Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 98 - 02-26-11 - Hey kids, take up juggling.

Carmelo Anthony has been traded away from Denver, and Craig finds himself liking the Nuggets again. To celebrate his new kindled love for his NBA team, he goes over all manner of random topics with Face Ventura and The Whale in Episode 98. The boys discuss breast milk ice cream, proposing at a baseball stadium, and Vampire Hippos just to name a few odd topics covered in this show.

This show was the premiere of the "Something to think about" segment, in which we cover a bunch of random topics with pretty much zero structure...perfect segment for the VSR horde. (Oh, and if you see a dead cat, take a picture for Craig's new calendar.)

Craig also ticketed a few deserving wankers, including Carmelo Anthony...although not for turning his back on Denver.

Craig finished up with a quick discussion of his Oscar picks. Face Ventura seemed rather unpleased that a movie centered around Mickey Ward was up for an Oscar, and snuck in a tiny bit of boxing talk at the wire as a result. Craig did his best to nip that sort of thing in the bud immediately. We finished off with a music recommendation of the song "Rio" by Hey Marseilles.

Oscars 2011: Breaking down the Best Picture Nominees

I can't be absolutely complete with my breakdown, as unfortunately, I haven't seen The Fighter or 127 hours, but as someone who has seen 80% of the Best Picture nominees, I feel like I have a pretty solid handle on the category this year. I have ranked the movies I have seen from 1 to 8. Well, technically, from 1 to 10 skipping 8 and 9, as I disliked The Kids Are All Right so much that I already know I like 127 hours and The Fighter more than that movie, even though I've never seen them. Perhaps I'll see the last two I'm missing at some point and update this list, but for now: Here are how I have the nominees ranked, first the two that I missed, and then the 8 that I did see ranked from worst to first.

The Two Films I didn't see (and yet still like more than The Kids Are All Right):

The Fighter – Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams in a look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.

127 Hours – James Franco is nominated for Best Actor playing Aron Ralston, a hiker who becomes trapped while hiking near Moab, Utah, and has to resort to cutting off his own arm to survive.

The Countdown of the 8 I did see:

The Kids Are All Right – (10 of 8)
Ugh. This wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen nominated for Best Picture. After all, The Hours got a nomination, and Crash, The English Patient and Million Dollar Baby all won, for crying out loud. However, this is easily the worst movie that garnered a nomination this year. (And I say that not even having seen The Fighter or 127 Hours, but I refuse to believe either could fall south of this one on my list. The Kids Are All Right is the simple story of two lesbians who have raised a family together when suddenly their sperm donor is introduced to the family. The sperm donor seduces one of the lesbians, the lesbians reunite, and then general manufactured alternative family drama ensues. Egad. Annette Bening does an admirable job playing the career oriented bitch, but again…much like Jeff Bridges in True Grit, I’m not sure she’s acting. She always has a knack for playing a convincing uptight career woman, this character is basically the alcoholic lesbian version of her character from American Beauty. The perfect illustration of why I hated this movie can be found in the fact that the two lesbians (Bening and Julianne Moore) get in the mood by watching male gay porn. What?!? I would say avoid this one like the plague, I really despised it.

Winter’s Bone – (7 of 8)
This under-the-radar thriller shows the perils of living life as a member of a drug dealing family in rural Arkansas. The movie radiates the feeling of being cold. Seriously, if you watch it, bring a blanket. This dark movie shows the resilience of a young girl’s love for her brother and sister in light of a terrible situation. Jennifer Lawrence brings a good deal of innocence and an even larger sum of determination to her role as a 17 year old in over her head. Her dad has put the family home up as collateral on a bail bond, and she must fight a code of secrecy and some scary backwoods crank dealers to try and find her father and keep the state from taking away the home. That modest log house is holding her stressed family together by a string, as she struggles to provide for her siblings and their mentally disturbed mother. Losing the house means losing her family, which she is unwilling to consider. Facing death, beatings, or worse, she plunges headlong into dark and foreboding circumstances with no clear idea of what she needs to do, but with a determination to do whatever it takes to keep her family from being tossed out in the cold. Winter’s Bone is another film that is in the good but not quite great range. I’m sure just getting nominated felt like a win for these small film makers. While I wasn’t blown away by the flick, its quality is undeniable.

