iPhone Apps I Love: Part III

StumbleUpon

This is an interesting app. First off, it is a complete time waster. Basically, you indicate what you're interested in - movies, science, history, etc. Then, you start "stumbling," which means the app takes you to completely random websites based on your indicates interests. Some of the sites are great, and you will never encounter them otherwise. You are able to "favorite" sites as well, and have "friends" whose favorite sites you could check out.

Tango

Pretty simple: free video calls over the 3G network. No WiFi required.

360 Panorama

Really awesome photography app where you are able to take panoramic photos of your surroundings. You are able to view the panoramic photo's in 3D if you have the app, but you can also save them to your images. Not free, but worth it.

Top 5 Ludacris Guest Spots Of All Time

One of my fav songs right now is the "Fucking You" song by Enrique. Ludacris has a pretty good guest spot on it, which got me thinking to his past guest spots. In many ways, he may be the best guest verse rapper ever. Here's my list.

5. Damn(Remix) - Youngbloodz feat. Lil Jon, Bone Crusher & Ludacris

"And please don't get it twisted I ain't Hollywood yet
I just jumped in that movie to get a big ass check"

0:26-1:11



4. Hot and Wet (Remix) - 112 feat. Ludacris

"Lets mountain climb 'til we reach the peak
The technique will make you sweat
But don't sweat the technique"

0:18-0:56



3. Made You Look (Remix) - Nas feat. Jadakiss & Ludacris

"I was the victim of society, it's 'Cris the menace
With mo' shit out on the streets than evicted tenants"

1:30-2:11



2. One Minute Man - Missy Eliot feat. Trina & Ludacris

"You one minute FOOLS, you wonder why y'all missin
On the back of milk cartons and there's no reward
No regards, close but it's no cigar"

2:27-2:43

1. Yeah - Usher feat. Lil John & Ludacris

"So gimme the rhythm and it'll be off wit their clothes
Then "bend over to the front! and touch your toes!!"

2:27-3:03

Thoughts on Super Bowl XLV

-Christina Aguilera is a really huge idiot for fucking up the national anthem. Like she's on another level now. There is absolutely no excuse. Watch at :58:

-This year's batch of commercials were one of the worst in a very, very long time. From the start every single one sucked so much! And the only reason any of them were decent was because you started to compare them to the other horrible ones! This one is probably my favorite:

-The actual game was alright, I guess. No one play really stands out to me, maybe the INT return for the TD. Roethlisberger really fucked up, which is always great. I guess both teams just have a very boring personality, which lent to it being a pretty boring-seeming game. Definitely NOT a classic, like everyone was predicting it to be, not even close.

-Joe Buck is the worst announcer/analyst ever. And he will be with us for years and years to come. Can we like, just... vote him out or something??

-For me last night's SB was one of those where you don't really eat a dinner, you just munch on apps the whole night. This really messes up the routine of your digestive tract.

-The Black Eyed Peas could have done a much better job. Only thing that saved them for me from absolute failure was Slash and them singing their Dirty Bit song.

The New Year's Prediction Post, Part II

Well here we go, on this, the 36th day of the 2012th year after the birth of our lord an savior, I will transform into NostraDATmus for this post and give you my 100% correct predictions for the 2011 year. Today also marks a most important date, that being my 26.3rd birthday. No presents necessary.

PREDICTIONS:

1. The Green Bay Packers will prevail in tomorrow's Super Bowl, 34-24, thereby giving yours truly a $2000 win in a SB boxes pool that I am participating in. Aaron Rodgers will be named MVP, going 15-23 with 2TDs passing, 1INT and 1TD rushing. In a rage, Ben Roethlisberger will get black out drunk at a Dallas bar afterwards and will once again force himself on an insecure diva in the bathroom. Unfortunately for him, that someone will be Jerry Jones.

2. The New York Knicks will not get Carmelo by the February 24th deadline. But they will make the playoffs nonetheless as a 6 seed, only to be knocked out by the Magic. Thankfully though, Melo will sign a max deal in the offseason giving the 2011-2012 version a starting line-up of Amar'e, Felton, Melo, Fields and Galo (Chandler will leave).

3. The NFL will be locked out until late July. The new CBA will NOT include an 18 game schedule, but WILL include at 17 game schedule.

