sorta like a unicorn

here at mfd, we're bi...coastal that is. and that's why we are whole heartedly throwing our support behind a fine eating establishment that has outposts on both coasts. said eatery is none other than the city bakery, home to the pretzel croissant and the hot chocolate festival. nyc readers should report to 18th between 5th and 6th, and our laid back friends in l.a. can meander over to the brentwood country market for their tasty treats. mfd is getting so hungry thinking of it, they may go indulge in one now, happy trails.

have a nice weekend

mfd would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy weekend. get out there and enjoy this spring weather while you can. as an added bonus we have reloaded miss manion's musical machine with a tasty new track, afternoon delight! it is a little dittie by will ferrell & the channel 4 news team and it sorta rocks in a half serious, half will ferrell bangin' a cowbell with his fat belly hangin' outta a skin tight t-shirt kinda way. enjoy it and remember...we update this damn, dirty blog on the weekends too, so holla at us!

quick thoughts...

•i was walking to lunch this afternoon and i passed an ad for delta airlines above a metro entrance that read "brazil: it's different down there." i realize that they could be promoting their non-stop service from jfk to sao paulo, but they have also come up with one doozy of a double entendre. with advertising like this, it is no wonder that they have been toiling in bankruptcy for the past several years.

•after my run in with the delta ad, i settled in for lunch with a wonderful cobb salad from gourmet 53 in the public atrium at 53rd and 3rd. for those of you unfamiliar with new york, many large buildings have public space contained within them, that as the term public space would indicate, are open to the public. i am sitting in this space happily eating away and immediately i feel a wave of emotion coming over me. what was it you might ask? nothing more than the sweet sounds of lionel richie and steve perry! the catch is, they were not playing over some crappy speakers pumping muzak into the space, no they were courtesy of a nattily dressed man playing the piano. it is unbelievable how awesome 80s standards such as hello and don't stop believin' can sound emanating from the ivories. needless to say, there was a small stream of salty water running down my cheeks as a enjoyed the rest of that salad.

what the hell?

i know that a-rod is a two time mvp but what the hell does he think that he is doing here?

here goes nothin'!

life can get pretty lonely sometimes...thank god for rupert murdoch and news corp. without his generosity, mfd would never make friends. what is this you ask? your favorite daily blog has laid itself bare and is now ready to make friends at myspace. it is kind of like high school, with the judgment and katty behavior, but were doin' it just for you. so get on over to myspace and make friends with mfd!

we're lonely..befriend us!

ahh...paris in the spring

the champions league final (may 17, 2006 @ the stade de france) has been set, with england's arsenal and spain's barcelona set to face off. both teams are capable of playing a beautiful brand of football, so the match should be a dandy. mfd is happy to see two swedes playing a prominent role in each team's efforts (fredrik ljungberg for arsenal and henrik larsson for barcelona) in the lead up to the world cup.
ashley had a few of her best mates up to the flat to watch the game. here's hoping that they behave a little better for our champions league final party.

put your boots on...

because there is a whole lotta bullshit to wade through in cnnsi's first top 25 of 2006.

caution: hot!

if you have been following miss manion's musical machine (and if your not, shame on you), you will already know of gil mantera's party dream. if you don't...boy are you in for a treat! i would love to wax poetic about these two for days but there is little i can say that their video won't. it should be noted that miss manion has been unable to sleep since viewing this video, as it has stirred up emotions inside her that lay dormant for some time. i admit, i myself have been moved by the images you are about to witness. without further ado...i give you gil mantera's party dream and their smash hit elmo's wish (video).

if after viewing this, you need more donny and gil (and why wouldn't you), i strongly suggest reading up on these two at their myspace page. i'm out!

seriously, you have to watch this.

this is just plain sad

in light of the recent dialogue that has popped up on mfd concerning the course of american oil consumption (mfd april 24), this headline is just plain sad. apparently, americans think that they can continue to ignore the crisis that surrounds them with their dependency on oil. news of this ilk should come as a shock, but than one only need realize that the same people that continue to make v8 engines popular in the middle of a global crisis willingly elected bush twice, despite his numerous missteps and the opinion of the entire world outside the us set against his re-election.