The Social Network – (6 of 8)
I can distinctly remember thinking to myself that Hollywood is officially out of ideas when I heard they made a movie about the creation of Facebook. Turns out, I was wrong. The Social Network takes Jesse Eisenberg, an actor whom I previously only associated either with fighting the undead in Zombieland or looking like a dead ringer for Michael Cera and it turns him into an acting force. Eisenberg’s nomination for Best Actor is well deserved, even if I don’t think he has much of a shot at winning. The Social Network shows the perils and pratfalls of having success thrust upon you, and how that can have both good and bad ramifications. I found the Social Network to be enjoyable and in step with human emotions as they relate to sudden success and sudden failure sometimes both of which arrive for the main characters simultaneously. Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg shows a proper level of arrogance and naïveté, and helps explain what it might have been like to create a mammoth like Facebook. I have heard some conspiracy theories that perhaps Social Network will win Best Picture because so many people use Facebook that it would be a boon to the Oscars. I, however, don’t fully understand the logic of this theory. I have a Facebook account, but I can’t see myself being excited if somehow The Social Network won an Oscar just because I use it. I use Facebook much like I use a McDonald’s drive through. It’s helpful and useful, but I’m not going to go gaga if Mickey D’s wins Burger of the Year just because I enjoy the occasional Big Mac. While The Social Network is a very good film, I think it falls rather short of greatness. I’m okay with it’s nomination for Best Picture, but I’ll be upset if it somehow manages to win over more deserving candidates.

Toy Story 3 – (5 of 8)
Toy Story 3 has a lot of things going against it in a quest to win Best Picture. Firstly, it’s a sequel, Godfather II and The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King are the only sequels to have ever won Best Picture. Secondly, it’s an animated movie. It is only the third animated movie to have ever been nominated for the highest award the Academy presents, so that’s an accomplishment by itself, but I don’t think that it can win. I find it hard to believe the Academy would see fit to present it’s highest reward to a film in a genre generally regarded as kids fare; Which is a shame, because Toy Story 3 actually delivers a more emotional punch than most live action films can hope to muster. Still, it’s hard to see a movie with this much merchandising (everything from Action Figures to lunch boxes) also garnering a Best Picture. Yet, if you can strip away the Disney marketing, you’re left with a movie that tells the story of the bitter sweetness of children growing up from the perspective of the child’s toys. At its heart, Toy Story 3 is a statement about the fleeting nature of human life and how we all are here but for a moment, which is a pretty heavy concept to attach to a Happy Meal. Kids probably miss a lot of this, but if you see it as a parent, it can get you a bit verklempt…Talk amongst yourselves…I’ll give you a topic: The Kids are Alright is a Bad Picture and yet got nominated for Best Picture…discuss…

Inception – (4 of 8)
Is it possible that Leonardo DiCaprio is under appreciated? Despite the fact that he has fame and acclaim to beat the band, I still feel like the world underestimates how good he is. Inception is a great vehicle for him. It’s rare that a movie is both this good and this well received by the general public. Inception owes much of its success to its premise, which is logically coherent even as it is ridiculously implausible. The fact that the viewer doesn’t get hopelessly lost in a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream is a feat of writing in and of itself. The story and structure kind of overpowers the actors, who all do a good job in their roles, but no one really steals the show apart from perhaps a brooding Leo. It was a superbly written and directed movie, and it is both eye candy and a mind bender that I really loved. I don’t see it having any legitimate shot at bringing home the Oscar, but it is a nod to big time moviemaking that it was nominated. If the Academy only nominated five films like they used to prior to last year, this one is probably on the fence as to whether or not it would receive a nomination. Films like Inception are making me rethink my original position that 10 nominees are too many. The more I ponder it, the more it seems like a good idea.

Black Swan – (3 of 8)
Although Black Swan is not my second favorite film nominated, I would guess that it would be the second place finisher for Best Picture if the Academy ranked the nominees rather than just handing out a single winner . I hated this movie for the first 70 minutes, but then it comes together and blows you away with the way it bursts to the finish. Black Swan makes you question what is real and what isn’t, and it examines how far being driven to succeed can carry someone both positively and negatively. It’s a frightening look into what it might be like to lose your damn mind. Natalie Portman displays the greatest acting chops she’s ever shown and single-handedly carries this movie to the next level. If she doesn’t win Best Actress, I’ll be very surprised. The Black Swan is dark, swirling, and disturbing; but ultimately it’s a great film. I’ll probably never watch it again, as it’s a movie you survive rather than enjoy, but there is no denying its greatness and the impact it has on you long after you see it.