4. The race for the presidency in 2012 will heat up for the Republicans. The field will include Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and... Sarah Palin!

5. The 2011 New York Yankees will display a starting rotation of CC, AJ, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia and.... Joba Chamberlain! They will finish 1st in the AL and will tare through the playoffs to win their 28th World Championship! Derek Jeter will silence critics as he finishes the year with a .301 BA, 16HRs and another Gold Glove. A-Rod will finish with a .310 BA, 38 HRs and 121 RBIs. CC will win 20 games again, finishing 22-4 with a 3.11 ERA. He will finally win the Cy Young this year. Phil will have an OK year, finishing 15-9 with a 3.50 ERA. AJ will bounce back and finish with a 18-8 record and a 3.89 ERA.

6. Politics will be interesting. Obama's approval rating will continue to rise as the economic situation improves across the country. The unemployment rate will go down to 8.2% by the end of the year. While expectations will be high for the amount that will be done in Congress, not much substantial legislation will be able to achieve compromise among both parties.

7. Dr. Dre's Detox will finally come out!

8. The much anticipated Arrested Development movie will finally begin shooting.

9. The iPhone 5 will be released in June, but with not that many changes. It will be on a 4G network, have extended battery life and a better camera. The iPhone 4 on Verizon will fuck up its network and there will be a lot of complaints.

10. A new social networking venture will erupt and challenge Facebook and Twitter.

11. Osama Bin Laden will finally be caught.

Love This

Yearly Tradition: The New Year's Prediction Post, Part I

Whatup whatup.

Happy New Year (3 weeks ago). Per usual I would like to take some time now to look back on 2010 and what I predicted for last year, and then immediately in the near future serve up some incredibly accurate predictions for this year, the two-thousand eleventh after the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. So, without further Freddy Adu, here we go.

First the 2010 predictions :

The unemployment rate will hover around 10 for a couple of months then will slowly begin to creep down. It will end the year at 8.6%

Well.. let's just take a look at the data:

It did float around 10 almost the whole year, but finished the year at 9.8, not 8.6 like I predicted. Wishful thinking??

Verdict: True AND False

The Democrats will lose their Super 60 majority in the Senate, but will retain control of both chambers.

YES, the Democrats DID lose their Super 60 majority!!! Wow, how did I ever anticipate this?? And yet, NostraDATmus wasn't fully correct yet again because they did NOT retain control of the House. Sigh.

Verdict: True AND False

The Superbowl will be played between the Ravens and the Saints and the Saints will win 35 - 21!

The Superbowl was actually played between the Colts and Saints and the Saints won 31-17. I was off by 4 points on each score! I am too good!

Verdict: True AND False

The Knicks will finally make the playoffs!... but will get swept in the first round.

Yea that did not happen.

Verdict: False

LeBron will sign to the Knicks!!!

No fucking comment

Verdict: False

The NY Yankees will once again be on top. A-Rod will come through big this year - .310 with 40HRs and 120 RBIs. CC will be huge again reaching 20 wins (finally) and posting a 3.05 ERA. AJ finally breaks 16 wins. Unfortunately, Yanks finish 2nd in the AL, BUT... will win the WS for their 2nd in a row!

Actual 2010 statistics:

ARod: .270, 30 HR, 125 RBIs

CC: 21-7, 3.18ERA

AJ: 10-15

Yankees: 2nd place in AL, lost in ALCS

Hmm, well this is a mixed bag of prediction goodies. Way off on ARod's average, but close on the RBIs. CC did break 20 wins and I was close with the ERA. AJ blew the big one, Yanks finished 2nd but did not come close to that 2nd WS in a row.

Verdict: True AND False

Avatar will still be in theatres in December (and will break Titanic's record).

Avatar exited theaters August 8th, 2010

Verdict: False

The iPhone 4G will be released.

Um, does the iPhone 4 count??

Verdict: True AND False

Foursquare will fail.

Well, judging by this article, I am dead wrong.

Verdict: False

We will catch Osama Bin Laden.

This also did not happen.

Verdict: False

OVERALL RESULT: 2.5 out of 10. Yuck.

-

Stay tuned for the 2011 predictions

Up Late

I am up late right now, doing the regular procrastinating sleep thing. I guess that's what you call concrastinating, huh?

