I did not watch today’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns, but I did check the score around 2 pm (the Falcons had 10 and the Browns had 7) and again in the early evening. The predatory birds won 23 to 20. Based on the back-and-forth of touchdowns and field goal, I’m guessing it would have been a fun game to watch, but I was spending much needed time outdoors.
Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.
Green Day wants to be your “Dominated Love Slave” at the same time the Refreshments have “gone to the hardware store” and will procure “a really big hammer” because they want “Girly” eventually to “beat [them] till [they’re] black and blue, and [they’re] hanging by a thread.” Meanwhile, Florence + the Machine insist on a “Kiss With a Fist.” There’s plenty of corporeal bruising and property damage, isn’t there? Not much self-confidence either. I mean:
“You can spank me when I do not behave
Smack me in the forehead with a chain.”
“I’m gonna buy you a really heavy baseball bat
Girly won’t you knock these thoughts out of my head”
“A kick to the teeth is good for some
A kiss with a fist is better than none”
On a completely unrelated note, the reason why employers, acquaintances, coworkers, and random strangers may want to know where you grew up, where you received any form of education, and what you like to do in your free time is because familiarity and shared appreciation of an experience or cultural text are shortcuts to intimacy. However tenuous and superficial it may seem, just knowing that your new hire, new boss, potential new friend, or the other side of a customer service interaction is fond of or has heard about your alma mater, hometown, or comfort music can generate a field of trustworthiness where there previously was none.
I went to get groceries today from a Fresh Market and had entered an aisle when I noticed the employee, who was stocking shelves at the time, was grooving to some kind of music. It was in a nuanced way, evidenced by some hip and leg motions that may not have registered with someone who isn’t fluent in the visual language of the way rhythms and beats compel the human body to react. He saw me approach; I smiled even though I was wearing a mask.
“What are you listening to?”
He hesitated.
“What genre?”
“Hip-hop.”
“What decade?”
“90s…Wu-Tang.”
“Ahh, the good stuff,” I said, my voice softening to convey a mental high-five.
His demeanor softened and brightened. He praised my jade pendant, asked if I was finding everything all right, and to let him know if I needed anything.
Of course I have no way to confirm what he was thinking when he saw me walking towards him, but the shift in his body language and facial expressions suggests to me that he had assumed as neutral a presence as possible upon seeing me, was ready to move closer to one side of the aisle if necessary, and didn’t know what my opinions were on any genre of music, and thus, didn’t want to have an unpleasant interaction. It was low-key marvelous to see the change in his posture and countenance.
On an even more unrelated note, NFL Films has a segment on “Cordarrelle Patterson’s Journey in the NFL.” His first name is pronounced like “core-darryl” not “core derr-ell.”
Pic cred: YT screenshot
Today’s deep thought: the older you get, televised sports game go by faster and faster. One minute it’s the top of the second quarter, the next it’s the bottom of the third.
The scoring was close throughout today’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks. The home team scored first with a field goal, to which the Falcons responded with a touchdown courtesy of their quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Going into halftime, the Seahawks were three points ahead with 20 to Atlanta’s 17. The Falcons tied the score with a 54-yard field goal by kicker Younghoe Koo in the top of the third. Towards the end of the quarter, the Seahawks shrugged off that tie with a field goal. On the Falcons’ next possession, though, they took the lead with a touchdown (via wide receiver Drake London) Atlanta 27 and Seattle 23. Not much happened in the fourth quarter until the Seahawks recovered a fumbled Falcons ball with five minutes left to play. Nevertheless, the Falcons held on to their three-point lead. Final score Atlant 27 and Seattle 23.
If the Falcons can play like they did today at a bare minimum, but enter the middle of the fourth quarter with at least eight points more than their opponent, the two-minute warning would be satisfying to watch in terms athletic spectacle and with less probability for a penalty or an interception to pull a 180 with the outcome of the game.
Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.
It would have been nice if the fourth quarter scoring ascension that the Atlanta Falcons implemented ended up with their getting into the Los Angeles Rams‘ area (in LA no less), but such an outcome was not in the cards. I watched the first quarter up to the moment when the Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo missed the 44-yard field goal. I resumed watching the game towards the end of the second quarter. If you want to watch highlights of the game, go straight to the fourth quarter: the Falcons’ defense demonstrated some skill with the franchise’s first blocked punt return since 1990, which led to more points on the board for them than I thought I’d see so late in the game. The Rams ended up winning the game 31 to 27.
Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.
Now, please enjoy BlackPink‘s dance practice video of “Shut Down.”
Mon
Dieu.
Sweet corn tortilla. BlackPink‘s recent comeback with “Pink Venom” left me feeling indifferent until their VMA Awards performance, but “Shut Down” had me enraptured from start to finish. The music video itself strikes me as a pit of a pastiche of outfits and props without a thematic intention (I have not looked up lyric translations to see if they suggest the art direction of the video means anything), but I love it.
I have no idea what’s going on with their outfits, but Jisoo looks great holding a pink umbrella, and now I want one. Jennie is making me think of “Playing With Fire,” Lisa looks so cool, and Rosé’s hair is shorter! She loves sitting on globes, doesn’t she?
FYI: Sorn and Yeeun of CLC collaborated on a song. It’s very catchy and in English.
Pic creds: YT screengrabs
Sitting Pugs: Sports Movies 