MERRY CHRISTMAS

I came up with a Christmas Wish list of things that I want during the upcoming year:

1) A good GM for the Lions - the team sucks. The city has suffered and they deserve better after watching this team suck balls the entire new millennium.

2) A Championship in Detroit - Red Wings won last year, but I want more. Hopefully the Wings will repeat, Pistons break through (somehow), or the Tigers achieve what they're capable of.

3) An NCAA Tournament for the Wolverines - Michigan hasn't been to the Big Dance since 1998, and technically that didn't count because of NCAA violations. They've put together an impressive resume so far, so they just need to have a solid conference record. If they get in, I'll probably cry. I've waited so long for this.

4) Improvement from the Michigan football team - I don't expect them to win the Big 10 next year. But I just want to see marked improvement. They're definitely going to be better next year.

5) An Arrested Development movie - the show has become my obsession. So freaking funny. There are rumors of a movie for 2009. Let's hope it's true.

That's all I can come up with right now.

THANKSGIVING

I was bored, so I decided to make a list of things I was thankful for:

- Hunter - he never ceases to make me smile

- Waffle-makers

- Charlie Weis jokes - he is really fat and retarded

- A much-needed break from school

- Joe Dumars, Ken Holland, Dave Dombrowski - I'm glad most of the Detroit GM's know what the h-e-c-k they're doing

- The Detroit Lions - they suck, but it's funny how bad they are

- Manny Harris - he's bringing Michigan bball back

- West Virginia University - thanks for the coaches

- SAU

- Socks - my house is really cold

- Forgiveness and 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. chances

- Psalm 118 - His love endures forever

- Dentists - my dead tooth will be fixed soon

- Homer Simpson

- Natalie Portman

- Star Wars Marathons

- Barack Obama

- Glasses

- Books

- Bookstores

- Starbucks

- My friends

- Being able to see Tiger Stadium at least one last time last Sunday

- The MDen

- Rich Rodriguez

- Cheli's Chili Bar and Hockeytown Cafe

- Gino's pizza

- Village C

- Poetry

- Mike Barwis

- A roommate who likes the same things as me

- An amazing Core

- Mexico missions trips

I think that's about it.

DON'T HASSLE THE HOFF

So the David Hasselhoff craze has been sweeping through the Spring Arbor campus. Ok, not really, mainly Pat's room as well as Paul and I. But it is an amazing thing. This German singing/acting/cheering/judging sensation has united this campus like never before. So I decided to remind people why you should admire David Hasselhoff.

So if you've ever seen the Spongebob Squarepants movie, you know that it features a cameo by the Hoff. The portion of the movie that he's in is probably my favorite. It's just so stupid and funny.

Although he is definitely mocking himself in that cameo, he was a wildly successful actor on both "Baywatch" and "Knightrider". People make fun of him ruthlessly, but he actually isn't a waste.

Not only is he an actor, but also a wildly successful musician. For instance:

and:


The first music video is what it is - crazy. Nobody knows what's going on. And I don't think anyone truly tries to understand, it's futile. But, it is still awesome. The second is about David trying to pick up a girl on the street, offering her a ride home. He spends half his time trying to get her in the car and she finally complies. Nobody expects what follows. While driving, he asks where she lives and when she says it's far from here, he gets upset and tells her to get out of the car. Seriously? hahahah. Don't hassle the Hoff.

Some people don't know this, but when the Berlin Wall was being torn down, who was standing above it all, leading the people in a concert celebrating freedom? That's right: David Hasselhoff. Notice his jacket. Spectacular. And his scarf.


The past couple years, the hit TV show "America's Got Talent" has been occupying most of David's time. I never really had a desire to watch the show, but when I watched an episode I got sucked in. Mainly because of the "Nuttin but Stringz" act, which is awesome BTW, but also because of the Hoff's sound judgment when it comes to analyzing talent. Impeccable. Actually, I don't think he's ever seen an act he didn't like. Even the 25 tap dancing dads, who were horrendous. However, his most powerful statement was made about a 4 year old girl who sings Disney songs. She's adorable and there's no way I can seriously criticize her, but there's no way anyone would go to her show in Vegas (which is the grand prize). After her performance, David told her, "You have brought America together!" And he was totally serious. Hahaha. Oh my.

