'THIS IS NOT A GAME, PEOPLE!'

I've got a lot of guilty pleasures, but one of the biggest as of late has to be VH1's 'The White Rapper Show'. Kind of an American Idol / Survivor / Real World hybrid, the just of the show is finding the next 'Great White Hope' of hip-hop. The show throws 12 wannabe MC's from various locales and backgrounds in a hovel in the birthplace of hip-hop, the Boogie Down Bronx, and pits them against each other in various challenges testing both their mic skills and knowledge of the game.

The show is hosted/moderated/judged by a white hip-hop legend in his own right, MC Serch from 3rd Bass, and super-producer Prince Paul (the man behind De La's opus '3 Feet High & Rising' ) and luminaries from Grandmaster Flash to Kurtis Blow to Brand Nubian to Just Blaze are brought in to drop knowledge on these kids as they strive to become last MC standing. Seriously, not only are these lucky contestants getting an opportunity to blow up...but they are getting schooled by true legends.

The actual contestants are way too new school for my taste. Some of them have decent skills on the mic, but they are all kind of cookie-cutter to what's selling records in the genre today. That said, watching some of these youngsters and how tweaked they are is what gives the show it's charm. One cat, the self-professed 'King of the Burbs' John Brown, is seriously from another planet. The dude drives people nuts by repeatedly referring to a "Ghetto Revival", a personal social movement scant on details other than the claim that it's a "lifestyle brand" that will support "the revival of ghettos and all types of different struggles throughout the world". BWA-HA! Even better than the interaction between the housemates, is the freestyle contest at the end of each episode to decide who stays and who'll step off.

Really, i'm not doing it near the justice it deserves, so tune in or hit up Vh1.com and check it. Outside of that, i'm digging on NBC's 'Heroes', plus the Thursday night 1-2 punch of 'My Name is Earl' and the US version of 'The Office' (F the Haters, it's just as good as the original). Then, next week, ABC kicks back in w/ the Winter season of 'LOST'...WHOO-HA! Be sure to tune in next time...same Dalek time, same Dalek channel. Bzzzzt.

HOLY (FOOT) BALLS!!!

Not only was it a landmark day in the Famous household due to the boys hitting 11-months, but THE FREAKING BEARS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!! I was lucky enough to see them go in 1985 while in Junior high, but my boys get to see this before they even turn a year old!

It'd be cliche for me to post up w/ the Super Bowl Shuffle, so, instead, be a Grabowski...

GO BEARS!!!

The Man With Two (RED) Shoes...

As anybody who knows me can tell you...I am an absolute sneaker junkie. I really can't remember the last time I wore anything but a pair of tennis shoes to go about my daily routine. Via post-Christmas shopping excursions, I was stoked to find a light grey pair of Adidas Superstars (w/ the shelltoe) and (even though outside of the Onitsuka Tiger kick a few years back I usually rock Adidas exclusively) a pair of coffee colored suede Pumas...both on sale.

That said, even better than those finds, was the gift I received from Mrs. Famous. Originally, she had gone to the Converse website and was one click away from ordering me a pair of low-cut Chuck Taylors she had designed for me herself. Unfortunately, she went to the other room to check on the kids and never completed the order...which I stumbled upon getting on the PC several hours later. Since the surprise was ruined, she ended up just giving me a gift certificate to design my own. Roughly 3 weeks later...

...BOOM BIP! There you go. Nothing too radical in the design, but they came out great. It has some fresh bandanna/skull print for the inner lining and the personalization on the back is embroidered. Ooh. La. La. Throw in that they are hella comfy and that Chucks are just so timeless, i'm a happy camper.

Even better than all of that though, as part of the (Product) RED initiative, 15% of the net retail sales of the kicks will be paid to The Global Fund for AIDS Relief. Those of you may recall from my post a few weeks back, that I recently headed the development work for the two first US phones for Motorola's RED offerings at Sprint and US Cellular. Other particpants like GAP and Apple have some cool offerings too...you should check what it's all about and where you can 'shop RED' to make a difference...IT'S A RED THING. Peace!

