Jam of the Week

Time to bring back Jam of the Week (not that we ever had it in the first place). Leading off is Drizzy with "I'm Ready for You." Check back every Tuesday for the weekly Jam of the Week. I thought it was time we had some consistency here at the Alb.

That's More Like It!

Just in case you have forgotten, let me remind you how terrible I was at laser tag when we went for Sarah's birthday last year. First of all, I wasn't even allowed in the group photo. I had a lame code name (Mush). And I was by far the worst guy, and if it wasn't for Susan (also not allowed in photo) I would have finished in dead last a few times.

Well I finally got a chance to redeem myself because our camp went to Laser Zone today. And my oh my how the tables have turned. Kids were scared of me the minute we stepped off the bus. 5-year old in the corner. Bam! 8 year old running loose. Snipe! I put up a 140,000 spot in the first game, and then came back with a 230,000 point effort in my second attempt. Both high scores, of course.

And I think I know why I was so dominant. This version of laser tag wasn't every man for himself. There were two teams and the goal was to shoot the other team's base. Well if you get 500 points for each shot at the your opponent's base, and you only lose 50 points if you get shot, that's a net of 450 points. The other kids couldn't figure that out, but I exploited that shit all day long. Not just a pretty face here.

P.S. Looking good Ben. Nice chin strap.

I Got I Got I Got I Got Your Back Boy

I think Keri Hilson summarized pretty accurately my thoughts on Manny getting claimed off waivers by the White Sox. I know a lot of people around here like to be hard on Manny, but he's still the best hitter I've ever seen and I will defend his antics to my grave. So Manny: Keep your swag up. Keep it looking good for ya. Keep it looking hood for ya.

BC Cutting Off Its Nose to Spite Its Face

I understand that everybody makes mistakes from time to time. Mischa Barton asked to be written off The OC because she thought she was hot shit. Fine. Car accident and you’re dead. Done and done. Just don’t come crying to me just because nobody has thought about you once in the last three years. In her defense though, she was probably the hottest young actress at the time, and studios were probably lining up at the door to get her. Her real mistake was every decision she made after she left the show.

So while I will make an excuse for Mischa, I’m not making any for the Tyrannosaurus Rex of a mistake that BC is about to make. They are about to launch a pilot program for this check-in system in Walsh, which has complete disaster written all over it. Walsh residents will have to swipe their card upon entering the building. All other BC students have to sign in, and only students that actually live in Walsh can have non-BC guests. And furthermore, “overnight” rules will be enforced as well.

Is this real life? This is Walsh we’re talking about. This has absolutely 0% chance of working. What happens on a Friday night when there are, and this isn’t an understatement, 2000 people going in and out of the building each hour? The line is going to stretch through the Mods, and it’s going to be complete chaos. Not to mention it is just plain wrong to strip away the experience of living in Walsh from all these kids. Now they're all going to run off campus or to senior housing and get into even more trouble. It just bothers me that somebody came up with this idea, said to themselves, “Yeah, this should work,” and then carried on with their day. Ugh.

#1 Pick in 2018 NBA Draft...

However, I have those exact same handles and I'm eligible for the league right now, so if you're trying to win now maybe I'm your guy.

Trill Bloggin'

Is this a joke? There is actually nothing going on in the world right now. Seriously, tell me one thing that has happened in the past two weeks. Nothing in sports. Nothing in politics. No noteworthy celebrity scandals. Ever since I decided I was gonna try to make something of this blog, I can’t even buy a good story.

Yesterday I spent 15 hours moving out of two apartments. All I kept thinking about was going home, checking TMZ, and banging out a quick blog. But what do I find? More redundant stories on Speidi, Paris, and Lindsay, in that order. C'mon people, just give me something to get me through night. That’s what she said. So I basically have to think this shit up on my own.

Here are the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of the Decade. Sorry no mixtapes. I know Calvin and other hip-hop "experts" out there are gonna give me shit for not having like 17 underground albums ahead of Kanye and Jay-Z, or for not having Common on there 12 different times. But do me a favor, get over yourself.

1. College Dropout – Kanye West
2. The Black Album – Jay-Z
3. Marshall Mathers LP – Eminem
4. Man on the Moon: The End of Days – Kid Cudi
5. The Blueprint – Jay-Z
6. Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor – Lupe Fiasco
7. Get Rich or Die Trying – 50 Cent
8. The Carter III – Lil Wayne
9. Late Registration – Kanye West
10. The Chronic 2001 – Dr. Dre (released November of 1999 but who’s counting)
11. Stankonia – Outkast
12. The Carter II – Lil Wayne
13. Quality – Talib Kweli
14. Graduation – Kanye West
15. The Eminem Show - Eminem
16. Pursuit of Nappyness – Nappy Roots
17. Revolutionary Vol. 2 – Immortal Technique
18. Undisputed Truth - Brother Ali
19. Be - Common
20. Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool – Lupe Fiasco
21. Documentary – The Game
22. Let’s Get Free – Dead Prez
23. Phrenology – The Roots
24. KING – T.I.
25. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – Outkast

2 Months Exactly Until the NBA Tips Off

We know Yao's excited.



