We're kinda a big deal

So three and a half years have come and gone; my time as a student at the great University of Minnesota will soon be coming to an end. With that in mind, I like to believe I've left my mark on the fabric of campus history. I like to believe that my interactions with others around me has made a positive impact. But most of all I want to believe that I was kinda a big deal. Deep down we all want it; we want to know that somewhere someone is thinking, "Do you remember when those guys did that sweet thing at that place?"

This concept came to me in a rare spurt of surfing the interwebs in a non-lube-involved manner and I can assure you that we are a big deal. This site has gained in popularity beyond that which we had considered(meaning more than we three read this thing). We have readership stemming from every continent on earth - save the one with all the penguins. Most but not least, clicking on the I'm feeling lucky button when googling "man palace" leads any curious individual straight here. Clearly, we are the epitome of all that is man.

Again while doing some mindless web wandering, I came across this gem over at PPI Sports products. That would be us, three of the founding fathers of The Man Palace, front and center. It appears our Gopher Sports fandom has made us poster children for the "Inflatable Spirit Finger"- not a bad title to have if I do say I so myself.

Some might call this bragging and I shamefully admit that it is. The thing that interests me the most is how without trying our actions have somewhat unknowingly left that mark that I've been talking about. Our interactions are forever inscribed on the minds of so many people around us and not around us. I'm not sure if this is exciting or bothersome, but probably both. The fact that AEGA has been dubbed Santa by security in Mary's Hoochie or that Rusty went and bitched about student tickets in a private meeting with Joel Mat just makes me feel proud to be amoung such fine men.

Titillating Televsion

Now that I've graduated I have an enormous amount of time on my hands. Here's a break down of a few shows I've been taking in recently.

Entourage - Billed as a "Sex and the City" for men, this show takes you inside the life of movie star Vincent Chase and his loser friends.

Plot - 7 - Masturbation jokes: Check. Major movie sets: Check. Phil Michelson cameo: Check. At times the plot can get stale with the constant hiccups and awkward season endings, but it still makes me wish I had dreamy blue eyes and zero intelligence.

T&A - 10 - Vince and co. are immersed into world of treasures. Guest appearances ranging from Scarlett Johansson to Jamie Lynn Sigler, be sure to keep the KY close at hand.

Replay Value - 8 - Although cliffhangers are common and a second time through isn't as suspenseful, this frees you up to take in the... uh... artistic genius of the female co-stars.

Overall - 9. Great show, I've watched it through a couple of times. My only complaint as of late are the jarringly short seasons. Johnny Drama and Ari are two of my favorite characters, you'll be hard pressed to not begin calling perfect strangers "cunt muscle".


The Wire - The end all be all of cop shows, this hard hitting drama makes Baltimore a no-fly zone for anyone interested in keeping all of their limbs.

Plot - 7 - Seasons follow an upward sloping pattern, always culminating in a three to four episode flourish of fast paced action. Have patience for the first 10 episodes, you won't be disappointed.

T&A - 3 - Unless you like mid 40's lesbians, your boner will up and run away.

Replay Value - 9 - Character development is fascinating to watch and when you already known what's happening on both sides of the aisle, there aren't too many surprises to be ruined.

Overall - 7 - A very dark show, worth a watch but have some prozak standing by.

Friday Night Lights - A primer on texas high school football, follows the lives of those surrounding the program in a small town.

Plot - 6 - Lots of drama, predictable cliff hangers. The pilot is a rip off from Varsity Blues, but the season plays out an interesting angle. In season two, make sure you have some ear plugs because the women start screeching and it can get pretty painful.

T&A - 8 - Taking a page from the OC, the producers put girls aged 28 into the roles of 17 year olds. They look young, but they're really not. That makes it all ok right?

Replay Value - 5 - Although not many surprises to be ruined upon a second viewing, this stems from the lack of value the first time around.

Overall - 5 - Although the eye candy is a definite plus, I found myself doing things in other tabs and missing the show in an effort to avoid the ear grating dialogue/acting.

Wait wait wait... free.... beer?

I suggest that our loyal reader base hits this early and often.

