Sports Kate

We're Moving!

2009-02-25T23:41:00.003-05:00

Hi readers! As you know, I was considering moving my blog to WordPress, and after careful analysis and feedback from others (confirming what I had already suspected), I've decided to move my blog there.

Please update your bookmarks, Google Reader, RSS feeds, etc. accordingly. It is the exact same URL as before, except now use "wordpress" wherever you typed "blogspot" before.

The URL in its entirety: http://www.sportskate.wordpress.com/.

I was able to transfer my old posts and comments, but now I have to update some of my links. I look forward to your feedback, but please bear with me while I update YouTube clips and other broken links.

See y'all over there and thanks so much for reading!

--SK

Wordle

2009-02-25T16:00:00.006-05:00

Inspired by my friend, Dances with Bacon over at the Rated X-tra Yummy blog, I decided to do a Wordle of my own blog.

Who knew my Wordle would be so darn nerdy?

I'm guessing it only analyzed my most recent posts. One was particularly heavy on the reading front, but I guess it didn't take into account that I haven't really finished any books lately. Funny stuff.

By the way, I definitely recommend making your own Wordle. If you love playing with fonts like me, you'll probably (also) take 20 minutes to perfect your own typography/layout/color combination. After much consideration I opted not to make my own color scheme, but chose one of the 20 or so choices listed.

Move to WordPress?

2009-02-25T02:49:00.003-05:00

I keep debating my move to WordPress. Does anyone prefer WordPress to Blogger? Why? Why not? I hear great things about what you can do there if you know any HTML, but so far I've found WP to be confusing.

If it were possible, I'd like to make the move while keeping the blog looking pretty similar to the way it does now. I want to retain my "header" image, Georgia for the font, green margins and links to compliment the header picture and the ease in publishing.

Does anyone else have issues navigating WP? Or any suggestions on the whole?

I was able to import my Blogger work to date to WP, including all pictures I uploaded and comments. My YouTube clips didn't carry over though. I need to comb through and bring it up to the caliber of this site (not tooting my own horn, I'm simply acknowledging the need to improve elsewhere).

Here's what I've started. Better? Worse? Web gurus, please pass on any wisdom you can! Many thanks!

Foulest Commercial Ever

2009-02-20T23:42:00.003-05:00

...or at least that I've seen in recent memory:

Definitely edgy. And makes me want to yak. A lot.

Brandfreak awarded it the "so bad it's good" award." "It’s not an image you’ll soon forget," they continued. Yeah, I'll say. Well, it certainly cuts through the clutter (and I'm not the only one who thinks so).

Interesting work from 180 LA in Santa Monica, Calif.

It's a great day to be a Wahoo

2009-02-19T23:50:00.002-05:00

I woke up today still smiling about UVA's win over VT last night.

I've been a Wahoo fan for years. While heralded in the academic realm, UVA's never been known as a football school, like Florida State (in their '90s heyday of course) or a USC. Despite sharing a state border with Duke and UNC, I'm not sure anyone's called UVA a basketball school either.

In my lifetime the big UVA sports accomplishments have been in lacrosse, a sport I first learned about when I saw American Pie, soccer and of late, tennis.

The overwhelming majority of positive things I've heard said about UVA basketball have been about Ralph Sampson, the undisputed king of Wahoo basketball, who played from 1979-1983. All I can tell you about him is he was the best player in the country at the time, was a 7'4" (yeah, you read that right) center and led UVA to its only Final Four in 1983. Oh yeah, then there was the biggest upset in college basketball history, when the #1 Sampson-led Cavaliers lost to a then-unknown school in Hawaii called Chaminade. UVA is all about Ralph Sampson facts and is always mentioning on viewbooks and other "come to our school" literature that he and Katie Couric (two of the most famous alums) lived on The Lawn. Fancy.

UVA's won the ACC in basketball once -- in 1976. They've been the the Final Four once -- the time with Sampson in '83.

And geez, up until last night we had even lost to Virginia Tech in our last three outings. All were decided by three or less points or an overtime.

This is the plight of the UVA fan. You watch in fear. How bad are they going to beat us this time?, you think when you enter our football stadium against a ranked opponent. Or How long until they blow it?, when they somehow build an comfortable, seemingly insurmountable lead.

But at last, we broke down that barrier at least. My Hoos beat the Hokies 75-61 at the JPJ last night. (And even crazier, beat #12 Clemson at home over the weekend. But this is our rival. This is Virginia Tech!)

Finally, I can say (and this will surely come back and bite me at some point)...

HOOS WIN, SUCKAS!

At least they did last night. And even more today than most days, I'm proud, proud, proud to be an alum.

Easily distracted F, ISO way out of a reading rut

2009-02-18T17:46:00.022-05:00

Elaine: These are good people, Jerry. They read!
Jerry: I read, I read!
Elaine: Books, Jerry.
Jerry: Oh.

I was watching this Seinfeld episode earlier tonight and caught myself laughing uncontrollably. Who doesn't read books? Oh right, I don't.

I do read, of course, and more or less constantly. I'm just reading blogs on my RSS feed, scouring the news online and reading interesting articles my friends share with me via Google Reader and Twitter.