But if there's an ultimate reason to love David Hasselhoff, it's what I'm going to leave you with. My lasting impression of David Hasselhoff. If you watch any video on this post, you HAVE to watch this one:

PAUL GAYDEMA

WAH. WAH. WAH. WAH. WAH.

What is that? That is Paul, screaming into his pillow because he hates his life for having nothing to do on a Friday night.

"Nice post gaywad" - that is his response to one of my most recent post on his wall.

This is what it is like living with Paul. Awesome.

Here's a little background info on Paul the Wall:

Full Name: Paul Douglass Adema
Major: Biology; secondary education
Relationship Status: Dating (sorry ladies :P)
Lifestyle Preference: Heterosexuality (debateable)
Favorite Sports Team: Michigan State (Yikes)
Favorite Athlete: Barry Sanders/Bo Jackson (In reality, its Jimmy Clausen)
Favorite Musical Artist: Doesn't have one (lame). Taylor Swift by default (even lamer)
Favorite Song: "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap
Favorite Movie: Braveheart
Favorite Movie Character: William Wallace
Favorite Book: Excluding the Bible - "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton
Favorite Quote: Wah Wah (picture courtesy of Pat>>>>)
Ethnicity: Filipino, Mexican, and Dutch (really? Dutch?)
Religion: Scientology (rumored to know Tom Cruise)
Dream Job as a Child: Dolphin trainer at SeaWorld (says he still accomplish this)


Next up, an interview with the man himself, so you can gain a better understanding. More like one of our everyday conversations:

Me: What do you like to do with your spare time? Besides being gay?
Paul: That's a stupid question. Because I'm not gay. I'm gonna kill you.

Me: You couldn't kill me. You're gay.
Paul: Pssh.

Me: Remember when you were in love with ______________ (insert name of any girl that he hates)?
Paul: No. What are you typing?

Me: Nothing. What are you talking about?
Paul: You're writing something. Some book or something.


This is a typical conversation between us. Yeah. We're cool.

Well, gotta run.

PREDICTIONS

So last summer I did a bunch of predictions. So I'm going to do them again, except to a much lesser extent. And for proof that I picked everything right.

Conference winners:
ACC: Wake Forest over Virginia Tech
Big XII: Oklahoma over Missouri
SEC: Florida over Auburn
Pac 10: USC
Big East: West Virginia
Sun Belt: Florida Atlantic
MAC: Central Michigan
WAC: Fresno State
Mountain West: BYU
Big 10: Michigan. I can't pick against them. Even thought this probably won't happen. I can onlly hope for a repeat of 1969. Memory Refresher:


And I'm hoping that Sam McGuffie will just go, well Sam McGuffie over everybody:


Heisman: Beanie Wells

National Championship: USC over Oklahoma. Repeat of 2004.

FOOTBALL.......FINALLY!

Michigan starts their season tomorrow and I for one, am ecstatic, even though they might not have the greatest season. I'm excited to see how Rich Rodriguez has made some much needed changes with the program. But Michigan is full of tradition and those are things that he can't change. Things such as the winged helmet, the "GO BLUE" banner they jump and touch when they run out onto the field, the greatest fight song known to man and things such as that. He has added a new tradition though. It's called the Victor's March. The team is dropped off the bus about 200 yards from the stadium and the band will play the fight song while leading them into the Big House. I thought that was really cool.

There's a little known tradition that was started by Lloyd Carr. Every friday night, the defense would get together and recite a poem. "The Law of the Wolves" by Rudyard Kipling (author of the Jungle Book). Lloyd has had his team do this for a while and I think it goes back to his days as defensive coordinator. I read the poem and I really liked it:

Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

Wash daily from nose tip to tail tip; drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the night is for hunting and forget not the day is for sleep.

The jackal may follow the tiger, but, cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the wolf is a hunter—go forth and get food of thy own.

Keep peace with the lords of the jungle, the tiger, the panther, the bear;
And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the boar in his lair.

When pack meets with pack in the jungle, and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken; it may be fair words shall prevail.

When ye fight with a wolf of the pack ye must fight him alone and afar,
Lest others take part in the quarrel and the pack is diminished by war.