C in MMVIII

If you will kindly look to the right and down, to our Blog Archive, you will see a number next to the year 2008. A THREE DIGIT NUMBER, MOTHAFUCKAHS! The Man Palace has surpassed 100 posts, cuz that's just how awesome we are. I'll admit, when this blog started on April 22, 2008, I was worried that the stream of posts would slowly become a trickle and eventually dry up (and it's nearly happened on occasion, but thankfully it's bounced back). So here's to all the Man Palace contributors...Let's drink. Heavily.

uuuuuuuuuhhhhhh what the hell?

I don't understand. Did Childress bump his head or something? Was there a noise during coaching school when they taught how to coach?

Seven fumbles. Seven FUCKING FUMBLES! God I don't know why I do it to myself. I stopped watching professional football for a reason. Nevermind that reason was I was often too hung over to stand the bright screen on sundays, it was a reason. And now this. I stumble down the stairs to take in the crystal clear picture provided by my digital converter box, and I am treated to a comedy of errors.

Ugh.

Not That Guy

Diamond commercials drive me nuts. As I settle down for two weeks of football and gifts my time of bliss is marred by these agregious man code violatoins. First we've got the deaf chick who is professing her new found love after being on the receiving end of the third mortgage on her man's house. What's ASL for "gold digger"? Or there's the chick who likes to shout with her friend about some ass hole named Jared who makes over priced jewlery. Burn in hell cunt muscle. While I ordinarily mute, shout at or ignore the tv while these are on, this commercial caught my eye.



I can safely say that Helzberg Diamond is now the official diamond provider of the The Man Palace.

Heaven is a place on earth

And that place is in the warm embrace of E.A.

This Is Highly Illegal

...as far as the rules of the blogosphere go, but I'm posting another picture from nhLOL because its just too perfect considering the current elephant in the room...

It seems Gabby is practicing again, which means that maybe the Wild can finally get some talent for him. Spezza would be nice...

Kudos again to nhLOL

I Just Blue Myself

The genius minds over at nhLOL have produced comic gold:

Make sure to pay the site a visit. EVERY DAY. Go now.

Go!

Bowling for Tempe

Last night I raced home from my graduation dinner fully intent on taking in three hours of glorious, glorious college football in the waning moments of the season. I was energized by the fact that my team, the Golden Gophers of Minnesota have surprised the nation and somehow backed into a bowl game after finishing 1-11 last year. As I violently swerved in and out of traffic, my mind was ruminating over which after-Christmas destination those suited money managers had in store for me.

Would it be Orlando and Mickey's Playground? (sounds kind of like a strip club)
Tempe and a flock of old people?
Motor City and a glock nine in my rib cage?

Once again, the football gods seemed to have shined their fickle charm on my boys and selected us for the sunny (and warm) confines of Sun Devil Stadium, also known as Ground Zero for the Grinster's last stand. Now what opportunities does this open for our program?

1. Redemption - No one likes to close the season getting shut out by your hated rival in your own house. Regardless of the side action, the last match of the regular season was a game where no one was a winner. The Minnesota fans were forced to see a complete evisceration of an offense, while the Corn Bird fans were again resigned to return to Iowa. Adding a final game to the season gives us the opportunity to, well, score some points.

2. Impregnate Lindsay Soto - Rusty's BotW for now will be doing the sideline coverage for the game. Pac Man down wit dat.

3. Road Tilt Tempe - pile into the jetta, make some poop jokes and tear up Nebraska like it's... uh... 1850 or something.

4. 15 more practices - Following the debacle in Kinnick North, o-line coach Phil Meyer kindly showed himself the door. Brother Brewster immediately filled the miniscule void with Tim Davis, a tenacious recruiter who cut his teeth in minor programs like USC, Alabama and the Miami Dolphins. Davis promises to bring a more smash mouth approach to the running game by putting our blockers in the three point stance and instilling an under-center option. The 15 extra practices given to our team will be invaluable moving forward towards 2009.

5. Continual supervision - When Orson Swindle fires up the Fulmer Cup again, it will invariably include the names of players who stayed home for New Years and found themselves in a spot of trouble. Bringing everyone along for the celebrations ensures we keep everyone out the police blotter, unlike Herky Birds.

There you have it, I'm clearly fired up enough about the bowl to come out of my four month blogging hiatus. Lets dial it up!