Anyway, my problem, like Jerry's, lies in books. It's not that I don't enjoy them. I have become quite the collector over the years, accumulating a pretty impressive library. Disliking books isn't the problem... it's that I start too many simultaneously and can never finish them.

It strikes me that the last book I read from start to finish might actually be Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! by Luke Sullivan two, make that three semesters ago. Ouch. I've probably written a book's worth since then!

I'll end up starting a new book I'm excited about, read a few chapters, and then next thing I know I've picked up another book and started reading it too, before finishing the first one. Then another. And another. Next thing I know I'm knee deep in five or ten books and never finish any of them. Case in point, here's a photo of what I'm reading now:

What?! That's 10 books! Yeah, it's a problem. But they're all worth reading, so I can't quit! I need help! Heaping amounts of help -- and sanity.

So what am I reading? And why? Here's a rundown of the 10:

The Appeal, by John Grisham. I love everything this guy writes. And this guy can write one helluva suspenseful legal thriller. I'm on about page 138 in this one, which is easily the furthest along I am in any of them.
The New Rules of Marketing and PR, by David Meerman Scott. It's about the PR and marketing in the digital era and delves into issues like social media. Couldn't say a lot more about it since I'm only on page 15 or so.
Dixieland Delight, by Clay Travis. This book's about a guy who goes to a home football game at every SEC school in one season and reports about the tradition, tailgating, food and cultural spectacle of each event. Each chapter covers a different program and it's a little heavy on the frat guy-ish "hot ladies" talk. Otherwise it's an interesting read and I love the idea. Wouldn't mind going on the same adventure myself. I'm on page 98, thanks in a large part to riding the Metro in DC a lot this past weekend.
Cutting Edge Advertising II, by Jim Aitchison. As you might guess this is about creating cutting edge advertising that breaks through clutter. It's probably a pretty good read, but didn't make much for beach or pool reading this summer. I still chug along on it occasionally though. I think I'm on about page 60, but I'm starting to forget things I read about in it earlier.
Adobe Flash CS4 Classroom in a Book. This is a how-to book intended to teach me how to use Flash. An admirable personal goal, but I'm only on about page 15. Must keep trucking on that one!
The Non Designer's Design Book, by Robin Williams. The book is probably great if you're clueless about design, but I'm using it to make sure I have my bases covered before tackling anything much more advanced. It's OK, but nothing spectacular. I just want to learn from the beginning, so this should be a breeze. Too bad I'm on page 22.
Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to the South, by John T. Edge. This book's a little disappointing, but I love food, especially fried delicious southern food... don't even get me started. I keep it around for obvious reasons, because not only do I like tasting food, but I love talking food. And we all know I have a soft spot for geography and the south so, why quit? It goes state by state, and I'm on the first one.
The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks. Disclaimer: yes, I'm quite cheesy and I love Sparks books. Yeah, this is a romance story, just like they all are, and I know he's going to break my heart again. But I love the ride, and Sparks is an incredibly gifted writer. I can't resist... until another book snags my attention. I'm on page 113.
Graphic Design School, Third Edition, by David Dabner. This book is excellent! Sometimes I wish I went to design grad school instead of advertising grad school (I stress sometimes), and this book does an excellent job of walking you through the basics of good design, element by element. I'm largely self taught when it comes to things artistic, so I appreciate it immensely. I have it on loan now from the library but really should cough up the $45 to buy it (and by $45 I mean probably $15 if I look hard enough). In the meantime, I'm on page 38.
And last but not least, Hockey for Dummies, by John Davidson and John Steinbreder. I'm interested in one day working in sports and there's the possibility that that opportunity could be in hockey. It wouldn't hurt to know more about it. Also, for some reason I follow and am followed by tons of people working in NHL on Twitter. I'll admit, that's what really made me interested in learning more and picking this up at the library. I'm on page 15 though, but that's because I'm such a hockey dummy (OK, novice) that I'm reading all the prologue business too.

Well there you have it. Anyone have any suggestions for an easily amused/easily distracted person in the midst of 10 books? Where should I go from here? Has anyone read any of these and think any are must reads? Any I should dump or throw off a bridge? How do you stop yourself from picking up new books and follow through and finish what you start? Can I ask any more questions?

In the meantime, I'm going to stew on this quote from one of my favorite authors.

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." --Mark Twain

In honor of Mr. Twain, I'm going to read the Grisham book until I fall asleep tonight. And maybe when I'm done I'll finally start The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Or The Prince and the Pauper. Sweet dreams, world.

Big 12 Twins

2009-02-15T19:25:00.007-05:00

If you know me well, you probably have heard me comment at one time or another that Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes and my favorite author, John Grisham, look alike.

Left: Rick Barnes, Right: John Grisham

As of yesterday, I also noticed that the Kansas basketball coach, Bill Self looks a lot like Virginia governor, Tim Kaine.

Left: Bill Self, Right: Tim Kaine

Crazy.

Dice not so lucky for me

2009-02-13T15:35:00.006-05:00

A few days ago I wrote a post about the Finley Quaye song, "Dice." Well, the song may be lucky for Marissa Cooper, Ryan Atwood, Chuck Bartowski, and Morgan Grimes, but Sports Kate, not so much.

