Fall 2010 Classes: First Impressions

As the Summer of 2010 comes to a close another semester of classes begins for me at this fine institute of higher education known as Appalachian State University. I'm taking four classes right now. Sports Management, Theory and Practice of Strength and Conditioning, African-American Literature and Abnormal Psychology. I've survived the first week of classes and here's my first impressions:


Sports Management


My entire understanding of "Sports Management" comes from "Jerry Maguire", so I expected this course's syllabus to have days dedicated to topics like "Fathering Jonathan Lipnicki" or "Showing them the money". So, imagine my surprise when I see vague management jargon like "Employee Motivation" and "Budgets" on the syllabus. I was a little worried. But, in my 16 years of formal education I've learned that my success in a class depends less upon the material being taught and more upon who's teaching it. And this class is being taught by Roachel Laney. Let me tell you a little bit about Roachel. Roachel is man somewhere in his late 40's to mid 50's and Appalachian to the bone. On the first day he told us about his 2-3 acre fishing pond that he owns somewhere out in the local wilderness. As his students we are all invited to use said pond whenever we like. He said he'd draw us a map. Roachel is also a certified bbq judge. Certified by whom, I'm not sure. It might just be his friends and family. He also confessed to being a moonshine drinker although he doesn't sip the white lightning much anymore these days. So, this guy is quite a character and he seems to have a lot of wisdom to share. I don't suspect I'll have any difficulty paying attention in his class and even though I don't find the material to be very fascinating, some basic management skills are probably a good idea for anyone regardless of the field you're going into.


Theory and Practice of Strength and Conditioning


This is already my favorite class this semester without a doubt. Of all the courses I will take at App, I think this one will be the most applicable to my actual coaching career. Our syllabus says things like, "Olympic Lifts- Jerks, Presses and Snatches" and "Periodization and Program Design." This might not sound exciting to those of you reading this who aren't into S&C, but this is the stuff that I nerd out on and really gets me excited. The course is taught by a woman named Travis Triplett. Like Roachel, Travis holds some impressive certifications including her CSCS from the NSCA among others. The NSCA even gave her their 2010 Outstanding Sport Scientist Award for her contributions to the field of Exercise Science. So, like many of the professors at Appalachian she's got impressive credentials. However, what really impressed me and earned my respect was her solid overhead squat depth when she was demo-ing the snatch during Thursday's class. For an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman she had one hell of an OHS.


African American Literature


I took this course for a very liberal white college kid reason. About a year ago I really started discovering more underground and old-school hip hop. This opened up my eyes to an area of black culture that I'd never explored before. So, when it came time to register for classes and I found out that this course would fulfill some of my requirements for graduation, I was sold. The course is taught by Dr. Bruce Dick who, in addition to having two first names, is white. An overwhelming majority of the students in my class are also white. There are only 3-4 black students. This creates an interesting dynamic in the classroom because the way Dr. Dick drones on about black poetry while fiddling with the change in his jean pockets an uncomfortable amount isn't that interesting. But, the racial tension created by a white guy saying "Nigger" repeatedly, in the presence of black students during an otherwise boring lecture is enough to keep you awake.


Abnormal Psychology


This might end up being the most fascinating non-major course I'll take during my time here at Appalachian. The professor, Dr. Denise Martz, is a gifted speaker and pretty much just talks about crazy people and what makes them crazy. Since I spend a lot of my free time pondering my own mental stability or lack thereof, this is a very interesting topic to me. I'm almost constantly asking myself "Why am I the way I am?" and perhaps taking this class could help me find some answers. The professor also frequently uses evolutionary science to explain the "Why?" behind many of our behavioral adaptations. And I love evolution the way Glenn Beck loves Jesus money. So, I think this will be a really fun class that might just teach me something about myself. Or maybe it will just give me more ways to be neurotic and overly-analytical about why I do what I do.

September: TV gets good again! (Part 2)

Ok, I'm back with Part 2. Here's the other shows I'll be watching this fall.

Show: "Eastbound and Down"
Network: HBO
Premieres: September 26th

Season: 2nd

I liked Danny McBride a lot in "Pineapple Express". I liked him in "Land of the Lost" (which is a decent movie if you go in with low expectations). But he has really won me over as a fan by assuming the persona of "Eastbound and Down's" Kenny Powers, a washed up Ex-professional baseball player who's trying to fight his way back up into "The Majors" and has assumed the role of an elementary school PE teacher to occupy him in the meantime. The show is basically a platform for McBride to be funny as all fuck, all the time. And not far behind McBride is Steve Little playing Stevie Janowski. Janowski slowly evolves into Kenny's sidekick and assumes the role with absolute hilarity. Rumor has it that season 2 is set in Mexico. When I first heard this rumor, I became a little skeptical about if the show would maintain it's charm when taken out of small town NC. But, I've since realized that Kenny Powers is a probably a funny character no matter what locale you put him in.

Show: "Dexter"
Network: Showtime
Premieres: September 26th

Season: 5th

Ok, "Dexter" is a show about a serial killer who works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police department. He tries to use his lust for murder as a tool for justice by selecting an MO of only killing murderers who's crimes have gone unpunished.  I really can't talk about the oncoming season of Dexter without throwing out a big *spoiler alert* for those who haven't seen the finale from season 4. The final 10 minutes of the season 4 finale were a real game-changer for the entire show. Dexter's wife was killed by the "trinity killer", a character played by John Lithgow. I just watched a trailer for Season 5 and I won't describe every little detail from the trailer, but you can watch it here. It basically just shows a bunch of shit hitting the fan really hard in Dexter's world. And I love to see Dexter when he's under pressure and at the end of his rope. I think it'll be a good season.

