the most awesome songs ever and the fact that it took me nearly two years to get around to including it is ridiculous.

For the few who have no idea what song I'm talking about, does it help if I mistakenly refer to it as "Teenage Wasteland" as so many often do?

Enjoy the song after the jump... Happy Friday.

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Blogs About Dogs and Unreturned Inquires

This is my dog, Luke.

If you've been here before, you've heard a thing or two about him. Little man is my canine sidekick and I wouldn't want it any other way.

As it turns out, Victoria has a pretty healthy pug population; from Chili upstairs to the two puggles who avoided Luke like the plague at the Dog Park yesterday, they seem to be everywhere, including in the newspaper.

Well, at least on the newspapers website.

Adventures with Ollie is an entertaining blog written by Adrian Chamberlain, chronicling the hilarity and odd moments that are present through his pug, Ollie.

In just over a week of being here and knowing about the blog, both Sarah and I are fans. Additionally, I'm jealous as hell.

Seriously, the guy is living my dream; getting paid to write about the ridiculous things that his overweight animal companion does on an irregular basis. All that is missing for his situation to turn into my version of paradise is a bottomless keg of Guinness and a plate of chicken wings.

What makes it all the more awesome for me - and yes, when I say "all the more awesome," I mean "a massive kick in the cujones" - is that this is the same newspaper who wouldn't even send me a "thanks, but we're in no way interested in your thoughts on MMA" email when I inquired about doing some pro bono blogging for them before moving out here.

The Adventures with Ollie blog certainly gives me hope that one day I will be able to fully live the dream, spending my days in my sweatpants while making money for my trivial thoughts on everything from the latest Kate Gosselin to the Georges St-Pierre signing a sponsorship deal with Under Armour Underwear.

It also makes me want to tear my own eyes out, since blogs about overweight dogs dressed as bees for Halloween gets coverage galore but the fastest growing sport in the world can't even get me a "piss off, rookie!" response...

Maybe I should write more about Luke and less about Brock Lesnar?

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The Rundown: Sneaky Hot

Obvious beauty is just that - obvious.

We all know why legions of young men drool over Megan Fox and countless women wish that George Clooney would decide to settle down with them, if only for a night.

They're the textbook definitions of hotness and no one is debating that fact.

Personally, as much as I'm a fan of each of those individuals - yes, both of them; Clooney is a good-looking bastard and I'm okay with admitting it - I'm even more a fan of those who are Sneaky Hot.

What is Sneaky Hot, you ask?

It's those people who have a definite appeal, but don't necessarily jump to mind right away when someone asks, "Who is the hottest person on the face of the Earth?" Keep reading if you need examples.

The Sneaky Hot Rundown

5. Patrick Dempsey

Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Sheperd has always been a good-looking guy and he's a perfect example of someone who is sneaky hot.

He doesn't have the "make your boyfriend mad" looks / cockiness combination of co-star Eric Dane's Mark "McSteamy" Sloan, but he's got good hair, a soft voice and a confidence about him that makes a large number of ladies wish they needed brain surgery.

4. Jenna Fischer

If you watch The Office, you know her as Pam. If you don't watch The Office but have a wife who subscribes to Self, you know her as "Holy Shit! That chick from The Office is sneaky hot!"

The truth about Jenna Fischer's covert hotness came out in the horrible Blades of Glory, where she slutted it up a little as the sister of Will Arnett and Amy Poehler's all-too-close sibling skaters.

Now, the truth is very much out there, so while "Pam" may be sitting around in frumpy blouses that show off about as much as a moron at a church gathering, Jenna's got herself a nice little figure and a place on many a man's Sneaky Hot list.

3. Lauren Graham

Yes, Lorelai Gilmore is on the Sneaky Hot list and if you have a problem with it, go rent Bad Santa and call me in the morning.

Personally, I think it's the smirk. There's something a little bit naughty behind that coy little smile... and I like it.

2. Aaron Eckhart

If you can pull off both the long-haired, fully-bearded biker dude with the heart of gold named George in Erin Brockovich and the sharp-dressed, killer-grin-flashing fast-talking Nick Naylor in Thank You For Smoking, you win.

Eckhart is the quintessential Sneaky Hot guy; good-looking, but not a model, funny, charming and seems like a cool enough guy that we'd let him talk to our girlfriend / wife without thinking anything of it...

Until they run off to Maui together the smooth bastard.

1. Tina Fey

Yes, the picture gave it away. I don't care. Tina Fey is the epitome of sneaky hot.

The first thing you say about her isn't something about her looks; it's that she's funny. In fact, her looks might not even be in the Top 5 other than a remark about that scar on her cheek she acquired as a child.