My last post was pretty depressing. Sorry about that.

I keep meaning to get to my New Year's post. That will happen soon, I promise.

I love this song:

Swizz Beatz is so good. And in many ways underrated. All of his shit is good. Also, he changes it up a good amount.

Furthermore, Diddy-Dirty Money is borderline genius. You gotta admire Puff for keeping it fresh. Who would have thought in '97 that 13 years later he would be the lead singer of a female band?? I can't hate, I love the songs they have. Not enough to purchase, but just enough to download.

Also love this song:

Please excuse the lame unofficial vid. But the song is tight. Good for the mole-less Enrique. Not to mention Luda is only spectacular on guest verses. This song got me thinking of which songs with the work "Fuck" in the chorus are the best ever. I gotta go with:

1. I'm Fucking You Tonight - Notorious B.I.G. ft. R. Kelly

2. Fuck You - Cee-Lo

3. Fucking You - Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris

Can you think of any others?

Thoughts

Well a Happy New Year to all. I was going to begin the new year the way I always do on this blog, with a recap of my 2010 Predictions and an unveiling of my 2011 version. But today does not warrant that.

A very much troubling thing has happened in Arizona this afternoon. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, along with 11 other people were shot by a gunman at a grocery store townhall event.

Many things are going to happen in the next few days and weeks. Many people are going to have an opinion and many people are going to spin this in whichever way they want. But my feeling, based on my experience, is that most people in power will preach unity and standing together.

We cannot overlook the conditions that allowed this to occur.

In many unfortunate ways, didn't you see something like this coming? You remember this little innocent piece of art:

Recognize any names? Yes, the Congresswoman shot today is in that "harmless" list of Sarah's. Almost all liberals denounced this list and I did not hear many conservatives take a stand.

Well here we are. People have died and a government official has been wounded. Of course, conservatives on the defensive will in no way see a connection between this shooting and the harsh language that preceded it in our national conversation with the Tea Party. The shooter will be labeled as a "nut" who is not exemplative of the general conservative population. But let me tell you what, this "nut" is someone who, like all of us, gets swayed by emotions; is someone who obviously is unstable; is someone who is not helped when people who have a platform are literally calling people to arms because of what our government is doing.

This is horrible! For years the Republican party has tended to use Fear to drive home their points. From 9/11 until now every talking point went through the lens of Fear. From the War on Terror to now the War on Obamacare. And guess what... people are actually afraid! And this is what happens when Fear is mixed with ignorance! And our government officials have to hold responsibility for this! When you lead by the example of grouping a certain group of people and holding all of them responsible, maybe not blatantly, but definitely through your words, people will follow your lead. And yes, I am talking about the conservative war on Muslims. And what the Republicans and Tea Partiers have recently been doing is holding Democrats in total responsible for this new onslaught of "socialism" and "Marxism" and and overall responsibility for the state that everyone is in right now. And unfortunately, Ms. Giffords has been grouped into this group that has been the cause of the Fear that the conservatives propagate.

People will call on "toning down the Washington rhetoric." All officials, both Democrats and Republicans, will be participating in the conversation. But this is not a liberal issue! This is a conservative problem!

When 58% of the GOP doubts or are unsure about the fact that Obama was actually born here, this is not a liberal issue!

When 63% of the GOP truly believe that Obama is a socialist, this is not a liberal issue!

For the last couple of years many conservatives have been towing the line of heated rhetoric versus a call to violence. Today is a product of that. It needs to stop.

It's Been A Long Time...

...I should not have left you, without a dope blog to step to.

I haven't posted in so long that this blog might as well be dead. Sorry about that. Here are some of my thoughts that have sprung up in the past month that I would have perhaps blogged about if I was more responsible with this here site:

- I do not like Julian Assange's face

- I blame my lack of blogging solely on The Twitter and The Facebook. I post shit on there when I think of it and not on here. But then it goes away as soon as more tweets or stati come through. But this shit right here is forever man

- I am (re)falling in love with the New York Knickerbockers

- I still do not get for the life of me why people keep the protective plastic on their electronics way after they have purchased them. No class.

- I have been going to the gym so much recently, more so than I did in the summer. The data nerd in me is trying to obtain a printout of all the times I have been at the Y since I joined in '07 so that I could make a graph of it on Excel.