(Obviously playing Counter Strike)

Introducing the Next Hit T.V. Show

It’s a dog eat dog world out there, and if you’re going to come out on top, you need to be able navigate your way through a conversation. Since the only way to do that is to be 100% up-to-date on all your pop culture, you need to be caught up on your T.V. If you’re currently watching Mad Men, Jersey Shore, How to Make it in America, Modern Family, Top Chef, Community, Entourage, Hung, Weeds, Breaking Bad, The Real Housewives of DC, True Blood, The Rachel Zoe Project and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami like I currently am, then you’re in good shape. If not, it's time you started taking your life a little more seriously.

I’m not going to just flat out say I’m the world’s greatest expert when it comes to T.V., but I’m basically the world’s greatest expert when it comes to T.V. I can watch a show for 15 minutes and essentially tell you how big it is going to be. Not how “good” the show is, because who really cares about that. But how popular the show will be. Who will be watching. How frequently the show will be referenced in society. Things like that. I watched the pilot of The O.C. the night it aired and knew immediately it was going to be the biggest thing on the planet. I was with LOST from the beginning. Same thing with Modern Family. I knew Jersey Shore would blow up a month before it even premiered. I just have the gift.

And so without having even seen the pilot, I’m happy to inform you that the next big show in American pop culture is…The Event. It premieres September 20 at 9pm on NBC.

Don't Say You Didn't Hear It From Me

I'm not going to bore you all with a NFL Season preview or anything like that. We all know that football is just there to kill time until the NBA comes back. But there is one thing that I will say about NFL, and it has to do with how stupid GM's are when it comes to evaluating QB's. Here are two predictions you can take to the bank:

1. Mark Sanchez is a backup QB by 2013. If there is one thing in this world I hate more than Rex Ryan, it is Mark Sanchez. He is so terrible, I have no idea why people are actually picking the Jets to make some noise this year. He can't throw a football 30 yards down the field! Open your eyes people. And don't give me this "He's still in his second year" bullshit. You can either throw the ball or you can't. See Tebow, Tim.

2. Jimmy Clausen will be the best QB from this past draft class. I am pretty anti-college football and I still saw Clausen play like 6 times last year and he is an NFL QB for sure. Bradford will probably be pretty solid, but the fact that Clausen went in the 2nd round is a joke. Seriously, give me my own NFL team already.

Did I Really Just Do the Unthinkable?

I've been running this blog empire for 2 months now and just realized it's actually spelled Albemarle, not Albermarle. I'm going to chalk this one up as one of those things that adds "character" to the blog, which I guess it could use. I just wanted to own up to my screw-up before someone called me out on it.

Quick Thoughts on Going Back to School

1. GFBC baby! That’s Grenade-Free Boston College. And no land mines either. It’s important to set goals and this is one of mine for this year. Certainly achievable but probably unlikely for me.

2. Quinn you better bring it this year in your Mod. I’m only like 70% confident that you will and that’s like 40% not enough. Good thing you have your roommates to pull you through. I like those guys.

3. Football season! Let’s be honest as soon as I hit “Confirm Order” on my $150 BC season tickets I knew it was a big mistake. That’s like 15 orders of New Hong Kong just gone out the window. Now I have to fake like I care about this shit for the next 3 months. Oh college sports, this really is the last year I’m ever dealing with you.

4. Am I really gonna have to run a marathon every year to stay in shape? Living next to a liquor store/Pino’s just killed me and I probably haven’t been this chubby since the 4th grade. Hitting that Plex early and often.

Deal or No Deal Arcade Game

Let's ignore the fact that this guy absolutely sucks at Deal or No Deal for a minute. How unbelievably awesome is this game!? I saw it at Chuck E Cheese yesterday and literally couldn't believe my eyes. I spent all 20 of my tokens on it. It's Deal or No Deal and the prize is tickets. Fucking genius! I'm 100% getting one of these for my house when I'm older, and I could care less that I won't be able to do anything with the tickets.

Kanye West to Release New Song Every Friday - ARTISTdirect News

Kanye West to Release New Song Every Friday - ARTISTdirect News

I'm very excited for Kanye's new album, Dark Twisted Fantasy. It's supposed to come out in November, and we've already heard some songs like "Power" and "See Me Now," which I both really enjoyed. This is probably the most excited I've been for an album in a while. Sure, Cudi and Lupe and others have held down the fort in the last few years, but Kanye is still my first love and it's always a little more special with him.

