View on Flickr

With the announcement last week that the SMU football team would be sporting “new” uniforms, I felt the need to bring up the Mustangs’ schizophrenic handling of the color blue.  Now I’m not old enough to remember, but I can’t recall ever seeing the SMU athletic teams wearing anything but royal before the mid to late 1990s. But navy was the preferred hue of blue that the football team adopted in 2003. And there seems to be no explanation for this at all. For a school with as rich an atheltic heritage in the city of Dallas as SMU, it is a sad tale how much apathy has surrounded its programs since the NCAA dropped the Death Penalty on them in 1987.

Look at the school’s official colors and you’ll see that they are “Harvard Red and Yale Blue.” WHY?  That automatically dooms the Mustangs to aspire to be a copy of another school, AT BEST!  I’m sure schools with such strong ties to their colors as the University of Texas look at SMU and just laugh.  Who can tell me where the non-official usage of navy came from?

Its not just the football team, either.  In recent years the soccer teams, basketball teams, and even the cheerleaders have been seen clad in navy. Let’s hope with the introduction of these new football duds, which hearken back to the Pony Express days of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, we are now seeing the abandonment of navy, which is not even a sanctioned school color.  Oh, and by the way, with the new June Jones-era unis the school has introduced are in a shade called “SMU Blue.”

Looks like hoops are back in royal now, though.

Why oh why SMU do you play fast and loose with your colors?  What other sports team, at any level, does this?  Southern Methodist University — pick one color and stick with it. Please.  Maybe you’ll see that people care about your teams when they think that you actually do.

What do you think? Please tell me what you think in the comments.

Thanks to hombre de steel for the vintage banner photos.

Looks as if Yahoo has given flickr video capabilities. Videos are limited to 90 seconds and the privilege to upload has been limited to Pro users. A cool group with some of the early video additions to flickr can be seen in this group here. While it remains to be seen whether this new service will be any sort of rival to youtube, it will definitely be great to see what kinds of things that those who habitually view life through a lens will share with this moving picture format. I think it’s all kinda neat. O, and check this one from Norby.

[flickr video=http://flickr.com/photos/norby/2350669090]

Thanks to Bobby S over at the Kitsune Noir blog, desktops around the world will now be more stylish as they launch The Desktop Wallpaper Project today.  Each Wednesday you can mosey on over the +KN blog and pick up a new wallpaper from one of the most talented artists practicing today — all free.  Today’s contributions come from Tim Biskup, Mcbess and IMAKETHINGS.  I’ve been waiting for an idea like this to come along for some time.  Each wallpaper is available in a variety of sizes, including custom versions for iPhones and PSPs. Enjoy!

In case you are not familiar with the video service Hulu, now is your chance to jump on board.  Hulu is currently in beta testing and you can only access it via an invite.  Luckily here is a link to 2400+ invites at the time of this writing.  On-demand television programming and some movies are available on Hulu, and I have used it to catch up on the Season 4 The Office episodes that I missed due to NBC jumping ship from the iTunes store.  Much props to a great service that only stands to get better.  Did I mention FREE? Well, it’s free, so follow the link and start watching some video.  Content from NBC, FOX, the Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, Sci Fi, Style, Sundance, and Oxygen channels.

P.S. Fans of Steve Martin will be happy to know that The Jerk is on Hulu in its entirety.

***UPDATE***

The invites for the above link are all gone. But I found some more here, here, and here.  Boo-yah.

15. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends

As huge fan of this band I must say that this release was met with mucho anticipation. Diagnosis: mostly awesome with a side of “what’s this?”

mp3: “The Year Before the Year 2000”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/03-the-year-before-the-year-2000.mp3]

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14. The Arcade Fire – Black Mirror

Crazy album name with some of the most powerful songs I’ve heard in ages.

mp3: “No Cars Go”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/10nocarsgo.mp3]
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13. Battles – Mirrored

Are they human?

mp3: “Ddiamondd”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/03ddiamondd.mp3]
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12. The Good, The Bad & The Queen – The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Damon Albarn is a pimp.  So is Danger Mouse.

mp3: “Northern Whale”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/03northernwhale.mp3]
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11. Liars – Liars

This band never ceases to amaze. I already can’t wait for their next release.

mp3: “Houseclouds”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/02houseclouds.mp3]
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10. Peter, Bjorn and John – Writer’s Block

I’m definitely guilty of whipping this one out on several of my friends during the first weeks of its release. Has some of the catchiest tunes that simply stick with you. Popular in advertising this year too – Im sure I heard songs from this album on at least three commercials by the time summer came around.

mp3: “The Chills”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/09chillsthe.mp3]
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9. Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

In England the troubled, drug-addled music stars in the limelight actually have talent. At least until Amy Winehouse dies.

mp3: “Tears Dry on Their Own”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/07-tears-dry-on-their-own.mp3]
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8. Justice – Cross

“D.A.N.C.E” was one my most played tracks for the year. In a very short period of time.

mp3: “D.A.N.C.E.”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/03-dance.mp3]
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7. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Yet another candidate for the Questionable Album Title Club. There are some amazing songs in here, though, so it’s something that must be overlooked.

mp3: “Don’t You Evah”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/04dontyouevah.mp3]
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6. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights

Two awesome things: 1) Sharon Jones has a storied past as a corrections officer, including many years of service at Sing-Sing. 2) This album was inconceivably released in 2007. Fantastic blast to the past.

mp3: “Let Them Knock”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/06letthemknock.mp3]
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5. Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass

Exclaim “hell yes!” Repeat ad infinitum.

mp3: “None Shall Pass”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/02-none-shall-pass.mp3]
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4. Blonde Redhead – 23

A very complete album from an all-time fave. Word.

mp3: “Top Ranking”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/09topranking.mp3]
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3. Panda Bear – Person Pitch

The first time I heard this album I pretty much hated it. After shelving it for months I dove back in, hopefully this time with a different perspective. My mind was then systematically blown over the course of a week or two. Exceptional “me time” album.

mp3: “Bros”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/03bros.mp3]
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2. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

There is so much going on here that it is a wonder that the band not only keeps it together, but also manages to form a continuous cohesive work of art of it all.

mp3: “We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/12wewerebornthemutantsagainwithleafling.mp3]
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1. Radiohead – In Rainbows

Radiohead have proven once again that they are indeed a conglomeration of geniuses. The most important move in recent history in the world of music economics would have never worked as well had the product not been so damned amazing.

mp3: “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”

[audio http://thenperiod.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/09-radiohead-jigsaw-falling-into-place.mp3]

According to the Tech Blog at the Dallas Morning News, it appears that Google may be planning to bring it’s popular Street View feature of Google Maps to cover Dallas. The Street View button is now available for Dallas, which means that we can hope to add our city to a list that already includes Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tuscon, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York.

In case you are not hip, Street View is like a virtual walking tour of the mapped area. How they achieve that effect is rather creepy, though. They drive around town with cameras mounted on the roof of a car that point in all directions as seen on Flickr here.

I’ve been waiting for months for this capability to come to my home town and I can’t wait to explore the kinds of things that are possible..

***UPDATE***

It’s Tuesday 12-11-07 and Street View is up for Dallas. What fun it is! Can’t wait to post some Easter eggs here!