Hey DBD, I'm back from the dead.

A lot has gone on personally for me in the past month that has more than deviated my attention away from writing weekly Off-Topic Threads for the blog.

I'm not going to inflate my ego and ask if you missed them, because really, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about that piqued our collective interests aside from the owners and players not agreeing with each other for the third time under Gary Bettman's tenure. How do you like them apples?

Perhaps the most talked about craze going on in the world is Gangnam Style. For those of you who haven't seen it, click the video below. Trust me, it's so worth the watch.

I personally think this is hilarious, and I feel great for PSY. It's quite amazing to see what happens when a music video goes viral for the right reasons (unlike "Friday). It is now the #1 song on iTunes. The music video has almost 200 million views, and the video was released on July 15, 2012. That's almost 100,000,000 views per month. Staggering.

In other news, the iPhone 5 was finally announced. I have not researched the specs of it because I am not getting a new phone any time soon since I am perfectly content with my iPhone 4S. But for those of you looking to get a new phone, are you going to get the iPhone 5?

via i1.kym-cdn.com

On this day in history, 150 years ago, the Battle of Antietam was fought between the Union and the Confederates. 150 years later, it is still the single bloodiest day in American warfare. (Side note: I did a history project on this in 8th grade...it was a lot of fun.)

Just over a week ago, I went to New York City with my senior Trojan Marching Band class for the USC-Syracuse game in the Meadowlands. When I had free time, I personally got to live out a little dream I always had as a kid: Hold the Hylian Shield from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which I still contend is the best game of all time. How? Nintendo World in Rockefeller Center has a replica Hylian Shield that people can wield and take pictures with. Here's mine.

via sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net

No, that's not made from plastic. It's made from fiberglass, and weighs about 20-25 pounds. Tell me that's not awesome.

By the way, Manhattan was pretty freaking incredible. And, I can say I've performed on Broadway.

via sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net

Have a good rest of the week, DBD.