this is a small story in the grand scheme of things, but it is representative of a larger problem. the people of the united states have been so secure in their status as the end all be all of planet earth, that they make decisions based solely on self-interest. that is to say, if someone desires a certain outcome, they will secure that outcome at any means necessary, regardless of the consequences that may accompany this decision. the spirit of this type of decision runs contrary to ethos that put the united states in this position of a heightened global standing. 'the greatest generation', all those individuals that endured ww2 here and abroad in combat, raised the profile of this country by making countless sacrifices and making difficult decisions. we are quick to talk about our freedoms and liberties but rarely do you hear discussion about responsibility (individual and collective) and sacrifice.

i understand that america's unfathomable dependence on oil will not disappear overnight but i don't think that asking extremely privileged and fortunate residents of this country to make a more sensible decision when selecting their means of transportation is asking too much. thoughts?

the sc is heatin' up

first it was the french kicks (mfd april 15) and now you can add matt pond pa, ghostface killah, and method man to the list of top shelf talent that has descended upon state college in the past couple of weeks. the matt pond pa gig is april 25, ghostface, a member of the legendary wu tang clan, is spittin' fire on april 26 and method man is may 10. all three shows are at the crowbar and tickets are $12, $18, and $25 respectively. if you are in the area and don't mind a little hip hop you don't stop or indie rock, mfd highly recommends you attend. who knows, you may run into the m to fd at the method man show! either way, support these shows and shows like them, 'cause it is nice to see some talent comin' through the sc and i would hate to see it stop.

matt pond at myspace
ghostface at myspace
method man at myspace

crowbar sc website

they grow 'em smart in the keystone state

it should come as no surprise, but the u.s. senate is now reading mfd for ideas on legislation. pennsylvania senator arlen specter read our post 'blood money' and he agrees with the mfd braintrust that big oil's windfall profits are reprehensible.

read the story here.

certified bananas!

spring is in the air and so are the sweet melodies of the mfd mixtape vol. 2. the tracks have been selected, the cover art completed, and the sweetness of mfd condensed into a cd. check your mailboxes in the next week or so for this little bundle of joy and get ready to get yer groove on. hot diggity!

if we didn't bless you with vol. 1 and/or your afraid of being left out in the cold for vol. 2, drop us a line at madefreshdaily@gmail.com (or you can just click on the rubber stamp on the left).

ridiculous

this ball went 40+ yards in a tight spiral.
40+ yards.
tight spiral.
on target.

don't sleep big ten.

i have seen the holy ghost...

and it was at bowery ballroom last night.

1 part p-funk + 2 parts southern babtist ceremony + 1 dash of led zepplin's cock struttin + of course the mfd peeps

what do you get (besides the manifistation of the holy ghost)?

the tv on the radio concert last night at bowery ballroom in nyc.

on the heels of the great french kicks show in the sc last week, ash and i put on our dancin' shoes again and traked over to check out these lads from the borough of brooklyn. as was expected, the evening was a smashing success. we even had the bonus of one very compitent opening band, brooklyn's the fakers and one exceptional opening act, baltimore's celebration.

this was the opening night of what is their first big national tour and as always, mfd has stamped them with a seal of approval and would reccomend making plans to catch them when they hit your town. if you can't make it to see them you can click on miss manion's musical machine to get some or just wait for the mfd mixtape vol. 2 (out soon!).

white out...'06 style

with the blue white game only 5 days away, the staff here at mfd has broken out the blue and white face paint, unpacked the pom-poms, and even started thinking about next season's "white-outs". with that in mind, the daily collegian is having a competition to select an official white out shirt for the 2006 football season. voting begins tomorrow (Tuesday 18) and it should be interesting to see what the student body comes up with. if you have a minute and you want to quell your football jones, vote here.