I was driving to DC to visit my boyfriend for the weekend and got a call from a recruiter at a large agency I interviewed at a few weeks ago. I was pretty sure I wasn't getting the job, but got the confirmation call while listening to Music from The O.C.: Mix 1*, track 10 (the very song that's lucky for everyone else) en route when I got the call.

I'm OK with it. Honest truth is, rejection is pretty nice these days. Most of the time you don't hear anything. People could be flushing my applications down the toilet upon arrival for all that I know. Or throwing my resume and cover letter in some gigantic weekly bonfire with all the materials from other rejected applicants. (If that's the case, where's my invitation? I'm a country girl for crying out loud, I love a good bonfire!) Or maybe they're all getting flown around in some fancy spaceship for eventual deposit in some intergalactic landfill. Who knows.

All I know is that when I have my lucky phone call a song other than "Dice" will be playing in the background. What lucky song that will be is anyone's guess. Oh well. One down, one less than infinity to go in finding out what my lucky song is.

*You can hate on me all you want for owning this CD. I own mixes 1, 2 and 4 from the show. All of them are quite wonderful. Alexandra Patsavas supervised music for The O.C. and now does for Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl. The lady has good taste and her work introduced me to several pretty sweet musicians including Death Cab for Cutie, Jem, Sufjan Stevens and South. She knows what she's doing and she's more than welcome to bring her own iPod to DJ my next shindig.

Life's too short to be so cynical

2009-02-13T01:03:00.009-05:00

A few years ago I had a part-time summer job where I sold bets or "wagers" at the local horse-racing track. Yep, I was a bookie, according to my friends. It was your typical summer job... outdoorsy, not too rigorous, and it had an insignificant commute and bizarre hours. Anyway, my duties consisted of sitting on a barstool for five- and six-hour shifts, wearing a polo shirt and khakis and ringing up bets. The stools were populated by all sorts of "tellers" as we were called: college students on breaks (like me), teachers who had summers off, retirees who sought the socializing, those who worked at OTBs (off-track betting parlors) and others that were lured by the $12/hr plus tips the job offered.

Anyway, all types of people came to bet there as well: compulsive gamblers, families with young kids that wanted to see horses, 20-somethings that yearned to spend a summer day outside whilst draining mint juleps and other higher brow concoctions, and Red Hat Society ladies.

My personal pet peeve was when people asked the same stupid questions repeatedly. There'd always be the guy who asked you to explain what an exacta or trifecta box was right before every race of the day's 12-race program. Or the lady who would bet on a horse to win and thus not be able to collect the money she could have if she made a place or show bet. And she'd complain that she was robbed after every race, despite your numerous explanations. I didn't mind the first or second explanation, but the repetition beyond that grated my nerves.

Anyway, one day I muttered something to a retiree sitting beside me about a customer who had annoyed me in about five or so straight races with the same question. The race had gone off a ndI was always cautious not to complain when customers were around. The other teller was someone I had shared many a laugh with and we had bonded over our similar senses of sarcasm.

"You know, you're too young to be this cynical," he said to me, in complete seriousness.

I was flabbergasted; I skipped a breath. What?, I almost yelled in immediate defiance.

The man's comment pierced through me like nothing anyone had ever said to me before. It was honest. Painfully honest. The brutal directness I so badly needed. And I knew it.

I had no choice but to make a conscious effort to change my attitude. I didn't have a poisonous attitude by any stretch of the imagination, but I was sarcastic, pessimistic, and yeah, cynical.

It hasn't been easy. If anyone enjoys making snide comments or wisecracks, it's me. But there's a time and place for all that. It was at this moment that I realize that the time and place wasn't everywhere and always.

Sure, I'm still pretty sarcastic today, but I think I'm a lot more level-headed. I don't get angry when I see PDA. Now I sorta smile and think about how nice it is when you're in love. If people ask annoying (or repetitive) questions, I now breathe, answer them politely, and move on. If people are participating in something I deem odd, I don't judge as much. Life's too short. Let them be who they are, have fun. Who's to say anything I ever say or do is any less idiotic or embarrassing or worthy of admonishing?

I think as a society, we're too quick to judge. Too ready to complain (OK, I acknowledge I violate this rule continually, but hey, I'm trying to reform!). Always disapproving of others without any real justification.

I say, just try to be more optimistic. Open-minded. Loving. Free to express ourselves without judgment. If you can't be this way everyday, just try to be it some days. Over time, you'll be kinder. You'll go from one day a week of optimism to three. Life is too short to hold all this excessive pent-up anger. You know it is.

And trust me, people pick up on cynicism. Not everyone's going to tell you something you need to fix. I'm so glad that man told me though, because who knows where I'd be without it.

Again, bitterness has a time and a place. And yes, it can be funny. But don't let it be your only funny.

Nothing can compare to when you roll the dice and play the same poignant song...

2009-02-08T16:59:00.003-05:00

Is there anyone else who was both an avid The O.C. fan and watches Chuck?

