Check out Napoleon Dynamite reading Letterman's Top Ten (or download here)

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The biggest source of frustration for me over the past couple weeks? ESPN Page 2's Hottest Female Athlete contest. Since the first round started I have been dreading the thought that America will name gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard (check out her shitty website for pics) the hottest female athlete in the world. Now let me preface all this misdirected rage by saying I fully acknowledge Amanda Beard to be a reasonably attractive woman and a great athlete. But please, look at the non-glamor shots. She's kind of scary-looking (pretty big teeth, severe jawline)--the best looking female athlete in the world? Given we've discussed this in detail over email recently, I think Mulldoggey has my back on this.


One his extremely hot; the other is Amanda Beard

What really bothered me was her semifinal defeat of Australian soccer player Amy Taylor. Amy Taylor is hot, glamor shot or no. Not "wow, she's kind of pretty AND a great athlete"--she's certifiably hot. If I knew Amanda Beard I'd think I'd have a shot at her; if I knew Amy Taylor I'd wonder if she'd let me water her plants. Is she as good an athlete as Amanda Beard? No. But who cares, Heather Mitts won last year and she's not the best soccer player in the world either. Anyway, at last count Amanda Beard was blowing out Lokelani McMichael in the finals, who I had never heard of previously but who is also easily more attractive that Amanda Beard. I still don't know why this actually bothers me, but it does--I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here, people.

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Go over to the always excellent Bliss Pop to check out their February playlist. My faves:

Out Hud / "It's For You"
Out Hud is !!! minus a few guys, plus some other people including a female vocalist. The sound isn't too far from !!!, though it's more poppy and less funky. Most of this song is OK, but I think the refrain--loaded with this drippy guitar part that sounds like it might have been inspired by Duran Duran's "Come Undone"--is just fucking awesome. But be warned, the words "bouncy" and "poppy" could be ascribed to this song.

Daft Punk / "Human After All"
I had this linked last month so I won't go over it again except to say this song represents everything I've always liked about Daft Punk.

M83 / Don't Save Us From the Flames
I loved M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Souls as much as anyone, and I'm normally loyal to a fault with my fave bands. But I believe around the world music snobs are currently in serious denial about how massively disappointing the new M83 album is. I mentioned this a few months ago when I first heard it and, after buying the album a month ago when it came out, I stand by my initial objections. It's just so fucking...cheesy. I'm seriously annoyed by many critics' steadfast refusal to acknowledge this.

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Interesting review of movies centering around Boston, including a sidebar about Harvard-related movies.

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Finally found The Bravery's "Tyrant" on the 'net for you to consume. It's on Rapidshare.de, so click on the link and click on "Free" at the bottom of the page. Then wait to get your "ticket," rick click on the link and save-as. I know, it's a pain in the ass.

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New song from Longwave. I loved The Strangest Things when it came out a couple years back, but they've really dropped below the radar since.