True Grit – (2 of 8)
I’m an unapologetic fan boy of the Coen Brothers, and I found True Grit to be exceptional. You’ll hear many people call this one a remake of the John Wayne film, but don’t be fooled. The Coens didn’t refer to the 1969 picture at all in the making of this film. Rather they decided to start fresh and make the film as a more faithful adaptation of the Charles Portis novel. The resulting film is perhaps one of the most accessible Coen brothers’ films in their catalog. It is a tremendous script with complex dialogue that is handled adroitly by the accomplished cast. Jeff Bridges plays Rooster Cogburn in a drunk and disorderly manner which I would think might be worthy of consideration for winning the Best Actor award, except after seeing him in Crazy Heart and The Big Lebowski I’m not sure playing a drunk and disorderly character is acting for Bridges. I think he just IS that crusty lovable drunk. Matt Damon plays Texas Ranger LaBoeuf well enough, I suppose, although he won’t blow you away. To me the best performance in the film is that of 14 year old Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. The script was so difficult that it seemed unlikely that that the Coens would be able to find anyone young enough for the role and yet capable enough to do the part justice. Steinfeld not only does a passable job, she hits the role out of the park. She often outshines the all-star cast that includes Bridges, Damon, and Josh Brolin. Steinfeld is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and it's tough to choose between her and Helena Bonham Carter from The Kings Speech. True Grit is a must see if you enjoy Westerns and really even if you don’t. This one is a doozy of a straightforward Western with just enough Coen quirk flavoring it that you really should check it out. It really won me over despite the fact that generally I'm not a huge fan of Westerns.

The Kings Speech – (1 of 8)
The premise of this movie makes it sound like there is no possible way this movie could even be good, much less great. Here is the basic setup: The Duke of York has a debilitating stammer, also he was somewhat abused psychologically as a child as a result of his stutter. His confidence is shaken and he really does not want to be king. However, he is forced into the crown when his brother abdicates the throne. Unfortunately for him, his crowning as King arrives at a moment in history where radio is changing what is required of a king. It is no longer okay to just look regal, you have to speak regally to your subjects now. He is a strong guy, but deals with a lot of fear of public speaking. To correct this, he goes to a speech therapist that helps him not only with his stutter, but he also helps him to be a better man, and at the end, he helps the King deliver an important radio address to the nation in time of war. Yup, that is the movie in a nutshell, and it sounds dreadfully dull. However, once you see it, you’ll understand. This story is inspiring, heart-warming, emotional, and the acting performances are unreal. Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist is exceptionally lovable. Helena Bonham Carter does a great job as George the Sixth’s wife. Colin Firth really needs to win Best Actor for his betrayal of a flawed and stammering, yet ultimately strong man and king. I can’t recommend this movie highly enough. If it doesn’t win Best Picture, I’m going to be bummed.

The 2011 Vertically Striped Oscar Predictions and Random Guesses Post:

It's Oscar week, and I'm more excited about the Academy Awards than I have been for any sporting event since the Super Bowl. Therefore, in the spirit of my terrible NFL picks, here are my terrible Oscar picks. Check back on Thursday for my in depth breakdown of the Best Picture race. I have seen 8 of the 10 nominated films, so I feel like I have a decent handle on which movie should win and why.

Best Picture: (Pick: The King’s Speech) To me, this is a two horse race. It’s between Black Swan and The King’s Speech. Those were easily the best two films of the year. I’m going to side with The King’s Speech as my pick, although I won’t be surprised if Black Swan pulls the slight upset. Anything else in this category would feel wrong to me.

Actor in a Leading Role: (Pick: Colin Firth) It is a crime if Colin Firth doesn’t win this for The King’s Speech. Flat out wrong.

Actress in a Leading Role: (Pick: Natalie Portman) Another one that feels like a slam dunk to me. Natalie Portman gave the performance of the year in my mind playing a ballerina who loses all touch with reality in order to achieve perfection for a short time.