The lair of the wolf is his refuge, and where he has made him his home,
Not even the head wolf may enter, not even the council may come.

The lair of the wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain,
The council shall send him a message, and so he shall change it again.

If ye kill before midnight be silent and wake not the woods with your bay,
Lest ye frighten the deer from the crop and thy brothers go empty away.

Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need and ye can;
But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill man.

If ye plunder his kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride,
Pack-right is the right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide.

The kill of the pack is the meat of the pack. Ye must eat where it lies;
And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies.

The kill of the wolf is the meat of the wolf. He may do what he will,
But, till he is given permission, the pack may not eat of that kill.

Lair right is the right of the mother. From all of her years she may claim
One haunch of each kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same.

Cub right is the right of the yearling. From all of his pack he may claim
Full gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same.

Cave right is the right of the father, to hunt by himself for his own;
He is freed from all calls to the pack. He is judged by the council alone.

Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw,
In all that the law leaveth open the word of the head wolf is law.

Now these are the laws of the jungle, and many and mighty are they;
But the head and the hoof of the law and the haunch and the hump is—Obey!

Even with Lloyd retired, the defense has decided to continue the tradition. It's so cool that I've decided that I'm going to recite this poem every Friday night as well. I bolded my favorite line. I love it.

Hopefully Michigan pulls out a victory tomorrow. Lots of ANALysts are saying that Utah will beat Michigan, but I'm optimistic. 31-17 Michigan. GO BLUE!

DA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA BATMAN!

If you couldn't tell, that's the Batman theme song.

In lieu of the Dark Knight being the second best movie in history, I decided to revisit some of my Batman memories of the past. I used to watch reruns of the old live action Batman show, starring Adam West. It was so cheesy, but that was the point. I thought it was cool how everytime Batman and Robin punched someone it was say "POW" or something like that on the screen. So cool.

I watched some of the Batman movies from the 80's and 90's. The ones with Michael Keaton are alright. However, Val Kilmer and George Clooney were very poor choices for the caped crusader. Especially Clooney. But I'll talk about that later.

But the best part of this little venture down memory lane was Batman: The Animated Series. It's what I watched every Saturday as a kid and it is awesome. On IMDB it has a 9.2 star rating, which only trails Seinfeld, The Office, and Scrubs (coincidentally, three of my favorite shows) in star rating. You can watch full episodes of the show here: http://video.aol.com/show/batman-the-animated-series. In the first episode, Batman is fighting crime and he discovers that the the main criminal he is facing is a woman. He is obviously shocked and the lady says "What, surprised to fight a girl" or something like that and Batman replies with "No, I'm an equal opportunity crime fighter." I laughed a long time after that line. But it shows that Batman really does have the best interest of the people at heart. Which is why he's the best superhero ever. Another interesting note about this series is who plays the voice of Jack Napier/The Joker. The voice is none other than Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill). And you thought Luke never did anything with his life after Star Wars. Hah.

After watching all this Batman material, I decided that I'm ready to decide who my favorite Batman is and my favorite villains are.

Best Batman - Kevin Conroy - The voice of Bruce Wayne in the animated series. Batman is super buff in this show and this actor effectively portrays both Wayne and Batman. His character is really dark for a kid's cartoon, but that's why the show is so good.

Worst Batman - George Clooney - He starred as the dark knight in the worst Batman movie ever made. Maybe that's why I think he sucks. But still, he just wasn't a good Batman. He's not very strong and I don't see Batman when I look at him. And watching him, I don't see why everybody loves him. He's been real good in some stuff (Ocean movies, ER, Facts of Life) and terrible in others (Leatherheads, Spy Kid movies). I don't get why people adore him. Overrated.

Favorite Villain - The Joker - probably saw this coming. It's an easy choice. Although Heath Ledger's portrayal is probably the most memorable, he was my favorite villain before "The Dark Knight". Jack Nicholson did a good job playing him as did Luke Skywalker. Every portrayal of the Joker is demented, but each one is unique, which is why he's so great.

Worst Villain - Mr. Freeze - So unrealistic. I mostly like the villains that make sense. And it doesn't make sense. And Arnold Schwarzenegger playing him just made it worst. Stupid.

All in all, Batman is just cool in every way.