Same Teams, Different Stakes: Why Picking a Side in the NBA Finals Is Harder Than Last Year

After achieving another historical feat by becoming the first team in NBA history to be the No. 1 seed with the league MVP but be down 3-1 in a playoff series to come back and win the series, the Golden State Warriors might just change some analysts and odds makers' minds about their rematch with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals.  A lot of people including myself wrote off the defending champions' chances of accomplishing such a tall order, and we just assumed that the Oklahoma City Thunder would win the series and the Cavs would have a little easier path to the crown because most people didn't give OKC a chance against LeBron & Co.  However, living up to their namesake, the Warriors manifested an unprecedented amount of resolve, persistence and tenacity.  Although Steph Curry is my favorite player in the NBA right now and has been for the past three years, it's still hard to pick against King James as I have been a fan of his overall game, instant impact on any team for which he plays and being one of the most unselfish superstars that the game of basketball has ever seen since his high school days.  So as we prepare for what should be another thrilling matchup between the Warriors and the Cavs, allow me to explain how this year's NBA Finals is a little harder to pick than last year...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Tuesday Night at the Movies, #4 Friday

The story of Friday making this list begins with the hiatus between posts in this part of the "Rave & Favorite Five" series, which also begins with the movie that it replaced.  Ever since my mother took me and my brother to see it in the spring of 1990, I have been a huge fan of House Party.  Between the fashion, the music, the dances, the rhymes, the slang and even the comedy, I thought it was one of the best movies at capturing the height of the New Jack Swing era of R&B and hip-hop culture.  However, as I attempted to write my post about it as the original No. 4 spot holder, I wasn't feeling what I was writing because I kept battling myself over whether House Party should be on my list or Friday--another movie that I went with my mother and brother to see as well as another one of my "brothers".  In figuring out my dilemma, one of my dear, dear friends posed a simple question: "Which movie do you think is more complete between the two?"  Once I sat and thought about it, the choice became simple and my trepidation was resolved: I couldn't have a "Rave & Favorite Five" about movies without Friday.  I actually thought about bumping out Blade Runner for House Party, but Blade Runner is just way too epic to get axed.  Now that the backstory is complete, it's time for the main event: five things that make Friday the sureshot...

RANDOM THOUGHT ALERTS!!! (Vol. 1, No. 2)

After a successful first entry in the "RANDOM THOUGHT ALERTS!!!" series, I thought that it would be a few weeks before I'd have another set of randomness for your enjoyment.  However, I underestimated myself as I not only came up with four more in a short amount of time, but I also have a few already on standby for next Tuesday.  Speaking of four more, the reason why I decided to post a picture of one of my favorite rappers of all time, The Notorious B.I.G., is because I thought about his line from "Last Day": "Nine-hundred and ninety-six grams, you need four mo'."  Yeah...that's how my beautiful mind works, so all forty something of you who decided to view last week's batch of madness signed up for this.  Hence, you must now commit to it and subject yourselves to even more shenanigans because the party's just beginning...

In Heavy Rotation (May 2016)

So let me tell y'all a "what had happened was" story about this month's "In Heavy Rotation".  My "Against the Grain Pick of the Month" was supposed to be Aesop Rock's The Impossible Kid, but it just didn't come together the way that I wanted.  It's not that I didn't listen to it or enjoy the album.  However, whereas I can listen to most albums and pick out my favorite three songs and a few notables, I couldn't quite do that this time around.  I had every intention to listen at least one more time to get a better feel, but I never got around to it because May has been a month for lack of more specific words.  Maybe it was just that good that I couldn't limit my "review" to just a few picks, but at any rate, I'd definitely recommend the listen and purchase.  Also, the first pick mentioned in this post could've almost been O.T. Genasis' Rhythm & Bricks or Desiigner's Panda mixtapes, but there just weren't enough standout songs on either project other than "Cut It" and "Panda", respectively.  Long story short, although there are only four picks instead of five, they all bump.  Now that I've explained myself, let's get to the real reasons why you're here...

Scribbler's Milestone Post of the Year: 100 Posts & Runnin'

It took over three years and a website makeover/name change to get to this point, but we have finally arrived at the long-awaited 100th post.  To think that this time last year, I strongly considered never writing another post for New Problem Tuesdays ever again.  Between the demands of my personal life and having another passion that took just as much of my time as this does, it just didn't seem like there was enough room for a blog.  Nevertheless, the saga of The Angry Musings of Dirk Scribbler/New Problem Tuesdays continues much to my approval--and hopefully to yours as well. So in this milestone post, I just want to share with y'all some of my reflections about the ups and downs of being a barely-above-average blogger...

