the Fifth Line: the Home Stretch

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Hey, wanna see something totally not at all depressing if you’re a Chicago fan?

Arizona and Buffalo, the two teams whose front offices are tanking the hardest, are teams that have been gutted in an effort to land a top-two draft pick. Their games against each other are so awful, and filled with fans cheering against their own team, that such games have been likened to existentialist avant garde performance.

Chicago’s offense has been so bad the last couple months, they’re playing at these teams’ level. [Read more…]

NCAA Hoops: The 2015 Final Four

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Kentucky survives and advances. Photo credit

Kentucky survives and advances. Photo credit

For what more could we possibly ask? Over two days, eight teams exuded personality, created palpable drama, and competed for regional championships. Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Duke advanced but Arizona, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Gonzaga deserve admiration for their efforts in a memorable weekend of high quality college basketball. Making a Final Four is no easy feat. In a “championship or bust” sports culture, it becomes easier and easier to overlook the fact that 4 teams, 1.14% of the 351 Division I schools, qualified for and survived a single elimination tournament with insane variation in seeding, matchups, and location. Each team brings a unique story and set of qualities that make this one of the most anticipated Final Fours of recent memory.

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Addison Recorded Ep. 108: Kimmy Is Bad At Math

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Addison Recorded logo

Logo made by Owen Williams.

Welcome to the Addison Recorded, the official podcast of the Addison Recorder. For season one of the podcast, Gina and I are re-capping episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the latest original series from Netflix. Join us Tuesday and Thursday mornings in the PodFort™ (aka, Gina’s dining room blanket fort) as we talk about each episode of the show starring Ellie Kemper.

Our eighth episode is now available on iTunes! We’re excited to share it with you. Find the Addison Recorded on iTunes and be sure to subscribe, rate and review!

-J. & Steph Talk About… Scandal?

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-J. Michael Bestul is a writer for the Addison Scandal-son Recorder. Stephanie Ruehl is an artist who works in a comic book shop. They’re married and have a lot of discussions about comic books and graphic novels television. Combine all that into a biweekly feauture  and you get “J. & Steph Talk About Comics Scandal.”

-J.: Um, I’m not sure why this post is here. Our next J&STAC piece doesn’t go live until next week. I don’t know what we’re supposed to talk about or why we’ve changed the schedule.

Editor’s Note: The writers here at the Addison Recorder have decided to explore our new found love for the best show in recorded history, Scandal. Instead of writing an article or two, we have decided to rebrand ourselves as the Scandal-son Recorder. We hope you revel in our new-found, shared devotion.

Scandal

-J.: Oh. Uh… I don’t actually know anything about this show. I don’t watch much TV. I have no idea what I’m doing here. Steph? Help? [Read more…]

Six Photos Ranking the Combat Readiness of Olivia Pope’s Coats: A Scandal-son Recorder Feature

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The writers here at the Addison Recorder have decided to explore our new found love for the best show in recorded history, Scandal. Instead of writing an article or two, we have decided to rebrand ourselves as the “Scandal-son Recorder.” We hope you revel in our new found shared devotion.

[Read more…]

Becky’s Been Bingewatching: 7 Reasons to Watch Outlander

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outlander-spoilers

Outlander aired the first half of its debut season in the fall, with the second half of the season starting on April 4th.  The series follows a nurse, Claire, in WWII, Claire Beauchamp Randall, who is transported back to 1743 Scotland. We see the effects of her missing in 1945 and also how she has to cope with the Jacobin Uprising she finds herself in the midst of. It became a huge hit immediately and was picked up for a second season right after the pilot was aired.  Here are seven spoiler free reasons to binge the first half of the season before the new episodes start up.

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The Education of “The Hunting Ground”

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rsz_the-hunting-ground-poster-691x1024Andrew: Annie Clark and Andrea Pino had two things in common when they met. One, they were very proud students of the University of North Carolina. Two, they had been raped on campus. Their accusers were never punished. And when they took a stand against UNC’s handling of the situation, the school’s chief legal counsel, a woman, emphatically declared they were completely wrong.

This story is that it is all too common across America, and this epidemic of sexual assault and institutional misogyny in our colleges is the subject of two-time Oscar nominee Kirby Dick’s new documentary, The Hunting Ground, which, for several reasons, is one of the most heartbreaking and important films to come out this decade.

[Read more…]

Addison Recorded Ep. 107: Kimmy Goes To A Party

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Addison Recorded logo

Logo made by Owen Williams.

Welcome to the Addison Recorded, the official podcast of the Addison Recorder. For season one of the podcast, Gina and I are re-capping episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the latest original series from Netflix. Join us Tuesday and Thursday mornings in the PodFort™ (aka, Gina’s dining room blanket fort) as we talk about each episode of the show starring Ellie Kemper.

Here’s our seventh episode! We welcome guest Alex Bean and we’re excited to share this episode with you. Find the Addison Recorded on iTunes and be sure to subscribe, rate and review!

Death Cab for Cutie, Kintsugi, reviewed

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Kintsugi comes out March 31. (via)

Kintsugi comes out March 31. (via)

I’ve done a little bit of writing about how amazing a year in music 2015 has proven to be so far. While I admit to feeling slightly let down by Modest Mouse’s release from a couple weeks go, I’m proud to report Death Cab’s latest doesn’t disappoint. Maybe Ben Gibbard does his best work when he is distraught, but heartbreak continues to suit him. For a deeper analysis on that point, and the idea that we’re always in a way coming of age, see NPR’s Stephen Thompson’s summation. As for me, I can say I like the first half of this album better than the second — but all around, I really enjoy it.

[Read more…]