it should be noted that no future design could possibly beat mfd's current offerings, dwheels and jking (available by request), so this is only an exercise in futility.

le state collegé

in honor of the french kicks show at the darkhorse tavern in state college, miss manion's musical machine has been updated to feature one of this evening's featured tracks, one more time. enjoy this tasty track and see you at the darkhorse.

stick to basketball

much like fox news channel, mfd strives to bring you 'fair and balanced' stories and opinions. in the past i have often sung the praise of my native state, pennsylvania, whenever it has been portrayed positively in the news. unfortunately that is not the case today, with the decision by villanova to move forward with their plans to erect a memorial for the victims of abortion on campus. the plan calls for a statue, depicting the virgin mary cradling the baby jesus, to be placed on the campus near the freshmen dorms.

is it me, or does the word victims imply that there has been a crime committed? and if that is the case, and abortion has been a legal procedure in america since roe vs. wade in 1973, than something is afoul here. maybe villanova should focus more on semantics and less on public art.

is it possible that they see this as an opportunity for young men and women to rub baby jesus's head for luck on their way to class, ala the clemson football team slapping howard's rock as they rush through the tunnel and onto the football field? just a thought.

brokeback blog

i will begin by apologizing for being several steps behind the cultural zeitgeist on this one, but I have been shunning hollywood pictures for some time and as a result, had to wait to view brokeback mountain until it was released on dvd. as i sat down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in hand and watched the opening credits come across the screen, i was suddenly struck with two conflicting thoughts.

the first thought I had was, 'will brokeback mountain suffer from three amigos syndrome?'. yes, that's right, i am mentioning the martin short vehicle from your childhood. what could this possibly have to do with the cowpokes of brokeback mountain, you ask? well, it goes like this...years ago i was schooled in the phenomenon of three amigos syndrome. this affliction occurs when a movie is released and subsequently generates a wealth of commentary (in most cases overwhelming praise and adoration) before you have had a chance to view said film. three amigos syndrome, therefore taints the viewer's experience by retarding their ability to form an independent opinion of the film.

example:
"should we get three amigos?"
"i haven't seen it."
"you haven't seen the three amigos? that is the funniest movie ever! you will love it."

as you can see, the expectations are built up, the bar raised, and the subsequent viewing ruined.

back to jack and ennis...

with three amigos syndrome in mind, i could not imagine that brokeback mountain could live up to the hype that had surrounded it in the early part of the year.

the second thought that ran through my head was, 'how the eff did that junior high lunchroom conversation of a meditation on race relations, crash, win best picture? what began as a tuesday night dinner and a movie, had become so much more.

as for the picture itself...i thoroughly enjoyed it, in particular the performance of heath ledger. the story was engaging without cloaking itself in sentiment or cliche. in retrospect, i can only imagine that misinformed rants and wild speculation concerning the love story that is central to the movie, caused america to get it's collective panties in a bunch over brokeback mountain.

as for my two major concerns that plagued me before watching the film, they were quelled. brokeback mountain did not suffer from three amigos syndrome and it was without a doubt a better film (in every regard) than crash.

football is in the air

less than two weeks til the blue white game and i am full of nit fever already. see what joe and the boys are up to here and here. mfd will have a complete spring wrap-up and a 06 outlook after we have had a chance to see the mighty nits in person.

big bertha

a tradition unlike any other.

how to get to heaven

i found this leaflet blowing around queens blvd a few days ago and thought i should share it. this is some important stuff...especially for you gd sinners!