Mike Wins Counselor of the Week Honorable Mention After Only One Week of Camp

Ok ok, so it’s not an official Counselor of the Week (C.O.W.) award, but an honorable mention is pretty damn good considering I was only there for five days. It only took me three days, but I did finally get my hands on the Ipod Silly Band, too. My biggest mistake was showing my cards way too early. As soon as I showed up on Monday morning I basically announced to the entire camp that I was desperate for it, which completely diminished any leverage I had. In the end, I ended up having to give a piggy-back ride to a camper to AND from Crystal Lake, which absolutely destroyed my back.

But my biggest contribution to camp definitely came on Friday when Upper Camp had its annual Summer Prom. I walk into the Prom and see counselors fumbling through NOW CD’s trying to find a good dance song. The kids just aren’t having it at all and this rager seems like it will be as much fun as the Mods were last year. Well have no fear children, Mike is here and he brought his iPod with him. So yeah, that’s when I take over as DJ and start killing it on the 1’s and 2’s. I mean just every song was a total jam. Bieber. Derulo. Kingston. Peas. Perry featuring Dogg. All the big names. The only minor hiccup was when I played Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” and things slowed up a bit. But that’s what makes me different from most DJ’s out there. I don’t think I’m bigger than the game itself. The kids weren’t feeling it, so halfway through I hit ‘em up with Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart” and the place went bonkers. I guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks, though.

Meet the 1914 guys

Albermarle All-Stars is in a state of transition. Everyone is going back to school and I’m going to need some new material for the upcoming semester. So I’m officially introducing you all to the 1914 guys that you already know. I’m not living with them next year but my other roommates are all weird and didn’t want to stay at BC this summer. So I’m holding off on bringing them into the picture until they really show me something.

Jon:

Bio: Jon is from Long Island via Mexico, but claims he is Puerto Rican. At this point I don’t know what to believe. I think he is an English major, but he might just be taking a lot of classes so he can finally learn the language. His hobbies include surfing and wearing his sweet sunglasses around on campus. Jon is also a dedicated supporter of Arsenal F.C.

Strengths: Is good at soccer which is good for when we go play pick-up together. Jon is also a very good cook, which is usually a plus except for when he judges me for microwaving hot dogs. But most importantly, Jon is my Beruit partner at school. We win tournaments on the reg and are basically celebrities everywhere we go.

Must Improve: Lack of pop culture knowledge makes it impossible to have a conversation with him. I ask him perfectly reasonable questions like “What do you think is gonna happen with Scott and Kourtney?” and he looks at me like I’m speaking Chinese.

Josh :

Bio: Josh is a local boy from North Andover, not to be confused with regular Andover. Probably one of the top 10 Fenway vendors of all time, and this is only his first season. Earlier this summer Jesse proclaimed Josh was about 10% hipster, which I guess is true. He’s a very good musician, as you can probably guess by the inordinate amount of instruments in his room.

Strengths: Very knowledgeable on Boston sports and my go-to guy for any related discussion. And the same goes for anything Barstool. Josh turned 21 the same week as me, and so we basically tore Boston apart until everyone else became legal. Josh is also a grill master, which was sweet when I didn’t work for the first 6 weeks of the summer and needed to do something to pass the time. Also is very strategic in his placement of mouse traps around our apartment. Roughly a 30% shooting percentage on those, which is actually quite high.

Must improve: We don’t call him the Bulldozer for no reason. He’s basically a human wrecking ball who punched through several of the walls in our apartment. He’s also deaf and therefore plays his music at intolerable levels.

Lorenzo:

Bio: He went back to Long Island today and isn’t coming back until school starts, so I’ll probably never see him again. But in any case, I love Lebronzo. He shops more than any person I have ever met in my life, and his justification is that he bought a monthly T Pass and therefore can get off at every stop and buy something. Most days he comes home, holds up a T-shirt that he just bought off the street, and asks if we think he should cut the sleeves off. The answer is always yes.

Strengths: Helped me make the decision to switch to Accounting, for which I am very grateful. Also brought all of his friends to that party we had in the beginning of the summer, which was mad fun. Zo would also wake me up at 7:15 for work if I was still sleeping, but usually he made sure he got a quick snuggle-sesh in first.

Must improve: Comes back to the apartment obliterated and requires constant care. Like last week when I literally had to put him on my shoulders and carry him up the stairs. Other than that he’s fine though.

Bryan aka Beej:

Bio: Interned with Calvin’s dad this summer and met some of our friends at Chad’s graduation party. So props for that. Also is leading a trip to Belize in the same program as me (I’m going to Mexico), and only the coolest of the cool people get the chance to do that.

Strengths: Nobody can say anything bad about Bryan. Such a nice guy who frequently wears wifebeaters and gives everyone the privilege of seeing those guns. Can also be counted on for playing interesting video games that I never would have known about if I never lived with him.

Must improve: Attendance. Makes one or two appearance every week at the apartment, but we could really use a little more Beej action around here.