with no berlin wall, what the hell you gonna do?

--Gabe & co. are KILLING IT at Videogum right now. I cite as evidence:

• This terrific preview of Lost's sixth and final season (I'm pumped!!!!).
• Gabe found a textbook example of why the internet is bad for you.
• One of many great party games.
• And some great investigative work on Kirstie Alley's quest to wrest the title of "the worst" from Nancy Grace.
  

--Jeff Beck just won 2010, everyone. As if there was any doubt that he would.

--The very best idea in sports. Nnamdi is henpecked, Elvis is perturbed, Tashard is stirred up, Trent is the best, and Brian Dawkins is insane.

--Read some of my old writing earlier today. Yikes.

--Some nicknames:

everything is divided, nothing is complete.

--I’ve said in the past that it’s really pretty easy to root for both the Colts and the Saints. Not only are they in different conferences and accordingly don’t play each other much, but the prospect of the Saints getting to the Super Bowl at all (let alone playing the Colts in it) seemed inherently ridiculous. But there was a lurking anxiety throughout this season that the two teams—both franchises arguably having their most successful seasons ever—were on a collision course, and we’re now officially two weeks away.

my top ten albums of fiscal year 2009.

I’ve come to dread doing these, because my list of mistakes just keeps growing. The first, and most egregious, was putting a middling Genesis album in the top spot of my first list instead of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois, arguably the best album of the decade. I think Return to Cookie Mountain (which is in the same conversation as Illinois) made an honorable mention on that same list, and just last year I said with total confidence that Dear Science was the best TV on the Radio album, whereas now it’s in contention for third place for me. I hope that you guys will be as gracious with this list as you’ve been with those in the past, and, more importantly, that you enjoy it.

The rules: The ten best albums (plus five honorable mentions) I picked up in one year, regardless of when they came out. No two albums from the same band. No best-ofs. No games. No drama.

your old man was but a wishing machine.

--Rien n'arrete nos espirits. That's French for "it's Haitian Fight Song time, y'all."

Haitian Fight Song - Charles M...

Spence Hall's got a helpful post on the most effective ways to donate to Haiti relief.

--In less dramatic news, LOL WTF Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin? Those really were both big surprises, especially Carroll, who's apparently under the impression that they give phantom national titles in the NFL. As for Tennessee fans, I wish I could say I feel sorry for you, but your AD went all-in on a mercenary (and an unsuccessful one at that), and sometimes that doesn't work out. It is my sincere hope that college football fans in the South will get to reap a perfect storm of haterdom, and see Tennessee, Lane Kiffin, and SoCal suffer in the next few years.

--Blake Griffin has gone Defcon-Oden, and will miss the entirety of his rookie season. Hello, guaranteed Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans; goodbye, fantasy basketball ace in the hole.

--It is, as always, all about the U. Reggie Wayne is my favorite athlete who doesn't wear the number 18, 9, 3, or 5. He's the coolest cat around.

--I'll have my top ten albums of last year up either later tonight or tomorrow afternoon, depending on if I stall out on something (as I have done repeatedly in the course of trying to write this thing).

thank you for taking my hands, young liars.

A requiem for a season:

like a track team, crack fiend, dying to geek.

Sorry for the lack of postage, it's been celebration time ever since I finished my exams. Just like always after a layoff, instead of an actual post, here's some:

--Youtubery, the "they didn't expect this internet thing to pan out" edition:

• You be rappin bout tacos, Wayne Terrell was movin the shit.
  
• Snap that shit up.
• Yuck! Stop.
  
• Esto es vivia!
• Little, reclusive, power-filled monsters.
• Nick is total douche. Get with it, old man.
  

--With the right equipment, the image could be enlarged and sharpened.

--I'm expecting The Room, Tommy Wiseau's quirky black comedy, to be delivered in the next few days. My excitement is palpable.

(a thousand hat tips to EDSBS and Videogum).

you're a liar and that's the truth, you're an extra lost in the scene.

--NBA geopolitics are crystallizing pretty quickly.

• The Lakers are the lone superpower; they haven't been road tested, but I have my doubts about whether that will matter in the long run. This team just looks unstoppable.
• The Celtics and the Magic are the most likely spoilers. The former absolutely have to have everyone healthy and focused when the playoffs roll around, and the latter have to find a way to incorporate Jameer Nelson into their offense once he returns from injury.
  

• The Durantulas (OKC), Phoenix, and Houston are looking like teams you really don't want to run across in the playoffs.
• The Hornets are, a quarter of the way into the season, finally looking like they're ready for it. Chris Paul is the best player in the basketball.
• How's Shaq working out for you, Cavs? Is it finally not 2000 anymore?

--NFL geopolitics are also quite clear by now. It's a Cold War between the Saints and the Colts, who definitely look to be on a collision course. The Colts' traditional playoff foes, the Steelers and the Patriots, are both reeling, and the Saints' greatest challengers, the Vikings, just got blown out on national television.

--Suh for Heisman. If not him, Gerhart. If not Gerhart, Spiller, who didn't even get the invite to New York.

--This is awesome, both as a "Justin Vernon is a really cool guy" story and as a potentially very interesting musical exercise.

--And now a Larry Bird story, via Wikipedia: During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person that he had a Christmas present waiting for him. During the game, when Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline right in front of Person. Immediately after releasing the ball, Bird said to Person, "Merry fuckin' Christmas!", and then the shot went in. This was no doubt inspired by Person (nicknamed the "Rifleman") stating prior to the game that "The Rifleman is Coming, and He's Going Bird Hunting."

florabamageddon 2: the quickening.

For the second year in a row, the biggest game of the year is the SEC Championship, and for the second year in a row it's between Florida and Alabama. Last year, the Gators managed to win despite the loss of All-Everything hybrid wideout Percy Harvin to glass bone syndrome; this year, they attempt the same despite the loss of defensive end Carlos Dunlap to serious brain cramps (a DUI a week before the biggest game of the season).

Last year, the story was very much Nick Saban's defense versus Urban Meyer's offense. With the losses of Harvin and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, however, the Fightin' Tebows have suffered a precipitous decline on offense, the result of deficiencies in pass protection and playcalling diversity (divey dive dive TEBOW SMASH Aaron Hernandez post route divey dive dive kooky option). Florida's defense, however, is a mangler of untold proportions. Saban's defense is certainly nasty and executes better than anyone else in the country, but Charlie Strong's is undoubtedly the more creative, more explosive, and dirtier of the two. If you buy into this game as a duel between Mark Ingram and Tim Tebow, I think you'll be gravely disappointed.

you've got to enjoy the little things.

Zombieland is a zomromcom in the tradition of Shaun of the Dead, another very clever, very reverent pastiche of zombie movie tropes. Though not without its flaws, the film is a unique and occasionally hilarious take on very well-tread cinematic territory.

so it wasn't a game, cracking all the mirrors in shame.

Since I don't have much insight to give everybody today, I can only post that which brings me the most joy in this world, delightful youtubery:

--A Thanksgiving miracle!

--I had pretty much assumed that this was how it went down.

--This is about how I feel about metal in general.

--From what I've heard, they never mention this again in the movie.

--I can't believe I had never heard of this movie and Tommy Wiseau's caveman hair before today. Seriously, it's the gift that keeps on giving (topical!). I have an extremely hard time believing that almost the entire cast had never been in a feature length film before.

--The Room's staunchest competition, though? MKA, baby.

--And finally, some Bynumite, ladies and gentlemen.

Coming up tomorrow and Friday: a Zombieland review and a preview of the SEC Championship.