[click photos to enlarge]

as #3 clearly points out, hell ain't no place to visit 'cause sinners will burn in hell forever.

how awesome is #9? having the grade school kid drink was not enough, they had to have him smoking too and on that note, how awesome is it that smokin' & drinkin' are used to convey sin...punishable by death?!?

it's coming

4/12/06
state college...are you ready?

homeland security

boy, this isn't disgusting...at all.

i feel so much safer knowing that the department of homeland security has their priorities in order.

give us a blog and we'll give you the news

in our never-ending attempts to bring you the most trivial and when possible...ridiculous (if not ridiculously naughty) news out there, we have a new offering. not much in the way of description here, just really a post about lindsay lohan's constant exhibitionism (i.e. lindsay showed her toosh...to children...at an award show). what ever happened to the days of you can't do that on television and green slime?

if you ain't ashiepsu, you ashiepsu bait!

so last nights national championship game was awful (in every respect), but the silver lining was the miraculous effort by ashiepsu in the mfd tourney time challenge. overcoming what was thought by most (mostly just me) to be an insurmountable lead, she came roaring back and overtook the mighty chief and his brackets. not since the 'dewey defeats truman' declaration has some much egg been on such an esteemed media vehicle's face, as is currently the case with mfd (see all hail the chief). our sincere apologies, as well as congratulations, go out to ashiepsu and we'll get that first place prize right over to you (just as soon as we figure out what it is)!

battle royale...with cheez!

inspired by a recent trip to the dirty south, where i was schooled in the majesty of a particular chicken shack and their delicious & cleverly named food, i got to thinking...could this modest house of poultry possible be superior to central pennsylvania's end-all-be all chainlet, sheetz? totally baffled by this question, i came to the only sensible conclusion...they should settle it in the ring.

(the scene shifts to a dingy, smoke filled coliseum where fat men and loose women inhabit the haphazardly arranged folding chairs surrounding a worn boxing ring. a man's raspy voice rings out over the crowd as he shouts into a bullhorn)

"fighting out of the red corner...the young upstart from the south, mixing artery hardening food with clever wordplay...zaxby's!

and in the blue corner...the undisputed champion from the keystone state, who can incorporate it's corporate identity into virtually any foodstuff. ladies and gentlemen, i give you sheetz!

this is a 6 round fight for the title of best fast food naming chain...in the world!

round 1: appetizers
zaxby's dominates the champ with their cleverly named zappetizers. sheetz can only muster a weak response in the form of a bavarian ham pretzel sandwich (which is very tasty but totally lacking in name-power).

round 2: sandwiches
sheetz quickly shakes the ring rust and gets it's legs back, walloping zaxby's with a bevy of bagelz & burgerz.

round 3: salads
the tide turns again with sheetz inexplicably failing to conjure something more than salads. i mean not even a saladz or shalads! zaxby's dominates the old vet with their brilliantly coined zalads!

round 4: breakfast
not to be out done, sheetz roars back and puts together it's best round. shmagelz, shmuffins, and shmiscuits hammer down on the overmatched rookie.

round 5: value meals
in an effort to save something for the final round, sheetz concedes the round to zaxby's and their meal dealz (the big zax snakz® meal swayed the judges).

round 6: beverages
in what can only be deemed a case of over-confidence, zaxby's prances about the ring, rubbing their virtual tummy as if to say they had defeated the old champ, while sheetz prepared one finalonslaughtt...fizz city! zaxby's was staggered and seemed ripe for a knock-out, only to be saved by the bell. sheetz was not going to have their title taken from them without one hell of a fight.

(the announcers voice carries across the hall, strained and raspy from calling the frenetic action)

"after 6 rounds of cholesterol fueled action we go to the scorecards. tonight's match has been ruled a draw! a draw!"

as you can imagine, pandemonium broke out. southern-fried gentlemen kicked and stomped the floor with their white bucks, while the state college cheerleading squad broke out with "...nuts and bolts, nut and bolts, we got screwed!" however, soon thereafter cooler heads prevailed and everyone realized that these two competitors were evenly matched and in the end it was determined, this country is big enough for two food chains that probably employe the same copywriter to construct their menu.

feliz cumpleaños y cuántos años tienes?

a big, mfd happy birthday goes out to steph "snack" welch. she might be 21 today, so you should buy her a drink a offer a toast if you run into her. cheers.