But underneath the funny and the 30 Rock and the scar and the dead-on Sarah Palin impersonations, Tina Fey is a little pocket rocket of Sneaky Hot goodness.

Who makes your Sneaky Hot list?

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There is Hope for the Future: Harvard Class on The Wire

It's been a long time since I talked about my favorite HBO show that hasn't aired in a couple years, mainly because I'm in serious withdraw and need to get my hands on Season 4 and 5 to complete my collection.

If you still haven't found time to check out The Wire in any way you can, do it, because it's incredible.

How incredible? Incredible enough to become the basis for a class at Harvard.

Now, some people are going to think what I am going to say in this post is ridiculous, and that is perfectly fine; I don't expect everyone to agree with everything I say. That being said, reading about the introduction of this class gives me hope for the future.

William J. Wilson, the professor who will be offering the class, offered this explanation for using the program as the basis for a course at the Ivy League institution:

I do not hesitate to say that it has done more to enhance our
understanding of the challenges of urban life and the problems of urban
inequality, more than any other media event or scholarly publication including
studies by social scientists.

While some may think that it is impossible to learn more from a fictional television show, the truth is that the things happening right now in our world are far better teaching tools than anything you can find in an antiquated textbook.

The world is changing rapidly and discussions of the ills that infect our society cannot be found in the history books; they are modern problems that need modern answers and to be discussed without pretense, which is precisely what The Wire did with urban life for five years on HBO.

Though I agree with Santayana that "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it," I am more inclined to see the problems affecting our world right now be taught, studied and dealt with than worrying about what could happen in the future or what took place in the past.

What good is learning about wars that took place decades ago when poverty, drugs and crime cripple communities every day and go undiscussed? Instead of learning about the sociology of ancient civilizations, why not study the societies right outside our windows?

Is a class framed around the struggles portrayed on a television show the answer to the challenges of urban life?

Probably not, but at least Professor William J. Wilson and Harvard are willing to take a real look at the question...

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Things I Learned This Week

1. Our Movers Suck!

First, they agree to a date for pickup. Then they tell us we're going to have to change that to accommodate their schedule. We sort things out, come to a compromise and our things get put on a truck.

Seven days later, they're still not here and the phone call we were told we'd get today as an update still has materialized.

For anyone out there considering a move, especially one of a great distance and with time constraints, this is why you pay the extra money to go with one of the big boys... you get your stuff when on time.


2. Maybe We Shouldn't Travel

The more I think about it, the more I realize that every trip we plan to make has some element of frustration beyond the usual, acceptable "sat next to a guy who smelled funny on the plane" type of annoyances.

In the last two years, we've had an appendix up-end Christmas in Vancouver, a collision with a deer derail a road trip back to Newfoundland, headaches galore with our wedding in the Dominican and the current travel situation that has us living like squatters with nothing more than an air mattress and the clothes on our backs.

Something tells me we need to take a break from trying to go places and just enjoy exploring the surroundings of Victoria.

3. Trying to be a Better Person

I've had a lot of windbags chiming in on pieces over at Bleacher Report lately, launching personal attacks at me and others just for the sake of having something to say, and I just don't get it.

What good comes from pissing in someone's cereal or calling someone "trailer trash" when you actually know very little about them? We're all guilty of it at one point or another, myself included, but I'm doing my best to stop. I really just don't see the point.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and can think whatever they want about just about anyone. But if all you can add to the conversation is namecalling and nonsense, why open your mouth in the first place? Because really, none of us are perfect...

4. Liking Victoria

This is exactly the type of city for me; lots to do, the things I like and want in close proximity and plenty of space and scenery to enjoy all rolled into one.

Instead of having to drive 30 minutes to buy clothes from the terrific trio of Zellers, Wal-Mart or Superstore, I can drive ten minutes, roam through all kinds of quality stores in the mall and pick up a Starbucks while I'm there... stopping on the way home to grab some sushi.

I get why some people love quiant little places like Kimberley as much as they do; it's a great town, just not for me. I need life, some traffic and options on every corner and so far, Victoria is coming through in spades.

5. Future YouTube Sensation

One of these days, I'm going to bring my camera outside and tape Luke wrestling with Chili, the pug from upstairs.

It's priceless and if David After the Dentist and Charlie Bit My Finger can become YouTube sensations, than Pug MMA can certainly follow suit, especially if I can capture the times that Chili bites onto Luke's chubby little cheeks and starts dragging him off the concrete and back onto the grass.

Seriously, it's hilarious... you'll see.

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