- Speaking of Excel, the Paste Special function gives me a digital orgasm every time

- I cannot stand when the 2 or 3 express train pulls away on 96th or 72nd RIGHT when the 1 train is stopping. What the FUCK is up with that shit??

- Speaking of the trains, I witnessed or heard two fights on the platform/inside the train last night. I fear I may be involved in one soon.

- 5HE still works so wonderfully well and anyone who hates on it is missing out.

- From the Dmitry-hates-on-things-that-are-popular-when-they-first-come-out-but-not-several-years-later-when-the-love-has-died-down department, Arrested Development is the shit!

- 4Loko is overhyped

- That new song by Rihanna, "What's My Name," really makes me want to stick it in her. I mean, I have always thought were her to be alright, but her fivehead always got in the way. But there is something about that song...

- Speaking of music, GirlTalk's "All Day" is beautiful

- Can everyone lay the fuck off of Obama. Shit! His job is hard! He's trying his best! All of the fucking liberals who are all "I am not voting for him in 2012 if he doesn't do ________ or if he goes through and does ________." Man, STFU!! You know you are going to vote for him no matter what!

31 days....

...since my last blog post!

The New York Knickerbockers

I first started watching the Knicks when they were in the playoffs in '94. I was in 4th grade and one of my friends told me to watch them play on TV. I would keep going home and looking at the TV Guide and only seeing something about a "conference" on channel 4. In my mind, my innocent mind, I figured I didn't want to watch a bunch of men sitting around the table discussing things. But my friend kept telling me and telling me and I finally tuned into the "Eastern Conference Semifinals." Bulls vs. Knicks. Game 7.

I would watch the rest of that mesmerizing playoff series and fall in love. Until John Starks broke my heart in the Finals.

It was easy to be a Knicks fan in the 90s. We were pretty good! Plus we had that sick rivalry with the Heat when we would get into a fight every year in the playoffs.

Then came the 2001-2002 season. And after that, I lost interest. Yea you can blame me for being a fair-weather fan, but it's not like the Knicks were winning a championship every year (a la Yankees). They just had character. The teams after 2001 did not. They were just a collection of overpaid, under-performing, former superstars. And the management... ugh, just fucking awful.

So now comes this season. The season we have all been waiting for. I would say that even with all the hype I probably would have only watched secondhandly. But ehre has been a perfect storm of events that now have me thinking I can be into the Knicks as much as I was back in the 90s.

First off, the Yankees most recently pissed me off to no end. Not like from 2001-2008. But more of a "wow, you were just so pathetic you really did not deserve to go to the WS" way. So now my NY sports thirst remains unquenched.

Secondly, I very recently had the pleasure of going to a Knicks preseason game and sitting courtside (my view above). Now, on the one hand this has ruined all future live games for me because there is nothing like sitting literally on the court. On the other though, for the first time in 10 years I know the names of most of the Knicks players! I am much more invested in them now as a result of that game.

Thirdly, and this is more of a future investment, I am on the brink of joining an NBA fantasy league for the first time. Now, if my NFL fantasy experience is any indication, I will become A LOT more involved in the NBA in general, and thus in the Knicks.

So there you have it (not like you really wanted it). I am an ex-disgruntled fan coming back to the team I used to love. Win or lose this year I am excited to see what happens. And also excited to beat the fucking heat!

White Boys

DAT Justice

I'm Alive Again

I got through ebbs then I get back in the game by posting videos. You know the routine by now.

This one is simply too good not to watch.

iPhone Apps I Love: Part II

Angry Birds

I hated on this for awhile (obviously). But once I got it, oooohhh man, it was on. I have beaten every stage of every level with 3 stars. It is addicting. I heard now they are even coming out with a movie for it. I definitely WILL NOT be seeing that, but the app is definitely worth paying a buck for. Try it out.

Chase

Many of us in NYC are Chase card holders. If you are and you own an iPhone, you HAVE to get this free app. It has the usual checking of balance function and finding the nearest Chase ATM function, but the far-and-away best feature is the option to take photos of a check and automatically deposit it into your account. Sick!