Here in my car...

There is a brief period every morning, totalling no more than 35 minutes, where anything seems possible. As I take the drive into work, sip my coffee, sing along w/ whatever is on the stereo... the world passes by through automatic windows and over the top of my dashboard. A new day begins and the rigours of work and everything else yet to beat me down. It's one of my favorite moments of each day, very empowering and eclipsed only by the moment each night when i'm greeted at home by the two boys and my wife.

More stuff later. Peace.

...and TWINS!

I promised a long overdue update on the boys in my return to blogdom a few posts back, so here you go...

OWEN (AKA MR. MEAN MONKEY FACE)

O is really our thrill-seeker of the two. He's army-crawling at breakneck speeds, sitting up at the drop of a dime and pulling himself up onto coffee tables, pack'n'plays, couches, etc. I had to lower the cribs earlier than expected before the holidays, as my wife exclaimed one afternoon while I was on the phone w/ her from work: 'I just heard a thud! I think Owen fell out of the crib!' She informed that she found him on the floor on his back, completely fine but a little shaken up and (best of all) not wearing any pants...pretty much like me any given day in college. He also can not only withstand the Baron Von Raschke Brain Claw, but will place his face into your outstretched hand just to mock you.

Seems he's also fashioning himself quite the lady's man, flirting w/ any female w/in a 2-foot radius. A friend of the wife was over to see the kids and, after flashing some puppy dog eyes and his trademark grin, he decided to help himself to an under-the-shirt/over-the-bra handful...pretty much like me any given day in college. I figured it's okay to let him revel in the random grope before he's old enough to get sued for it.

He has an arsenal of interesting facial expressions, most of them Zoolander-esque versions of the same thing. The Mean Monkey Face, The Stinky Cheese Face, The Booker T Face...all of them usually brought out to express his displeasure that you're not letting him do something that he wants to. He eats like a horse, rarely turning down any thing put in front of him...uses an excellent pincer grasp on cheerios and fruit puffs too (one at a time, very efficient). Outside of that, he's a really content kid...as long as he can be a busy-bee, he's happy!

LOGAN (AKA BIG CAT)

While O may be catching up, Lo is still the beefier 'big' brother of the pair. However, under that slightly chubby exterior lies a total creampuff 90% of the time. He's extremely social and loves to be around other people...more specifically, HELD by other people...especially Mommy. We still haven't received our infant decoder ring, but it seems he's babbling about some very important stuff. When he's not talking, he's testing additional uses of his mouth and vocal chords by yelling ('HEY!')...motorboatin' ('PHHHBBBBBBTTT!')...or, when upset, reaching out to his Mother ('MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA!'). He's a little more content to stay in one place than Owen and, since he has a few more pounds to work with, hasn't quite grasped pulling himself up...but when he's army-crawling, he moves really quick.

It's funny to watch how he really has two moods. While the word 'jolly' is rarely used to describe something other than Santa Claus or a Rancher, I can't think of a better way to describe him when he's in a good mood. Big deep laugh and a huge open mouth smile to show off what seems to be the 200 teeth he's had come in over the past 3-4 months. Loves to play peek-a-boo, even though his hands usually end up on his forehead versus over his eyes...will laugh until he has tears playing tug-of-war w/ the dog (or Daddy)...claps his hands in celebration when somebody says 'HOORAY!' Then, something happens that he doesn't like or, most of the time, somebody has told him he can't do something...to say he gets agitated would be an understatement. Fists pound, legs kick, screaming/crying ensues...just articulating to you the best he can that's most definitely not happy. Luckily, this usually only happens 2-3 times a day...especially in the morning if he hasn't had his bottle yet (just like Dad and his coffee).