RANDOM THOUGHT ALERTS!!! (Vol. 1, No. 1)

If you know anything about me, then you've realized by now that I have one of the most random trains of thought in the entire world--a tangential tendency that either wildly entertains or utterly annoys.  I could be figuring out what songs will make my next album while planning a promotional strategy one minute, but then see a shiny new bus stop sign and go off about Metro false advertising a route that no longer exists--a route that I predicted would be eliminated for its sheer pointlessness.  (Yes...that literally happened a few days ago and the reason for the above picture as a tribute.)  So I've decided that in lieu of trying to condense all of my crazy thoughts on Facebook posts or Tweets, I'd rather expand them and create a brand new posting series: "RANDOM THOUGHT ALERTS!!!"  Let the wackiness begin...

The Tuesday Slider Special (Vol. 1, No. 1)

I know...you're getting hungry, but please try to focus and wipe that drool off of the side of your mouth.  I don't want you getting committed somewhere by accident because you're reading this post.  Anyway, do you ever go out to eat and just want appetizers?  Specifically, do you ever have a taste for a burger, but you don't want the heaviness that comes with it or to have to split it in half--knowing the hassle that comes along with reheating a burger and recapturing the essence of it from the restaurant?  If on the menu, do you opt for the sliders instead to give you that taste for burgers without the need to be trotted out on a wheel barrel?  Well, in an effort to cover a wider array of topics without a five-to-seven-paragraph soliloquy for each one, I bring to you a brand new posting series: "The Tuesday Slider Special".  Quick takes from your soon-to-be favorite blogger that are easier to digest, but still filling nonetheless.  So without further ado, let's eat...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Tuesday Night at the Movies, #5 Blade Runner

Before we begin breaking down why this movie has made my "Rave & Favorite Five" out of all of the movies that could've possibly made the final cut, allow me this caveat: I'm not really into science fiction flicks.  To be clear, I'd take them over horror movies, Westerns, anime and most martial arts films in a heartbeat, but I don't clamor for them over comedies, dramas, action flicks or animated films.  So when I had to dissect the underlying meanings behind Blade Runner for a film class during my junior year of college, I wasn't thrilled at first.  However, director Ridley Scott (known for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, American Gangster, Prometheus and The Martian) knew how to draw in a fence straddler like me: make the cinematography exhilaratingly irresistible, the storyline brilliantly cavernous and bring in an innovative mind to compose a score well before its time.  Next thing I knew, I was an immediate fan--so much that between watching Blade Runner and reading George Orwell's 1984 in high school, I was convinced that I was going to make the hip hop equivalent to both.  Let's just say that never came to life--and considering how unrefined my rap flow and production were, it's probably a good thing that it didn't--but what did remain was a permanent love affair with a masterpiece.  So although I originally wanted to go through my favorite scenes from each movie in this part of the "Rave & Favorite Five" series, I have decided to enumerate the top overall things that have catapulted Blade Runner to #T5DOA Status...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Songs for Momma Scribbler

Now before anyone gets any bright ideas about what songs they can expect from this edition of the "Rave & Favorite Five", this is what we're not going to do.  We're not going to do "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men, "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders (although that's my jam and a half) or "Dear Mama" by 2Pac because this is not your run-of-the-mill Mother's Day music tribute.  Why?  Simple: because this tribute is for my momma.  This ode to the greatest mother in the whole wide world--because everybody says that about their mother unless trash truck juice could do a better job as a parent--showcases the first songs that come to mind when I specifically think of her favorites.  As you will see, my mother is diverse in her listening tastes as she can go from loving a soft rock ballad to bobbing her to something with a little hip-hop flair.  So although I'll probably have to email her this link and urge her to get on the Interwebs to check out this post, here are the top five songs that make me think of Momma Scribbler a.k.a. [in my Devin The Dude voice minus the "muy bien marijuana" reference] my "lovely good motha"...

Scribbler's "Get Out of My Brain!" Countdown of the Month (May 2016)

So in yet another attempt to expand my blog and include as many facets of myself as you can stand, I thought about how songs frequently get stuck in our heads for hours, days, weeks and even months.  There are some that we absolutely love, some that we are in like with and nails scratching on a chalkboard might pale in comparison to the rest.  Most times, they're renting out brain space because we associate them with a memory, a place or a person; other times, it's completely inexplicable.  Hence, I bring to you all a new monthly posting series: "Scribbler's 'Get Out of My Brain!' Countdown of the Month."  Now before we begin, two things.  First, I don't have an ASCAP or BMI representative in my head tracking every single spin in my own head, so these are totally metric-less estimations.  Second, y'all know that I can't kick off the inaugural post of a series like this without naming the songs that got bumped out like "Grateful" by Hezekiah Walker & LFC, "Hold On (Change Is Comin')" by Sounds of Blackness, "5 Steps" by Dru Hill (which almost came back into the countdown), "Truffle Butter" by Nicki Minaj and "Splackavellie" by Pressha (which some of y'all either don't remember, have never heard or haven't heard since it was out, so that would've need a nice throwback to '98).  It would've been nice to include those songs--all of which I fool with--but they didn't flood my brain as much as these ten little numbers...