I just started watching the latter a few weeks ago. (Sidebar: I was a huge fan of The O.C. when it first came out. It's first season is certainly one of the best seasons of television I've ever watched. It fell apart for me sometime in the second season, though I still watched most of that season, but then quit sometime before seasons three and four.) My mom gave my dad Chuck's first season for Christmas, and once they finished watching, it got passed along to me. I love the show. I've only seen the first season and part of the way through the premiere of the second season... thanks slow DSL and your long waits for buffering Hulu.

Anyway, I couldn't help but notice that Chuck's producer, Josh Schwartz, opted to use the exact same song, "Dice" by Finley Quaye and William Orbit, for a similar scene in Chuck as he had for The O.C., the show he had created and produced in 2003. It blew my mind. Take a look:

Earlier in the episode, Marissa (the girl at the party) accidentally let the L-bomb slip to her boyfriend, Ryan and they spent New Year's Eve apart. Then it was a race against the clock for Ryan to make it to Oliver's party to kiss Marissa by midnight.

On Chuck, Chuck is a Nerd Herder (think member of Best Buy's Geek Squad) by day and secret agent by night. As one might expect this life poses constant conflict with real life and often drags him away from plans he's made with Ellie, his sister, or his best friend Morgan. Every year Morgan and Chuck dress as a sandworm for their annual Halloween party. Once again, spy duty called for Chuck and it wasn't looking like Chuck would make the party in time. But wouldn't you know, he made it at the last second, and guess what song came on:

Did anyone else notice?

Also, here's some more trivia: Josh Schwartz is also the producer for Gossip Girl. Let's hope Chuck and Gossip Girl can maintain their momentum for longer than their Schwartzian predecessor. Maybe there will be more inside jokes to look forward to on the programs in the future.

25 things you probably didn't know about me

2009-01-25T12:30:00.016-05:00

I've been suffering a bit of writer's block lately. Well not really, I've been really good at starting blog posts (I have about seven drafts in waiting for eventual completion) and I've been writing TONS of cover letters for jobs, but I'm not sure that qualifies as real writing. Anyway, it's been awhile since the last post, so here goes...

I've seen this "25 random things about me" posted all over the blogosphere, and I figured I'd take a crack at it myself. I loved my friend Katie's version... here's mine:

I have a very bizarre obsession with everything North Carolina. I have no idea how it started, since I'm Virginian, but I know I loved the southern neighbor since I was in elementary school. The beaches, the food (mmmm Carolina BBQ), the landscape, the weather. What's not to like?

I may or may not have invented this "piece of flair" in the past year.
I'm the oldest of three; I have two younger brothers.
I was a lifeguard for seven years. Seven! Granted, I'm mostly counting summers, but that's over 1/4 of my life that I was certified for aquatic rescue.
I earned 12 varsity letters in high school. Can you guess what sports?
According to my elementary school diary (which I found the other day), I wanted to go to Duke and run cross country.
When I was in high school I was bound and determined to go to college out-of-state. I wanted to apply to Florida, UNC, Duke, NC State, Michigan State, Pepperdine, and Tulane. My parents said I could pay the difference if I went out-of-state, so I applied early decision to one school, UVA. Luckily I got in, so no more applications after that! (By the way I'm relieved it's where I went to school, even if I picked it for all the wrong reasons.) Probably needless to say, my preferences were shamefully based on sports. (Though obviously Pepperdine was for its Malibu-ness.)
Speaking of Tulane, I've always wanted to go spend a week in New Orleans. I've been collecting travel brochures for the city since high school. I've been ready for beignets, Cafe du Monde, jazz, the French Quarter, and of course Cajun food, for years. No clue why I haven't been yet.
I'm gaga for vinaigrettes on salads. I love going to restaurants and trying different variations of this simple dressing -- pomegranate, cilantro lime, balsamic, citrus, blue cheese, whatever. Most of the time the trials are a resounding success.
Every year I seeeriously consider taking off the opening day of March Madness. And I'm not counting that day with the #65 versus #64 play-in game.
Ain't nothin' like some sweet tea. 'Cept maybe skim milk. I crush around two gallons of moo juice a week.
My dad named the street I grew up on.
When I was about 7 or 8 my brother and I got in a shouting match. He threw a Matchbox car at my face and I chipped a tooth. Oddly enough, I chipped the same tooth as my boyfriend who also chipped his when he was around that age.
I LOVE driving. Most people don't know that because I always call "not driving" when there's uninteresting driving like driving across town or running errands. But few things top being behind the wheel on a road trip or on backroads, where you really get to see the country.
In elementary school I had a gigantic crush on Christian Laettner (I imagine this is what sparked the desire to run XC at Duke). In middle school it was Danny Wuerffel and Chipper Jones.

Hotness, as determined by a fourth grader. And a seventh grader. Methinks my tastes were better as a younger youngster.
Some people dream of one day going to a Super Bowl. Others Wimbledon, The Masters. I've always wanted to go to the ACC Tournament. And the Summer Olympics to watch the swimming.
I'm super into U.S. geography. Don't know why but for some reason I had the states and capitals memorized for fun by about age 6. I find this country is unbelievably interesting, with its vast differences in landscape and climate. I love knowing which interstates go where, how far X is from Y, what time zone a city is in. I love that it's rare when someone names a place in Virginia that I haven't heard of or vaguely know where that is. No clue where these interests stem from.
The summer before grad school I drove around Oregon for a week and a half. I drove around 2000 miles and saw Crater Lake National Park, Mt. Hood, the Wilhammette Valley, the coast, Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge, beautiful forests, rose-laden Portland, Bend, and funky Eugene. Loved it.
Speaking of, the most beautiful place I've ever been to is a tossup between Crater Lake N.P. and Big Sur, on the gorgeous California coast.