Speaking of food, depending on the day, Lo can be quite the challenge to get through an entire meal. If he doesn't like something you've offered up to eat...he'll let you know by swatting his arms around or trying to wrestle the spoon from your hand to throw to the floor. Recently, he's also chosen mealtime to practice spitting things out of his mouth...not because he doesn't like what' he's eating, but just because it something new. He finds it hilarious...Mommy, not so much. That said, he has taken to holding his bottle himself and pound the whole thing w/out any assistance and can put down a handful of cheerios/fruit puffs/shredded cheese in the blink of an eye. Bottom line, he's such a fun kid to watch grow up...every week it's a new trick and we're so proud to watch it happen.

So, if you couldn't already tell, i'm one extremely proud poppa. They'll be a year old next month and I can hardly believe it. They came into this world 3-weeks early and so tiny when we brought them home. Now...they're like little men and, next to Mrs. Famous, the most amazing thing to happen to me in my lifetime. Until next time...PEACE.

AMBFAD BEST OF 2006

Well, here it is...my obligatory 'Best Of' list required of every music geek...

1. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

2. The Roots- Game Theory

3. Asobi Seksu - Citrus

4. Cut Chemist - The Audience is Listening

5. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

6. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
7. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
8. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
9. People Under the Stairs - Stepfather
10. Mr. Lif - Mo' Mega

I'll refrain from pontificating what it was I dug about each release, as a few of them I already reviewed earlier on. Suffice to say, the Hold Steady swooped into the top spot at the final hour. The Roots brought the goods...but the Springsteen meets Thin Lizzy rock'n'roll throwdown was too infectious not to give the crown to. Fishscale made every hipster's list as the obligatory hip-hop release, but it's wacked out lyrics and tripped out soul clips that backed them up deserved all of the hype. That said, the more indie hip-hop releases from PUTS (awesome beats) and Mr. Lif (lyrics and flow you won't hear on the radio) were tight as well...and definitely worth checking out. TV on the Radio's latest finally got me on their bandwagon w/ it's eclectic (but uptempo) line-up of tracks and YLT/Neko brought some sweet sounds that ran the gambit from perfect chill-out to moderately freaky.

That's kind of a lazy recap, but it's about all I have the energy for right now. Decide for yourself, go out and listen to clips via your normal means and hook yourself up w/ some good tunes. More next week. PEACE!

I know I hurt you and I made you cry...

...and to love I rhapsodize.

Wow. 4 months. It's been 4 months since I updated this thing and we're a few days into a brand new shiney 2007. It's not that i've been gathering moss or anything...to the contrary, actually. I got a new gig at work (where I launched the US versions of the RAZR for Bono's Project RED campaign for starters), the boys have grown so much and gone mobile and, thusly, we've had our hands full.

Anyways, as part of my New Year's resolution (amongst others) to get back to writing more, i'm going to get back to filling the interweb w/ more useless bullshit about music, film, TV, art, fast food, physics, kung fu and general pop culture tomfoolery. (Segue coming...watch for it) I'm also going to try and really reconnect w/ my love of music (new and old), as I only really dabbled in what was out there in 2006. Which leads me to...

...the video for the new(ish) single from U2 from their recent 'singles' collection 'U218'. The collection itself is kind of useless for most long-time fans of the band and contains the above tune and the Katrina relief tune they did w/ Green Day. I liked the tune when I heard it, but this is one of those rare moments when a video takes a song to a new level and gives it meaning. The just, being that even the biggest of bands are fans in their own right...that they can be fanboys and/or music geeks as much as the guy typing this. The video, literally gave me chills the first time I saw it. On top of that, the droves of performance footage from such a diverse collection of some of the greatest performers to grace a stage used throughout is just too fun to watch (check out the clip of 'The Killer')...see if you can name all the artists included.

Speaking of U2, I received their huge book 'U2 by U2' for Christmas and i'll provide a review after the 3 months it'll take me to read it (it's chocked full of stuff). I'll also post my my Top 10 of 2006 by week's end, which (self-admittedly) is really only the few records I listened to the past year and really enjoyed. Plus, some pics and an update on the twins and other stuff I planned on throwing on here in 2006, but didn't get to. Promise (he says w/ his fingers crossed behind his back). So, as always, stay tuned and peace out. Whoo.