NextStop

Great free app. Basically, it tells you when your the subway is coming next. You can look at the NYC subway app, program in your favorite lines, and automatically see how much time you have until the train comes. Also great for seeing when you can transfer from train to train. You don't need to have service to see the times either

Concrastination

I started this blog Thursday, August 2, 2007. Thats 3 years, 1 month and 5 days. Or, more impressively, 1132 days of the DAT.

First of all, you gotta give me props for keeping a blog for 3.1 years. Others have came and went, while I have stayed (relatively) consistent.

Anyway, I digress. Obviously this blog was originally (and now in part still) called CONCRASTINATION. I named it that because I thought it was clever as though reading this blog would be the opposite of "procrastination."

That never made sense.

Well now, I think I have figured out what CONCRASTINATION really means. It is something I do so well. It is something I do everyday. It is something I am doing right now.

CONCRASTINATION is the act of doing something important well, efficiently and thoroughly WHILE procrastinating doing something of a higher priority and/or importance.

For instance, right now I should be outlining and writing my business school essays. Instead, I am keeping up with my blog. Bschool is a higher priority. My blog is of lower importance, but yet still worth doing.

Another example, in college, when you caught yourself cleaning your apartment when you needed to be reading that book.

Everybody does it. Now you know what to call it.

Look Alikes: Josh Duhamel & Timothy Olyphant

This Is America

"Ground Zero" "Mosque"

I haven't taken much time on this blog recently to weigh in on on pressing social issues that have made it into the national discussion. I want to, and always make a mental point of doing so, but it never really happens for some reason.

I think I will start trying to do it more. Here are my views regarding the "Ground Zero" "Mosque."

There exist so many avenues through which to enter this discussion. Let's just start with the above photo. Obviously, this is not a "Ground Zero" mosque. It's actually a couple of blocks away, with buildings in between. So that characterization falls pretty flat. Interesting.

But let's not focus on semantics here. Let's instead focus on the huge outpouring of anti-American sentiment that has resulted because of this proposed "mosque" (I am going to put mosque in quotations because it is actually a community center that is potentially being built). Yes, anti-American sentiment. I will make my views very clear:

Anyone who opposes the construction of this "Ground Zero" "mosque" is expressing very disturbing and very real anti-American sentiments.

Why? Well, I think the answer is pretty fucking obvious. America is about having freedoms and having rights. It is what it has been for hundreds of years. It's what makes this country the best country in the whole world. It is about freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of worship and yes, freedom of BUILDING "MOSQUES" WHEREVER YOU FEEL LIKE!

The whole notion that this will somehow upset people because of 9/11 is RIDICULOUS. Um, hello, 9/11 was planned and executed by EXTREMISTS. We cannot as a society shun ALL Muslims because of it. Muslims are Americans too! Crazy, right?! They work for a living here in New York, many times helping with the daily nuances of life, like, say, getting you to work, or getting you breakfast (obviously there are a million other things Muslims do in New York but I want to focus on these two because you find these things very close to Ground Zero). Maybe we should ban Muslim taxi-cab drivers from entering a 10 block radius in lower Manhattan. Or, how about we ban the Halal carts from lower Manhattan while we're at it. That would make just about as much sense as all of the "Ground Zero" "mosque" bullshit.

All of this really pisses me off. There is such an obvious right truth to this. And it is lost in the petty politics that are society has been stripped down to. For some reason, for many Americans, the notion that this country has helped millions of immigrants over the years has been lost. From the immigration debate, to this "mosque" business and to countless other things, certain "Americans" want to be here and stay here and get everybody who doesn't look like them the fuck out of here. Well guess what, sometimes I think we would be MUCH better served if we got those asshole the fuck out of here. And then, I think, that America also is made up of those assholes and it wouldn't be fair to kick them out and feeling this sentiment would be me sinking down to their level.

Every time this news story pops up I just get sad and upset. Sad because stories like this reinforce in me the feeling that I will never be able to see and actually INTELLECTUAL national discussion take place. That there will always in my lifetime be too many ignorant people who are controlling the discussion. That obvious issues like gay marriage will never be resolved in my lifetime because politics will now and forever be dominated by allegiance to Party over Country. Let's hope this is not the case.

Trailer for "Black Swan"

This is from the guy who directed "The Wrestler" and "Requiem for a Dream."

It is worth putting here because it contains footage of the 2 hottest women ever making out.