Left: Crater Lake, Right: Big Sur Which do you prefer?
I never left the eastern time zone until 2005, when on a trip to Chicago with some college buddies.
Never left the country til last summer, when I went to Cabo, Mexico.
I love getting souvenirs. Silly things I like getting: maps, state flags, postcards, license plates, silly t-shirts and shotglasses. But what could be better than going to a Stuckey's (redneck central!) and buying state magnets?

Geography geekiness meets souvenir silliness. The two most recent additions to my collection, both in the past month. Bonus: got the NC one at a Stuckey's that was half in VA, half in NC. I believe that's what we'd call heaven on earth. It did have both Carolina BBQ + a Dairy Queen after all!
Other than my year and a half in Austin, I've only lived in Virginia.
In college I was part of a group of 10 students that camped out 17 days for tickets to a home UVA basketball game against, you guessed it, Duke. We scored front row seats and some of us met Dick Vitale. He autographed a poster at the game that looked exactly like this (though for other people). Oh yeah, and UVA won the game!
My dad taught me how to back dive by bribing me with a Strawberry Scooter Bar. Apparently everyone else in the world calls them Strawberry Shortcake Bars.
When I was younger I was embarrassed of my southern accent whenever I visited my grandparents and extended family in Pittsburgh. As a result, I phased out the word "y'all" for several years. Then one day I finally decided it was stupid and ever since used the word y'all as much as possible around them.

Football's Yellow Line Explained

2009-01-07T14:07:00.006-05:00

How do they get that yellow line to show up on-screen in a football game? The one the offense has to cross to pick up a first down?

Will the day ever come that the players will see that line? Probably not, but here's an interesting video about the making and implementation of the yellow line we've so come to love in watching NFL and NCAA football on TV.

What on earth did we do before this? Guess where the first down line was based on where the orange stick-holding chain gang was on the sideline? That is so 1995.

The technology was unveiled in 1998 by Sportvision and adopted first by ESPN, landing the network an Emmy for technical innovation. It was aptly named 1st and Ten.

"That yellow line has become such a staple in U.S. football that no self-respecting network would think of televising a game without it," according to the IEEE Spectrum article.

This despite the hefty $2 million pricetag for development.

Thanks Twitter, for pointing me in the direction of this and many of the most interesting articles/videos I've seen in the past few months.

Further reading: HowStuffWorks.com

G

2009-01-06T03:14:00.011-05:00

I've know for a little while that Gatorade had been planning to unveil new packaging, since I had "read" this blog post about it on TheDieline, the self-proclaimed (and can't say I disagree) "leading package design website."

Gatorade redesign. Photo courtesy TheDieline.

I wasn't a fan of the design at first... It seemed a little Adobe-ish for some reason, even though Adobe uses a sans-serif font and this G has a quasi-serif, but I thought the lightning bolt logo would save the design from being a total dud due to easy recognition. I say Adobe-ish because the label blends in exactly with the color of the contents and is straightforward, simple, brightly colored and easy to read, just like these Adobe product logos:

Adobe logos from The System.

While in Ukrop's (the best grocery store in the world) last week I saw several "new package Gatorades" but they were missing the signature lightning bolt. Yeah, it was in the sports drink section, and yeah I knew the brand planned to redesign its package, but I wonder if anyone else had walked by looking for product, got confused and left. Probably not, but you never know.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of those Gatorades lacking the lightning bolt, and I'm also not wild about the related "G" commercials that have flooded the airwaves these past few days. First of all, I was actually aware of the packaging change, but still didn't recognize right away that the commercials were for Gatorade. Truth be told, after the first watch I sorta thought, is this a commercial for Georgetown? Why are all these athletes on here? What's G? The G reminded me of the Georgetown G (see below) for some reason. It also crossed my mind that it could be for some new line for Nike.

The Georgetown G. From georgetown.edu.

Anyway, here are some of the new "G" ads. What do you think?

The ads are the work of TBWA\Chiat\Day. I think the music is catchy (it's been in my head off and on all day long, with the exception of Texas' "give 'em hell, give 'em hell, make 'em eat shit" chant from the Fiesta Bowl) and the use of celebrity endorsers certainly makes it memorable (Lil Wayne's voice, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Serena Williams, etc.). But what difference does it make if people don't know what the product is?

In my non-scientific convenience sample of my family (five), I was the only one to know what the product was within three views. That's pathetic for the brand considering at least three of us drink the product semi-regularly and all five of us are passionate about sports and recognized the majority of the athletes.

In a more reliable, though still unscientific poll on CNBC's Sports Biz with Darren Rovell blog, the survey found that 37 percent of the 287 respondents "don't like the spot, don't like the 'G' idea." Though 57 percent of the respondents did enjoy the ads, but were almost evenly split between "OK with the 'G' idea" and "just say it's Gatorade."