Actor in a Supporting Role: (Pick: Christian Bale) From all accounts, he is amazing in this one. I haven’t seen it, but I’m thinking it’s going to be Bale. I’m hoping for Geoffrey Rush, as I haven’t enjoyed a character in a film as much as his Speech Therapist from The King’s Speech in quite some time, but I think the Academy will be looking to spread around the awards a bit, and that might hurt Rush. John Hawkes was good in Winter’s Bone, but I think that film is too obscure for him to garner a win. Mark Ruffalo’s character was just a bumbling guy, I don’t think there was enough acting involved for him to win, and I haven’t heard enough from Jeremy Renner’s performance in the Town to think he’ll win. This is perhaps the most wide open of the five biggest awards, I think.

Actress in a Supporting Role: (Pick: Hailee Steinfeld) Two nominees from The Fighter might cancel each other out. I’m hoping for Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit, but Helena Bonham Carter would be a solid choice as well. In the end, I’m taking the 14 year old on a hunch.

Directing: (Pick: Darren Aronofsky – The Black Swan) The movie is disturbing, but it’s exceptionally artful.

Animated Feature Film: (Pick: Toy Story 3) Toy Story 3, obviously. It was nominated for Best Picture. This is the biggest no-brainer of the night.

Art Direction: (Pick: Inception) The world created in Inception was great, I don’t think any other film is going to get this. I’d give an outside chance to Alice in Wonderland, although I think the story in the movie may have been to fluffy and insignificant to garner an Oscar, but the visuals in it were tremendous.

Cinematography (Pick: Black Swan) This movie is crafted beautifully, and the choppiness of many scenes adds to the chaotic feel of the thing. Feels like an Oscar winner to me.

Costume Design: (Pick: Alice in Wonderland) This fantastical world of Wonderland had to be quite an undertaking to costume.

Okay, Here is where I start just making random uninformed guesses:

Documentary: (Pick: Exit through the Gift Shop) Okay, I have no clue on this one, but Netflix suggested I watch this one, and that’s good enough for me. It’s fun to have something to root for, even if you’re completely clueless about it.

Documentary Short Subject: (Pick: Sun Come Up) Again, no clue. Total guess.

Film Editing: (Pick: Black Swan) I have no idea how they decide who did the best job editing, but I’ll go Black Swan here…

Foreign Language Film: (Pick: Biutiful) Javier Bardem was nominated for Best Actor in this one, so I’m guessing it’s going to win. Not much more to go on than that.

Makeup: (Pick: The Wolfman) How can you not root for something called “The Wolfman” to win an award??

Original Score: (Pick: Inception) – When in doubt, guess Hans Zimmer, right?

Music (Original Song): (Pick: Toy Story 3) – “We Belong Together” – Like I’m going to pick against Randy Newman? Not likely.

Short Film (Animated): (Pick: Day and Night) – It’s the only one I saw, and I remember being impressed. Outside possibility to The Gruffalo because the character is cool looking.

Short Film (Live Action): (Pick: Wish 143) – Total guess again.

Sound Editing: (Pick: Toy Story 3) – Yet another guess, although how do they determine who edited the best sound? So random.

Sound Mixing: (Pick: The King’s Speech) – As long as Salt doesn’t win, I’m happy. I hated the movie Salt.

Visual Effects – (Pick: Inception) - Whole cities flipped around in that. Pretty amazing.

Adapted Screenplay – (Pick: True Grit) - Gotta give my boys the Coens a little love here.

Original Screenplay – (Pick: The King’s Speech) – My favorite movie of the year, so it gets this one from me by default.

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 97 - 02-19-11 - Who's your favorite team? The Detroit RoboCops!

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 97
Clowns being elected and presidents rapping! It was was an exciting day politically on Vertically Striped Radio, Even as Craig faced the gloomy proposition of a weekend of painting. Face, Craig and The Whale discussed all manner of goofiness like the city of Detroit changing their football team name to "The RoboCops" and who is more objectionable PETA or the Westboro Baptist Terror Cell and Craig handed out all sorts of yellow and red cards to deserving wankers including a "Very Special" card to uncertainty. We spent the second hour discussing the very odd 1979 cult classic "The Warriors" with Tony Grese a.k.a. 18nalax. The show wrapped up with a music recommendation of Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

I dare you not to smile.

The Definitive explanation of the final episode of the Sopranos and my reaction to it as a guy who's 1st exposure to the Sopranos was the final scene.

