Seeing as how there is some risk of becoming a football only blog... let me take a few minutes to discuss another new hobby which I've taken up of late... vinyl.

Yes, I recently dusted a Sony turntable out of my closet - it's actually a fairly new model that has just never seen much use, and trucked it to my apartment downstairs where I then hooked it up to a mini stereo. This is where hilarity subsequently began to ensue.

1. Turntable gets damaged en route. The entire belt system is displaced and I have to sit there for several minutes staring at this device with my non engineering brain to figure out how to get it working again.

2. Turntable is further damaged. The STOP/START button doesn't work. Not really sure what it does anyway, so I end up manually using the POWER button and moving the needle myself.

3. Turntable is further further damaged. Much to my chagrin, something is wrong with the amp. I now have to turn my mini stereo to MAX just to hear very QUIET music coming out of the speakers. I suppose its a bit of an oxymoron to use all caps on the word "quiet."

4. Purchase my first ever 45. 2 singles by Miles Davis. Go home, only to find that the 45 has such a big hole in the middle, it doesn't fit on my player. Solution, end up purchasing a spindle for $1.50 to hold the 45 in place.

5. Listen to my 45. Apparently Miles Davis did a recording of Time after Time (Yes, the Cindi Lauper song) way back when. It's kinda neat but the other half of the record is so god awful that when you reach the end and the needles doesn't pick up (because the STOP/START button is broken) and you literally have a running record on your hands, you honestly can't tell because it sounds like just another part of the song!!!

6.. Redemption of sorts. I purchased a U2 LP of the Unfortgettable Fire album which contains "Sort of Homecoming" and "Pride (in the name of Love)" amongst others. This is a great album and I got it for 6 bucks! Score!

All of which now leads us to the present. Having been partially redeemed...do I now a) try to fix the player at cost presently unknown, b) buy a new player c) abandon this heaven forsaken hobby just when things are looking up???

HELP!

So the second week of the NFL season has ended and for a reformed fan, I can't help but think how mundane the rest of the week is without games to look forward to. In truth, this is probably more a reflection of the mundane-ness of my day to day life than anything else and even more disturbingly, it reminds me more of my high school experience than anything else... where life passed less drearily when there were Cowboy and 49ers rivalries to keep abreast of. So perhaps this newfound interest in football is nothing short of a regression, to my former self, a past life, full of bitterness and anger. Perhaps its this then, that the NFL - with its larger than life characters, brightly coloured jerseys, and a population of half men-half supermen has become the purest form of escapism, into a world populated by heroes and villains, acting out a game far from real life's cruel hands. If that is the case then, I welcome the game, like an old friend who's been gone too long, back into the neighborhood.

Some thoughts on what I saw around the league this week:
1. Michael Vick - a week after looking marvelous against the Eagles on MNF, looked downright human this week and even strained a hamstring to prove it. What a difference a week

2. Dallas Cowboys collapse on MNF. Yeah, that's what happens when you don't put a team away properly. That's what happens when you don't convert in the red zone. That's what happens when you dominate every aspect of the game for 57 minutes but blow two coverages in the fourth quarter against a speedster. Still, the Cowboys looked good during the game, efficient on offence and hard hitting on defence. They're probably not ready to contend just yet, but things look to be going in the right direction. This, from a reformed Cowboys fan to boot!

Madman, after some discussion with a classmate of mine... I think we have figured out the cause of your lightheadedness in the barber's chair.

Tell me, was the bib around your neck tied really tight?

I wasn't able to find too many photos, so these are from 2 different times.

During the shave:

A week after the shave:

Chris, if you're not too concerned with the style of your haircut...I can shave your head for free. Photo of my previous test subject to be posted later.

Wow... what a weekend of football. I have to say, that after having basically lost all interest in American Football through the course of undergrad and then medical school, it felt strangely exciting to be getting back into the sport this past weekend.

In some ways, getting back into the sport was like rekindling a lost romance. It reminded me of a lot of the things I loved about the game. Here's some random ones off the top of my head.

1. The fact that games only go once a week. This just builds up a ridiculous level of hype that sports like basketball and baseball which play almost everyday can't much. You end up with a whole week to ponder matchups involving your favorite team and a whole week to discuss and argue about what's going to happen before the big clash on Sunday. What other sport in North America can boast this? NCAA football is even crazier. People circle calendar dates months in advance. For all intents and purposes, Texas beating OSU just eliminated OSU from national championship consideration and it was the first week of the season! SWEET!!!!

2. Lazy Sunday afternoon in front of the TV. The ultimate weekend warrior, armed with nothing more than a bag of chips and a remote control and games going on at least 2 channels simultaneously. Awesome. Again, what other sport lends itself to total immersion like this?

3. The Sunday night wrap up with NFL Primetime. I remember identifying this as my favorite TV show back in grade 8 on a class survey. What a great concept, a complete highlight package of every game of the day! In one hour, you can catch up on the whole league. Plus, the background music rocks!

4. Monday Night Football. And this tops it all. The knowledge that even though the week has started... and Monday's are crappy, that there's still one more marquee game to go and that you'll get to see Michael Vick leap over tall Eagles in a single bound. Next week, bring on the Skins baby! I'm ready!

Chris, I think what you need is someone trained in the medical sciences to be your barber. That is where I come in... with the 5 dollar haircut set from Wegman's....

How about cutting the hair yourself so you can stop halfway?

So I was reading the Toronto Star the other day and apparently, since the New Orleans Saints will not be playing in New Orleans this season, reporters were asking the Blue Jays president if there was any chance that the Saints could get their games moved to Toronto for the season, to maybe take the first step for the NFL to come north of the border. I guess people want to make the best of a bad situation and what better than to finally get some pro football in Canada. What I want to know is how can people even think of this crap?!?!?! JEEZ.

I also read that Lance Armstrong's foundation is giving a lot of money specifically to cancer patients so they can continue their chemotherapy and other treatments during this time of crisis. I'm not sure what to make of this. While it is true that missing chemo is potentially fatal... so is starvation. The cancer patients should be mighty thankful they have a guy looking out for them.

As for our society's reliance on gasoline, well, I agree with Chris. It's a good wake up call.