Could I be a star of Heroes?! No! But Still.. Amazing

You might think I am lying when you read this. I would think you're lying if you wrote it. But it's true, and you'll have to trust me.

Last night, I was watching Jimmy Kimmel and Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli from Heroes) was on (it was a rerun).

He told Kimmel that he was once on the Fresh Prince and had a three-second part. The family was out of town and Ashley decided to have a house party. Milo comes down the stairs, Ashley asks why he was up there, and he says something like "Relax, Ashley, it's a party," and that was it. (I paraphrased his line, I can't remember exactly what he said.)

Anyway, at the commercial, I was flipping through the channels and on YTV, the Fresh Prince was on. I'm not going to build up the suspense since it's obvious what happened next. The exact second, yes the exact second that I turned to the Fresh Prince, Milo walks down the stairs and says that line.

I looked around the room, but it was 1 a.m. and nobody was there. It was amazing. I was in shock. I am still shocked.

Maybe I have a Heroes-ish super power?

Tails from the Madness that is the NCAA

My hotel is about an 18-minute drive to the HSBC Arena (which is both true and according to Mapquest).

About two minutes before I get off the highway and arrive at the hotel, there is a tollbooth. I pull up and am given a card, which I am to present upon getting off the highway. So a few seconds later I get off the highway, present my card, and am given the total cost, 15 cents.

So every time I get on or off the highway, I encounter two booths within a mile or two of each other and every time I pay 15 cents.

Now, I realize that if I was coming from the opposite ends, the tolls could range as high as $15. But there has to be a better way to do this, no?

I started out paying with quarters and would get back 10 cents change which would finds its way to the coin compartment under the steering well, but lately, I have been saving up the pennies, mixed in with the odd nickel.

Anyway, it’s my last day at the arena so I’m going to take advantage of the free chips, best I’ve had in a while. BBQ, probably baked in a stove, ya good chips.

NCAA Day 3

It's been snowing in Buffalo for 24 hours straight.

Ergo, the Bills should move to Toronto. I dare you to try to find a fault in that argument.

There's something in Buffalo that I have not seen in Toronto yet, but they have it almost every store. Instead of printing out a credit card receipt and then signing it, the customer swiped the card and then electronically signs the signature in some device. At Old Navy, it didn't work. At a grocery store, the guy said I didn't need to sign it. But it's there, for all its glory.

Spent the day in between games writing about a the new Cinderalla team, VCU, and a couple other smaller notes.

D.J. Strawberry from Maryland, who will play in about four hours from now, has been getting the "Darrrryll" chants. He is the less troubled son of Darryl Strawberry, your favourite coked-up ex-baseball player.

Good day.

NCAA... Duke is one and done

Friday night, I witnessed the best basketball game I've ever attended. Duke lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and I sat front row, typing away on the computer, assuming they'd pull off the victory. I didn't realize losing was possible until the buzzer sounded and the score read Virginia Commonwealth 79 Duke 77.

So when I wake up, I will be watching VCU, not Duke.

Overheard at a Buffalo restaurant today:
Girl 1: When's another new OC going to be on?
Girl 2: The OC was cancelled.
Girl 1; What???

Overheard in the same restaurant:
70-year-old drunk man (with a half-filled glass of beer): Barkeep, can you top this off for the wife?
Bartender: You want a new one or you want me to fill it to the top?
Man: My wife just asked for it to be filled up. Better that way so I don't have to carry her out of here.
(He fills it up to the top. Man hands the guy a $1 bill.)
Bartender: Ya, don't worry about it.

Tails from the land of NC2A

This blog update coming from Buffalo, home of some first and second round NCAA Tournament games, where I am reporting for the other publication I write for.

It's my first official out-of-town assignment. Whoever coined the phrase "you have to start somewhere" was probably in Buffalo when they said it. Not-so-funny jokes aside, Buffalo isn't that bad a place.

Duke is the big team playing here, even though there are higher-ranked teams playing (Duke is sixth-ranked). They'll be playing their first game in about one hour.

When I took my seat for the first game, I went to the media gondola high above the playing court. I didn't have an assigned courtside seat like the Duke program writer (apparently Canadian newspapers aren't seen as highly as the Duke program). But I noticed on my media pass that I have access to the "media overflow area." After asking eight different people where that is, I was guided to the first row, right behind the bench of Davidson College, while they played Maryland. I realized later the overflow area was actually the third row and will take that seat when Duke begins playing, but either seat is fine, and much better than the last row in the arena. And yes, that gentleman with the black glasses and blue shirt you saw on CBS was I.

Anyway, I'll post again later. I'm here until Saturday night.

Heroes Spoof by NBC

For fans of the show Heroes, check out this spoof, which ironically was created by NBC.

andPOP Trivia Question 1

For all you people who think you are music experts, here's a trivia question that I imagine will stump almost everybody.

If you can answer this correctly, you will be rewarded with a prize TBD.

Question: What do these songs have in common: Edwin McCain's "I'll Be," John Mayer's "Daughters," Anna Nalick's "Breathe," and Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway." And let's add one more so you don't think the answer is as simple as that they are all slow songs. "The Kill" by 30 Seconds to Mars.

Clue: I made this question myself and don't think a Google search can help you.
Have a guess? Email me adamATandpopDOTcom

Check Out: Brett Dennen

I'd like to take this blog entry to introduce you to Brett Dennen.

The name won't ring a bell yet, but the voice will – if you're in Canada.

Brett's song "The One Who Loves You the Most" was used in a Rogers commercial, the one with the father who allows his son to stay up late and watch part of the hockey game.

I just saw Brett interviewed on Star Daily and he had a wise quote regarding "selling out." He said he isn't selling out by allowing his music to be used in commercials and on television shows because he isn't compromising the music by doing so. It's important to remember that not every artist can accumulate Timbersnake-like record sales, and other avenues of promotion/making money are often necessary.

Check out Brett's song. Here's a YouTube video of him performing the song at a radio station and the recorded version underneath.