It's an odd co-existence I have with television. They say the average American watches 153 hours of TV a month. I am far below average. Like, massively below. I watch Mad Men when they are showing new episodes (Gloriously good show) a lot of sports (mostly football) and since I am a dad, I see a lot of cartoons using Comcast On Demand. Sadly, they keep the same episodes up for weeks at a time, so I am perhaps close to the average American as far as total time with the television on, only my TV is constantly replaying the same four episodes of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Channel on demand. I swear, I don't ever need to see "Goofy's Coconutty Monkey" ever again for as long as I live. Apart from those things, though, not much else gets played on the TV set. I'm practically anti-American in that it's not unheard of that our TV wouldn't get turned on during any given night of the week.

So, while I don't watch that much TV, I more than make up for it with my entertainment medium of choice: The Podcast. I listen to an embarrassingly large stable of podcasts, and if there is one thing podcasters love to chat up, it's television. Therefore, despite never having seen an episode of Lost, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire or the Sopranos, I have a pretty decent idea about what is going on in all of these shows. I had no idea what Tony Soprano looked like, but I heard a ton of people going on about how interesting he was and the plots in which he was involved. It's a strange pop cultural existence to be both keenly aware of shows subplots and story arcs and yet be completely unaware of the aesthetics of the shows.

Therefore, I had an interesting view point on the series finale of the Sopranos. I knew it faded to dark randomly, and that some people found it to be brilliant, and some people thought merely that their cable had gone out at the worst possible moment in history.

With my love of podcasts, I had developed theories as to what kind of artsy fartsy direction the show writers must have been driving the plot, and all this despite never actually seeing an episode of the show. It's strange to have an idea about the final destiny of Tony Soprano despite not having the foggiest clue what he looked like. Yes, I have managed somehow managed to create a thought in my head about the meaning of the finale of a show when I couldn't pick Tony out of a police lineup before watching the final five minutes of the show tonight. Yes, I finally saw my first ever scene of the Sopranos tonight, and I'm thinking that I might be the first person in history to have the final five minutes of the Sopranos finale be the very first thing I saw from the show.

I watched it after reading THIS tonight. Check out this fascinating (and in my mind dead-on) take on the final scene of the Sopranos, and then watch the final scene below:



Dude nailed it. Tony is dead. Somehow this has a profound effect on me in how well done this ending was accomplished...This despite the fact I've never watched a moment of the show OTHER than this final five minutes. I'm a weirdo, clearly. But I found this interesting. Plus, there is nothing better than discussing something that was hot three and a half years ago. I'm on the cutting edge, I tells ya!

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 96 - 02-12-11 - Wal-Mart makes me uncomfortable.

The city of Fort Wayne is building a new city center, and the possible new name for it had Craig in a tremendous mood for the show. Although the Harry Baals Government Center is a long shot, here's hoping. Face and the Whale were on hand as we discussed the discomfort of shopping at Wal-Mart before extensively breaking down the Magnificent Seven of the Top Seven Secondary Simpsons characters.

Craig had a quick edition of the Week in Wankery, and then signed off with a music recommendation of "A Girl and a Graveyard" by James Germain and the Grey Grey Days. Today's show was brought to you in part by a grant from Mike Dow. Remember kids, "Beware of Dow".

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 95 - 02-09-11 - The Ed Times outs Craig as a Packer fan.

Random Alert! This podcast contains a conspiracy theory about a Super Bowl performance, The Ed going off on a number of things including how he has determined that I am now permanently a Packers fan instead of a Broncos fan (not true), a girl who needed a bath because she had glue in her hair, and a music recommendation of the song "Lost and Running" by Powderfinger. Is there a common bond between these things? Only that they all comprise Episode 95 of Vertically Striped Radio. Enjoy!

Vertically Striped Interview - Episode 3 - 02-07-11 - Jonah Keri

Vertically Striped Interview - Episode 3 - Jonah Keri
We were honored to have podcaster and prolific sports and financial writer Jonah Keri stop by Vertically Striped Radio for a chat. Craig and Jonah discussed all the important things in life, like curling, Coen Brothers movies, and the Montreal Expos. Jonah's book, "The Extra 2%" is going to be released on March 8th, and his podcast can be found at JonahKeri.com or on iTunes by searching Jonah Keri Podcast.

NFL Weekend Preview: Super Bowl XLV - This Super Bowl is going to the birds.

