Unicorns, Basketball, Comedic Serial Killers and Running

So I've started a basketball team with some dudes at work. After much debate we decided to call ourselves the Kobo Unicorns. Actually I made that decision. There were a few promising candidates but as team captain I had to make a decision. My thinking was that 1) unicorns are very popular with the kids and the internet right now 2) generic team names are lame and 3) it would be cool if combined a strange/wimpy name with a tough looking logo.
I made a mock-up for the logo-










which was turned into an awesome logo by someone much more talented than me-

so we now look completely awesome on the court. We're 0-3 to start the season but we're slowly improving. Also there are only six teams in the league and one of them is called The Double Rainbow Unicorns. It's kind of like the CFL... only with better logos.

...

I finished watching the documentary Hoop Dreams (it took me a few sittings) on Netflix today. It was great. The best part was that the mean high school coach looked a lot like Randy Newman. I also watched White Men Can't Jump last week which had an equally amazing fashion sense though the ending didn't make much sense. The next film on my list of basketball movies to watch is Gunnin' for That #1 Spot.

On my quest to become a basketball fan I've found that the documentaries/movies/books/media surrounding the sport are much better than those in the hockey world. I've only seen two or three basketball games this season but I've seen a handful of movies, read two books, listened to many hours of The BS Report and played many hours of NBA Jam. At this point I think watching the actual games might not live up to the expectations I now have about how entertaining the NBA actually is.

...

I bought two albums last week. The first one was The Tyranny of Distance by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists which I got because I was looking for something new and they kept coming up on The Best Show on WFMU which has crept into my podcast rotation. For a moment I thought I had been swindled into listening to an Emo band but I'm now reasonably sure that this is not the case and the album is growing on me nicely.

The second album is Game Theory by The Roots. Every once in a while I'll try to get into hip hop but the only album I've ever really been able to get into was Phrenology so instead of trying something new I got what seems to be their next best album. It was a wise decision and when I listen to it I feel like a big man.

...

It took me a while to get through it but I finished Devil in the White City. It was good but I found the serial killer chapters much more captivating than the World's Fair chapters. I also found the serial killer plot to be as funny as it was disturbing. It read like a Coen brothers comedy to me. The killer, H.H Holmes, thinks he's exceedingly cunning when in reality he's extremely careless. Due to the naivety of Chicago citizens and the incompetence of its police force however his crimes go largely undetected. This exchange between himself and a pharmacist he buys chloroform from in bulk was my favorite:

Holmes: Yes, I'd like to buy another bucket of chloroform.

Pharmacist: Okay but if I'm going to keep selling this to you I should really know what you're using it for.

Holmes: Very well. I am using it for... experiments.

Pharmacist: Of course. Good day to you then.

Several weeks later.


Holmes: Hello, I am in need of more chloroform.

Pharmacist: Certainly. May I ask how your experiments are proceeding?

Holmes: I am not performing any experiments.

Pharmacist: ... I see. I'll get your chloroform then.

After that I read Born to Run which was recommended to me because I was complaining about shin splints. Not only was it a great read but I learned that:

1) Humans are the best distance running mammals because they aren't tied to taking one breath per stride and they have sweat glands.
2) There's no evidence that stretching does anything at all.
3) There's no evidence that expensive running shoes improve performance or prevent injuries. If anything they cause running injuries by changing your stride.
4) Nike invented the modern running shoe in the seventies and is now ironically leading the charge of anti-running shoe running shoes with the Nike Free.

I was convinced enough to get myself a pair but I can't say whether they work because my shins have not yet recovered enough for me to attempt to run. I have stopped using my padded shoe inserts as well as these padded flip flops I had worn around the house all winter. I may or may not be born to run but I am determined to build up some decent foot muscles.