According to the blog post, one reader said, "I don't know why this is so awesome, it just is."

Bleh. Can't say I agree. I stop paying attention to the voiceover about five seconds in, though I keep wondering what celebrity will next cross my screen. And the song never quits!

Additional reading: AdAge on G

Thunderstorm of miscellany... and welcome 2009!

2009-01-04T13:03:00.008-05:00

Hi all! Hope your holidays and 2009 are treating ya well so far! Apologies for going underground again... It's been a whirlwind with graduating, job hunting, moving across the country, the holidays, and visiting with friends and family. An enjoyable whirlwind however.

Hopefully I'm back for a while, but here's a smorgasbord of thoughts... Sorry in advance, it's quite the hodgepodge:

Should I get a job immediately? Or should I take up other pursuits for a while before getting back into the working world? While I'd prefer to get a job sooner rather than later, I'm not killing myself to get my job tomorrow. Here's an interesting article in last week's AdAge weighing in on the merits of waiting versus full speed ahead. Good comments in feedback section too.
Holy monkey I've become so into Twitter. If measured only by time spent on the network these past few weeks, it's safe to say it's surpassed Facebook as my favorite social network. Granted I use them for totally different purposes. Will post on this topic soon.
Building an advertising portfolio online is quite the daunting task. It's consumed my life the past few days. I'm learning a lot, but am realizing it's quite the steep learning curve. However, things to thank for my little bits of success thus far: the few HTML tags I retained from CS 105 or whatever computer science class I took undergrad, and copious use of tips on forums. Thanks internet... though I have a long way to go.
I'm in love with Adobe's Classroom in a Book series. These books introduce the reader to the Adobe software of choice and assign relevant projects that can be completed step-by-step. Cheapest prices I've seen since the release of their CS4 line has been on Amazon with about $34 per (Adobe's price is around $52). They have titles available for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash and more. I have varying experience with the first four, but am hoping to add Flash to my repertoire in the coming weeks thanks to this series (and Christmas). And I'm a big fan of offline solutions to software problems and reading something tangible.
Not into the clunky book idea? You can always try lynda.com tutorials. They're available for tons of graphic design and web software and other computing topics. Examples of a few you could find: creating games for the Wii using Flash CS3, essential training for bloggers, and typographic principles. I'm already making notes in my head of potential classes I'd like to take on the site. You can get access to ALL the training on the site for $25/month (as often as you want). Or I recommend using this (copy and paste): http://www.lynda.com/deke to get a free 7-day trial before committing.
I have tons of commercials I've seen lately that I'd like to comment on. Stay tuned.
I have decided that I'm going to treat Feb. 1 as the new year as far as resolutions go. That way, I can use all of January to come up with a good one. And, should I choose a gym- or fitness-related resolution, everyone else will have broken theirs by then, so I'll have less competition for treadmills, rowing machines and the pool.
I have the best family and friends in the world. Seriously. Way to make 2008 rock and I'm looking forward to the continued fun in the new year. Stay warm all!

I-10 Tastiness

2008-12-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back in Virginia, but not without a three-day gastrointestinal journey through the South. My route, TX-71 to I-10 to I-95, was an exhausting 1600-mile ride, but it was the tasty gems along the way that made it memorable.

Sidebar: thanks to three people for their great suggestions for the route: MJ, SO, KG. Fantastic picks!

We got to see several cities I had never been to before on the route: Houston, Baton Rouge, Mobile and Jacksonville. Also went through some more familiar places, including a hilarious interlude at South of the Border, the biggest tourist trap in the world (just 'cuz), and any east coast must -- a stop for vinegar-based NC BBQ. Oh how I've missed this delicacy in my time in Texas.

I got to sample three of the suggested eateries along the way: The Chimes, an off-campus LSU haunt where I tried the crawfish etouffe, and across Baton Rouge, Coffee Call, a great 24-hour coffeeshop with stellar beignets, hidden in a strip mall. Finally, in Jacksonville, I dove into a fried chicken dinner with all-you-can-eat sides for $8.46 at Beach Road Chicken Dinners. It was quite the culinary marathon.

The Chimes was a good place to relax and enjoy some Louisiana fare in a laidback college town environment. While I slaughtered the pronunciation of etouffe and roumelade and other French words, I made up for it with my prowess in taking down Coffee Call's beignet fingers 15 minutes later. My "small" order of beignets (about $3) was a large enough serving to feed me breakfast for three days. I ate the majority in one sitting though: I'm just that gross (or awesome, depending on the judge).

Night two brought me to the granddaddy of all southern feasts: Beach Road Chicken Dinners. I chowed down on perfectly crispy fried chicken and an endless supply of buttery biscuits, hush puppies, fries, mashed potatoes, gravy, cole slaw and cream peas. All was sloshed down with an endless stream of sweet tea. All this for under $10. Unreal. The meal was quite the spectacle. We ordered drinks, my dad excused himself to wash his hands, and upon his return our entire table was filled with family style side dishes and a massive centerpiece of fried chicken. Doesn't get much better than that!