So, all of the shows I've mentioned up to now have been starting at least their second season. But here are my 2 picks for brand new shows to watch.

Show: "Nick Swardson's Pretend Time"
Network: Comedy Central
Premieres: October 2010

Season: 1st

I'm putting some stock in this show and promoting it on my blog even though I really don't know that much about it. I've seen one sketch about a paralyzed cat in a wheelchair who has inherited a large sum of money from it's dead ex-owner. The cat, voiced by Swardson, speaks through a computer on his wheelchair ala Stephen Hawking. It was an outlandish, ridiculous sketch and it was fun. So, I'm hoping that this show will be worth watching. We'll see sometime in October.

Show: "The Benson Interruption"
Network: Comedy Central
Premieres: October 2010

Season: 1st

It's about time Doug Benson gets the mainstream attention he deserves. I think his unique brand of silly stoner humor could have giant mass-appeal if given the proper outlet. "The Benson Interruption" is an television-adaptation of a live show that Doug Benson hosts on a regular basis at the La Largo theatre in Los Angeles. I've been to one of these live shows and it was one of the most fun and unique live comedy performances that I've seen in quite awhile. The premise is quite simple. Benson emcees the show like any ordinary stand up comedy showcase, doing some time up front and then bringing on each of his handful of guests to do 10 minute sets. The only difference is that rather than leaving the stage when Benson brings a guest on, he takes a seat in a chair off to the side (pictured above) with his own microphone and chimes in with his commentary as the guest does their act. The result is a sort of talk-show/stand-up hybrid and it's fascinating. I like what this show is because of it's simplicity. Just funny people on an empty stage with microphones, creating entertainment out of thin air. I really hope this one gets the attention it will probably deserve.  

Alright, so that's what I'll be watching this fall. If you think I overlooked some other good shows let me know in the comments.

September: TV gets good again! (Part 1)

It's mid-august and I'm starting to get really excited in anticipation of new seasons of my favorite shows coming back on the air. HBO's "Entourage" and FX's "Louie" are pretty much all I've had to get me through this summer. The Daily Show/Colbert Report are good but in the summer months they take a vacation every other goddamn week it seems. And when topical joke news is your bread and butter re-runs don't really have much sizzle. Anyways, without further ado, here's the first installment of Ryan Brown's "Must Watch" list for TV in Fall of 2010. Let's go chronologically by premiere date.

Show: "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
Network: FX
Premieres: September 16th
Season: 6th

IASIP is a show that has aged incredibly well in my opinion. When promoting the series premiere, FX billed it as "Seinfeld on crack" and that's a pretty good summation of what this show is. It's really hard for me to pin down a favorite season. Every time the show comes back on the air I'm impressed with the writer's ability to keep it fresh. The show's premise (5 sociopaths run a bar in Philly and hilarity ensues) is pretty wide open and leaves room for pretty much anything to happen. In seasons past the writers have explored some pretty outlandish plot lines (Hunting a man for sport, selling gasoline door-to-door out of trash cans, raising a "dumpster baby" to become a child star) but never stopped bringing the laughs. Season 5 was full of some instant classics and I have no doubt that season 6 will bring more of the same.

Show: "Bored to Death"

Network: HBO

Premieres: September 26th

Season: 2nd

It took a few episodes for this show to get me hooked but now that I've seen the first season two times over, I'm a huge fan. BTD spent the bulk of it's first season slowly establishing it's characters. Jason Schwartzman is very likable in the lead role of Jonathan Ames, a newly-dumped journalist who channels his heartbreak into an amateur private detective career (and numbs the pain with alcohol and pot). Zach Galifianakis plays Ray,  Jonathan's best friend who, over the course of the season, becomes his reluctant (and equally inept) accomplice in his P.I. misadventures. Ted Danson fills the role of George Christopher and has never made me laugh this hard. He's a wealthy magazine editor, Jonathan's boss and a member of Manhattan's social elite. By the season finale the three have evolved into a sort of unlikely, comical "A-team" that I can't get enough of. I'm very anxious to see where this show goes in it's second season.

That's all for now. I'll hit you with my other picks later this week!

Totally Sweet Armoir

All summer long my Mom has been asking me to post a craigslist ad for a large oak armoir that we have sitting in our garage. I finally buckled down and put an ad out there. The following is the ad I posted on Craigslist last month, with the headline "Totally Sweet Armoir" :

The first thing you need to know about this Armoir is that it's totally fucking sweet! Trust me, you do NOT want to miss out on this deal. This Armoir could change your life. It's got an elegant crackle paint job that will blow your mind! If you like to entertain, a piece like this is an absolute must. Where does your television sit right now? On a table? On the floor? On a metal TV stand mounted to the wall? FUCK THAT SHIT! YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT! Get that television up where it belongs in a beautiful Armoir. The only reasonable way you could turn down this item is if you don't like the word "Armoir". If that's the case, I don't blame you. It's really french and it's not fun to say. But here's an easy fix: refer to this shit as a CABINET! That's basically what it is. It's just a big fuckin' cabinet and it's awesome. If you're reading this you'd better shoot me an email RIGHT AWAY! I don't think this sucker is going to last long...

I got one response from a gentleman who took me seriously:

"any pix of it open? wtf

what are the dimensions?"

I probably would have received more emails from interested potential customers but my ad got flagged for removal after about 24 hours. Meanwhile a young lady in Danville, NC posts an ad in the "Casual Encounters" section with the headline, "Here's a chica with professor fantasies, make me your whore - w4m - 21" and goes completely unnoticed.