I have no clue who is going to win this game. Seriously, how is one supposed to pick between two teams with yellow pants? I started out thinking the Packers easy, then all this week I started feeling like it was going to be the Steelers, now I'm back on board with Green Bay. All I know is that a lot of people will be watching, many of whom will be pretending that they're big football fans at a part where large quantities of chips and dip will be consumed. I'm cheering for the Pack, because of this trip I made back in 2008. I've got a soft spot in my heart for the Packers, and Steelers fans typically annoy me with their "We're God's gift to football, and the only franchise that matters" attitude.

So, rather than pretending I'm doing hard hitting analysis of the game to decide who will win. I'm leaving it up to the birds. Parrots, specifically.

Super Bowl XLV - Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers


The case for the Packers:

I think this guy might be a little confused with the Packers in the Super Bowl and Brett Favre having not been there for three years. Still, he does appear ready for some football, which is nice.

Sam is just hanging out, being a bird. Suddenly with a raise of his wings, he summons the spirit of Lombardi. This bird is inspiring!

Dusty has spirit, and he likes cheese. Add to that the sweet head of feathers, and this guy has to be a good omen for his Packers.

This might be my favorite football fan parrot. Who's YOUR daddy, indeed!

The case for the Steelers:

Kona is kind of impressive, although I feel she might sing out the charge chant for anything that dude said.

This African Grey parrot's owner cracks me up. Although we never see her, I'm picturing an old but sweet lady who is a little TOO into her parrot and a little TOO into her Steelers.

Another African Grey Steeler fan. This one seems abandoned, as it sound like some type of financial conference is going on in the background as the bird roots on the black and gold.

Apparently, half of all Steeler fans are African Grey parrots. This one seems a little cheeky, although that's probably just because he's speaking in French before he starts declaring that Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl. Yeah, I'm cosmopolitan AND I cheer for the Stillers, what of it?

Sha-ra doesn't appear to know her name, but she really wants the Steelers to go. I think my favorite part of this video is the fact that the parrot owner appears to be getting angry at his bird because it doesn't want to say it's name, but just wants to sing about the Steelers. Perhaps the owner is a Browns fan.

After a careful analysis of the parrot evidence, I find in favor of the Packers. The Steelers parrots all seem slightly douchey, and the Packers birds all seem to have their heads in the right place. With that kind of advantage in feathered supporters, I'm going to say the Pack pull out the win in a surprisingly easy way. Packers 28 Steelers 13

And just to show that there is hope for a brighter tomorrow...

Conference Championship Round: 1-1
Regular Season: 161-95
Playoffs: 3-7
Year to Date: 164-102

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 94 - 02-05-11 - Where Parrots decide the World's Championship.

With the Super Bowl only a day away, Craig was excited for the Steelers and Packers to get things started in Dallas, so the first hour was football heavy. We did a Tale of the Tape of very scientific things between the Packers such as age of franchise, songs associated with the teams, and even compared the quality of the respective parrot fans for each team. You know, all the items which point towards the correct winning team.

After some intense discussion of the Super Bowl intangibles, Craig, Face, and the Whale discussed who should be considered the most dominant dynasty in professional football history. After much discussion, Craig unveiled his surprising but defensible choice for the winner: The Cleveland Browns. Trust me.

The second hour was dominated by the He-Man Movie Watchers Club discussion of "The Big Lebowski". We ended the day with a music recommendation of Bruce Cockburn's "Wondering Where the Lions Are."

(And a little bonus of Lil' Wayne performing "Green and Yellow"; Not because it's a good song, but because it will hopefully bring some luck to the Pack come Super Sunday.)

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 93 - 02-01-11 - Would you rather?

Vertically Striped Radio - Episode 93
Craig, Face and Nalax get together on Skype for a VSR quickie. We start out on a random course that encompasses NBA basketball, Craig’s sports depression, and Southeast division hockey. Things take a turn for the better once we start to discuss the next movie for the He-Man Movie Watchers Club which magically turns into discussing fat guys in Boba Fett costumes, chimps on ice, and the Most Vertical Primate. After the preliminaries, we play a rousing round of, “Would you rather?” with only one minimal period of technical difficulties interrupting a varied and sometimes controversial set of dilemmas to discuss where we learn that Nalax and Face hate babies. The show finishes up with a brief visit from “Post-production Craig” who tacked on a music recommendation from Daniel Kamus, the song is called, "Fortune and Fear".