A preview of what Southern Living called the Best Fried Chicken in the South in 1997 and #1 in Jacksonville Magazine:

Here is where I found what may be the tastiest equation discovered in 2008:

French fries + mashed potatoes + gravy = Insanely awesome (translated: fries dipped in mashed potatoes with gravy could be the world's best kept food secret)

Since every great meal should end with dessert, I leave you with a taste (sorry this isn't Taste-o-vision) of Coffee Call's beignet fingers...

Beach Road Chicken Dinners pictures courtesy of the Travelin Man's Photostream on Flickr
Coffee Call picture also from Flickr

Chuck Brown goes wild

2008-12-11T23:51:00.000-05:00

Today we wrapped up our portfolio class with the end-of-semester critique. Everyone finished in time and it was nice to see my classmates' work (and my own) come to fruition. We got some helpful feedback from industry pros which enabled us to gauge our progress on "making our books."

No matter how you slice it though, it's been an exhausting journey. As my friend Stacey put so precisely early this week, "P2 [intermediate portfolio] is full of growing pains." I agree. Unlike in P1 (beginning portfolio), we're sorta at the point now where we know when our stuff sucks, but are still grappling at making things good or great. There's a whole lot of being satisfactory or adequate, but not special. Needless to say it's frustrating, but all part of the learning experience.

Anyway, like all things in life besides the really important things like family and friends, you just have to remind yourself "it's just advertising." We all get sucked into our own little worlds and forget about the world going on outside. We don't return phone calls. We go underground for unknown periods of time, conversing only with others in the same situation. Our tempers are short and we're ready to pounce on unsuspecting copy center employees, should they mess up our order or coloration on our final ads. We worry about the most infinitesimal details... "I don't have time to get coffee, I have to redo the Gaussian blur." To quote my undergrad econ professor, Ken Elzinga, "In the long run we're all dead." How much difference will that extra 10 minutes for a snack or caffeine break make in the long run? Will it be the difference between a lower and higher score at critique? Probably not.

But who am I kidding? I got sucked into the madness just as much as everyone. As usual, seeing everyone else stressed out frazzled me as well. Call it pathetic, but I was glad for it to end because for the first time in a week I sat down and watched three TV shows in a row. I stress the word watched, because I've been listening while graphic designing/art directing or cutting my foamcore for the final mounted ads for the past week, but hadn't truly enjoyed the art of watching TV.

Going back to "it's just advertising," a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this unbelievably hilarious YouTube video parodying agency life. I laughed loudly at least six times during the video, and thought over and over again "this is what I'm going to school for." I think if you can't laugh at yourself you won't be able to survive in the working world. It was the perfect thing to watch after a day, week, month, and really, semester of portfolio obsessing.

I love that it doesn't miss a single detail. Egotistical creatives* driven by the incessant need to win awards (and toot their own horns about it). The mention that Crispin always comes up with the great ideas, looking for inspiration in the CA annual, which works perfectly, as that issue arrives in December. Guerilla marketing. KISS - Keep it simple stupid (I enjoyed the surprising substitution of "shithead" though for that final S in the acronym). "Concepting." There's a word you don't hear enough of in the advertising world.

Well enough with the overanalysis. I'm going to KISS and get ready for and go to bed -- a plan that has worked for thousands of nights of my life already, and yet never loses its freshness.

*I will post my opinions on this word in a future post. Stay tuned.

Happy December

2008-12-09T02:55:00.000-05:00

Hi to the five people who read this! Sorry for my lack of updates lately. Things are a whirlwind with finishing up school, yadda yadda. Saturday I graduated, so now I guess I'm a Texas Ex!

OK, so maybe not quite. I still have two classes that haven't finished. Thursday @ 8 am all of our ads for the semester are due for critique. Two or so creative advertising bigwigs will come in and crush our souls and tell us we aren't good enough for the ad biz. Won't be anything I haven't heard before. I'm just looking forward to being done.

Friday I have my final sports journalism project due. We have to write three articles: a 1000 word main story, a 600 word sidebar and a 600 word column about topics related to Central Texas, Austin or UT sports. My main story will cover the history of UT athletics from 1970 to present. In my sidebar, I'll write about women's athletics director Chris Plonsky and how UT athletics are able to thrive with a two-AD system. (Piece of trivia for you: only two D1 schools do this: Texas and Tennessee). In my column I'll argue what's ethical and what's not in collegiate sports marketing. My opinion may surprise you!

Anyway, I got to interview both Plonsky and men's AD DeLoss Dodds. Both were absolute class acts and a joy to talk to. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed all that I've learned in this class, not only about sports, but about careers and writing as well.

Anyway, Dodds actually wanted to get to know me first before we even got to the interview. Asked all about where I'm from, why Texas, all that good stuff. At the end of the interview he gave me a copy of this, saying "I figure you'd appreciate this anyway, but especially as a history major and fan of 20th century history." Wow. No really, wow.

OK, but really, I have a whole lot of work I need to get back to. Legit post coming soon. And I get my life back in only a few more days! Til then, enjoy your Christmas Pandora station and watch some Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, and/or Rudolph for me!

