5-4-Fri: Music Videos

What is the Internet good for if not hooking you up with iconic online music videos? To that end, please to enjoy 5 videos that made it essential for your band to have one:

1. - Video Killed the Radio Star. The music video that started it all. Thank you The Buggles.

2. - Cradle of Love. The MTV classic by Billy Idol.

3. - She Drives Me Crazy. The English Beat begat the The Fine Young Cannibals. The Fine Young Cannibals begat this awesome video.

4. - Safety Dance. Men Without Hats launched the pretentious, nonsensical video genre with this seminal piece of crap. We enjoyed mocking it but we saw it about a million times.

5. - Money for Nothing. Remember when computer animation was in its infancy? Dire Straits did a fine, cutting edge job with a special guest appearance by Sting. Props for the gratuitous use of neon.

PS - Adam Ant. Miss Jackson. Her brother and Billie Jean. The playlist is infinite! Oh, and "Take Me On" by a-ha made for a rockin' video.; now playing on iTunes.

Do It: Check Out Nat Geo Valentine's Day Videos

People, my Valentine's Day is looking to be pretty sucky. And, woefully, not in a good way; in the kind of a way that includes a heaping super-sized helping of no Valentine, to go. But you may not be so unlucky. You may have a loved one. You may be Chaucering it up out there.

In either case, heart yourself and check out the special Valentine's Play List ginned up by the nice folks on the National Geographic Music team.

Do it! You're welcome. Rye ruff roo.

PS - Remember that dog who used to say "Rye Ruff Roo" on that TV ad years ago? Heh. Oh, and "Ladies of the World" by Flight of the Conchords is couples-skate-a-licious; now playing on iTunes.

5-4-Fri: Classic Rivalries

Forget the Steelers versus the Cardinals. After all, the Cardinals aren't even really from Arizona so how hyped up could you get? Here are the definitive 5 rivalries:

1. UNC v. Duke - This classic battle fuels more animosity than the theft of Helen of Troy. Total score UNC 129 victories; Duke 97. 'Nuff said.

2. Jedis v. Sith - These monastic warriors feud across space over the proper use of The Force and generally kick ass. The never-so-called Light Side Jedis wail on the Dark Siders, who seem terminally hampered by their affected capes.

3. Jets v. Sharks - What can you say? When you're a Jet you hate Sharks more than Katie does. Watch West Side Story and walk tall, daddio.

4. David v. Goliath - The original rivalry! (Because, when you think about it, Cane v. Abel was really more of the original murder.) This "the bigger they are the harder they fall" cage match also inspired the beloved Lutheran TV show.

5. Less Filling v. Tastes Great - Admit it. Even Socks/Yankees takes a back seat to The. Contest. Of. All. Time.

PS - I was tempted to mention Macs v. PCs, but, woefully, the list makes demands, people. Oh, and "East Coast West Coast Killas" by Dr. Dre et al is rivalicious.

Funny Thing: Metro Pain

I am starting a new category for blog postings of humorous stories. These entries will feature a sort of "funny thing happened to me" set of anecdotes. Since Valentine's Day is coming, I am reminded of something woefully and hideously horrible--yet hilarious--that happened not to me but to a friend of mine on the Metro.

I have this pal who was once a bit of a predator. He roared through college and his 30s with a harem of accomplished lookers. Even as a grey-haired middle-aged man he used his looks and atheleticism to hunt a few demos below himself on the age pyramid. He has settled down these days, but he was quite the ladykiller when I met him. In fact, he did not actually date anyone over 30 until, in his 50s, his then-girlfriend turned 30 on him. Eventually they broke up around Valentine's Day and, truth be told, he was devastated. For months he was blue. Poor fellow couldn't even summon the simple enthusiasm to hit on production assistants. Then, one day after time had applied its healing balm, he found himself, in a new suit and fresh off a flattering haircut, standing in a Metro car hanging from the center pole and feeling, for the first time in recent memory, pretty fit and perhaps ready to get back in the saddle. Scoping absently on his fellow passengers he spied a young beauty who caught his eye and gave him a big smile. Not to appear too eager, he averted his gaze, made a pretense of checking his watch, and counted to 10 before looking over again. She once more deliberately caught his eye and smiled broadly. "May/December be damned," he thought. "Quickly, man, say something smashingly clever." Too late. She took the initiative, scooting forward on her chair and giving him a beckoning finger. She smiled again. He leaned closer. Tension built. She spoke: "Sir, would you like to have my seat?"

PS - Hey, man, I've been living in a glass condo so I am throwing no stones. But, daymn, when he told me the story I fell out of my chair laughing. Plus, points for self-deprecation. Oh, and Johnny Clegg's "Scatterlings of Africa" is one of my favorite songs; now playing on iTunes.

5-4-Fri: Facebook Lists

The time-suck that is known as Facebook is endlessly seeking to keep you from doing anything else with your life by coming up with ever more applications, all cleverly centered around its core value proposition: you talking about you. The latest is making and posting a list of 25 things...wait for it...about you. Here are the first five of my list:

1. I worked with a colleague who was in Playboy.
2. I introduced a woman I was casually seeing to another woman I was casually seeing and they dated each other for 2 years.
3. My favorite band is R.E.M.
4. My favorite number is 2.
5. I have run 2 marathons.

PS - Because you have been a good boy/girl/transgendered/gay/lesbian/straight little reader, here are the other 20 entries in my list:

Elvis Presley and I have the same middle name.
I have a personal blog.
I own a recreation of Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel.
Two of my ex-girlfriends in a row dated the same guy immediately after they broke up with me.
I have met Alex Trebeck.
I have had 3 surgeries.
I collect first edition novels by Ross Thomas.
My Master's Thesis is on a play written by British dramatist, Tom Stoppard.
My high school cross-country team won the state title eight consecutive times.
My father taught at an historically black college.
I have lived in Chapel Hill, NC: Westchester, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and Fonteney-sous-Bois, France.
I kissed my first girl as a Sophmore in college.
I did not drink in college.
My blood type is the universal donor.
My favorite film is "Fifth Element."
I have seen every episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
I saw "Grease" six and a half times in the theater.
I have three cowlicks.
I have served on my parish counsel at church.
My first crush was on Olivia Newton John.

Oh, and, "Jai Ho" from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack by A.R Rahman is on my list of engaging songs; now playing on iTunes.

Do It: Watch Jason McElwin's Basketball Game

At Greece Athena High School in Rochester, NY, one day the profoundly autistic but highly-functioning team captain, Jason McElwain, was put in for the last several minutes of a Trojan's basket ball game. His coach thought he was just rewarding Jason for dedication to the team with a symbolic 2-point basket; what he got was a star performance. This joyful video has been making the rounds on Facebook, but you should take the time to see it on CBS News' own site

Watch the game. Do it!

PS - I have a friend with a kid who is, woefully, autistic and she lost it when she saw this video. It really is a pretty heart-warming, inspiring watch. Oh, and "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot is inspiring, too; now playing on iTunes.