Black History Month Great Black Person #2 of 28

Black History Month Great Black Person #2 of 28:
The Mighty Ducks

The Mighty Ducks series was one of my favorites as a kid. I embraced the rag-tag group of lovable losers as they bonded together to take the pee-wee hockey world by storm. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate the Mighty Ducks in another way... as the most progressive hockey team to ever take the ice! You see, the NHL is comprised of less than 5% minorities. That's right, often times the puck is the only thing you'll see on the ice that's black. The Mighty Ducks roster, on the other hand, consisted of a staggering 34% minorities, including three black players; three and a half if you count mixed race Bash Brother Dean Portman... and oh, I do. Whether it was pretending you were Jesse Hall leading the Oreo Line to victory or trying to copy Russ Tyler's devastating knucklepuck, the Mighty Ducks gave young, hockey-loving black kids (all ten of them) someone to admire. So thanks Mighty Ducks series, you taught America (and those jerks from Iceland) a valuable lesson: whether you're black, white, or whatever color you may be... ducks fly together!

Music Video Monday: May 7

This week's installment of Music Video Monday includes a first look at "adult" Bieber and a trip to Iceland:

Justin Bieber - Boyfriend

I'm not one to wanna hate on The Biebs, but the kid has gotta meet me halfway. The gold shoes, the earrings, the Jimmy Neutron haircut; you look like giant tool, Justin... and not a cool tool like a chainsaw... like a plunger. The song itself is okay I guess, though I wouldn't suggest likening oneself to Buzz Lightyear as a way to impress the ladies. I dunno, maybe that line has an implied Woody innuendo that I'm just not smart enough to get. Could be, because Mr. Bieber does seem to be following in the footsteps of another Justin, Mr. Timberlake, who said Bye Bye Bye to *NSYNC and his boy band image to don a more adult persona. Of course, Bieber is [Buzz] light years away from being taken seriously as an adult artist and that trend will continue until he can release a song that doesn't contain the word swaggy.

Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks

Finally, an Icelandic band with a name that's not hard to spell. (I'm looking at you, Quarashi.) Little Talks has been out for a few months now, but I just recently saw the video. Fantastic. Or as they say in Iceland: Björk. I love the animation style, which reminds me a little bit of Smashing Pumpkins' eminent Tonight, Tonight video. So, is this what Iceland is like? I had written it off as evil after seeing D2: The Mighty Ducks as a youngster, but now I'm thinking there's more to the country than Gunner Stahl and Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson. Now I doubt I'll be making any trips to Iceland because I'm not a fan of cold weather, but if Of Monsters and Men ever teams up with fellow Icelanders Sigur Rós for a concert around these parts, I'm there.