Second and Below

One time in Tulsa, my dudes Idris and Nate were hosting a hip-hop show that culminated in a freestyle cypher. I was a happy observer until Idris called me up to the stage to participate. That would have been cool but I don’t rap. To compensate for my lack of rap skills, I decided to rap entirely in French. I killed it. The audience went bonkers and I felt like a smaller, French Eminem. The only problem is I don’t speak French. All I did was rhyme random noises with “fromage” for about 30 seconds. Knowing this story, my girlfriend Hiu forbade me to attempt any French speaking while in Montreal. This rule was tough. Tough…but fair. Besides the generic Canadian stereotypes, I didn’t know much about Montreal before this trip. I knew they spoke French. I knew the Montreal Canadiens were an original 6 NHL team. I knew the Expos had the coolest uniforms. That’s pretty much it. I was surprised by how close it is. It was a 2-2.5 hour flight from Chicago. The Montreal Airport ...

Excellent Music, Fine Food, and Ghosts! Here's the final installment in this series. I took you to W. Virginia to track down the Mothman. I travelled to the longest island in search of the Amityville Horror House. Now I bring it all home. Literally. Please enjoy Part 3: Resurrection Mary aka My Town is Haunted as F**K. If you grow up near Chicago you know that nothing good happens in the woods. You grow up being told that if you hang out in the woods too long you’re either going to be chased by a child molester or become a sacrifice for a gaggle of heavy metal listening devil worshippers. You’re told those things and then you watch the first couple Friday the 13 th ’s and you never want to see a green space ever again. We were scared of the woods until we realized we could throw an awesome party in them and we learned to cope with the fear. Still, the fear is so ingrained that it lingers in the far reaches of your brain. All that being said, I should be scared...

Crime Scene photo with a creepy ass "high hopes" sign on the lamp post Here is part 2 of the 3 part series. A little while back I got to visit Long Island and check out the Amityville horror house. Similar to Mothman, a lot of strange stuff went down and those who saw it firmly believe it. Others think they are full if shit. Would Amityville prove to me the existence of the paranormal? Would a bearded Ryan Reynolds sway me from my skepticism? Let’s find out together. My flight into Long Island’s ISLIP Airport was late. I was already arriving late but thanks to a delay in Baltimore I didn’t touch down till almost midnight, nearly 3 hours later than planned. I sprinted to the rental desk just before they closed, got the keys to my Hyundai Elantra and drive off to Farmingdale about 45 minutes west. This was a fly in/fly out trip. I was booked to present at a conference the next day till about 2pm with a 6pm flight home. I was so close to New York City but I knew I...