Postcards from Mexico, part deux

2008-11-24T03:31:00.000-05:00

Got a text from my cousin yesterday, she has now received her postcard (sent in August) as well. WTF? One to go!

Here are some ideas for future taglines for the Baja California Sur's postal system:

67% chance your mail will arrive, 0% chance it'll be within 2 months (not catchy enough)
It's not really mail if there's no mystery to it!
If you forgot you sent it, then it's a surprise when it arrives!
Better late than never (too obvious)
Good things happen to those who wait (see above)
Every send begins with dismay
You probably should have sent it by media mail.
You've held your breath 78 trillion times, and it's finally here!
If you really, really want to send it, you shouldn't here
You'll never know where it's been before it got to you
You could have swum it to your destination faster
Expedience is not our forte
What's service?
We don't hurry (or We're in no hurry)
Make sure the recipient is under 50
Where every delivery is like unearthing a time capsule
Mexico to the USA, and everywhere in between, 308 times.
Every send is an adventure

I really should use less exclamation points.

80s Tribute to DC's 12th Man

2008-11-24T02:20:00.000-05:00

I think it's pretty weaksauce for a blogger to post a YouTube video only to say "This is awesome" and leave it at that. I'm going to do the same thing, more or less, so sorry in advance.

I was reading Chris Cooley's blog (he's a tight end on the Redskins), and he (or one of his co-writers) had this hilariously, awesome old school video posted. Here are some 1980s Redskins singing a tribute to their fans:

Sports will continue to thrive so long as dedicated fans support their favorite athletes and teams. As a sports fan, it's nice to be reminded occasionally that my "fandom" is appreciated by these teams and athletes. Even if it's in a reprise of something created before I could do long division.

For the record, I am more of a Steelers fan. Though if this were a Cowboys or Patriots video, I almost certainly would have neglected to post. Enjoy.

Addendum -- After further Cooley blog/YouTube research, here are some more 1980s/90s NFL treasures:

L.A. Rams (remember when they were there?) The Rammers -- "Ram It"

"If you ram it just right, you can ram it all night"

Miami Dolphins rap Cory and the Fins -- "Can't Touch Us"

"Makin' 'em sweat, that's why they're sore"
Zubaz pants sightings throughout!

1986 L.A. (not Oakland) Raiders and the "Silver and Black Attack"

Howie Long (Hall of Famer-turned-FOX NFL Sunday broadcaster) raps at 0:46
"I love to sit on those running backs"

Uggh, Bobby Flay

2008-11-21T00:10:00.000-05:00

I've seen The Food Network show Throwdown with Bobby Flay a pretty embarrassing number of times. And I swear, the skeezeball wins just about every time I watch. Grrrrr.

I just wanna smack that smug look right off his face when critics sample his food, and most especially, when he wins.

Bleh.

Portrait of a smug jerk.

Credits: The Ghetto Gourmet Chronicles

By the way, I gotta say, I'm not that impressed with his throwdown skills since he always has a training staff dispensing ingredient secrets before he makes his concoction. How talented are you if you have a team helping you make your recipes? And know your challenge beforehand?

I'd love to see ol' Bobby compete without his entourage preparing him. Granted he'd probably still win all the time, meh, but at least it would be more fair. It's not like the competing chefs know in advance what's coming.

Don't worry Bobby, I'll still watch your show. I'll just never root for you.

(Does anyone ever root for the guy by the way? Just curious.)

Postal hilarity

2008-11-20T02:40:00.000-05:00

So I got a phone call from my Mom tonight, apparently she just got my postcard from when I went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico... which I sent in mid-AUGUST!

We stayed in a hotel in Los Cabos, which was about halfway between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, where the airport was. All three are in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, so basically the southern tip of Baja California, on the Pacific Ocean.

Map from Mexico Connect

Mom said the postmark was from San Jose del Cabo and was dated in October. I don't know what to be more distraught by, the incompetence of the hotel's mailing "system" which resulted in a postcard sent in August not to get postmarked for two months, or the Mexican/U.S. postal services which took another month to get the card to my mother.

Nice hotel. Sweet deal on Priceline. Incompetent mailing system.

I sent two other postcards from the area (San Jose del Cabo) as well, but those I sent from the airport, which I assumed would have been the more competent of the two mailing locations. As of today, neither of the other two would-be recipients had received their postcards. Shocking.

Lazy Wednesday

2008-11-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

So instead of doing the piles of work I have to do today, I've decided it's time to map my route back to the V-A for my December move.

I know "Google maps is the best" but I prefer MapQuest, and from what I hear, it's a good one too.

Did you know MapQuest had a new feature, the draggable route? I sure didn't. So if you don't like the route it selected, now you can grab and drag the recommended route on the map to incorporate cities, towns, or other sites without having to re-enter all your data. Don't want to drive the interstate and prefer to drive along the coast? Now you can change your route in seconds. Awesome! I've wanted this feature for so long and now it's finally here.

Anyway, I'm probably asking the wrong audience, but does anyone have any routes to the East Coast that are tried, true, and loved? All the routes will end up in the 1400-1700 miles range it seems like, and I'm planning to take 3 days for the drive.

Last time, from Richmond to Austin, we took I-95 South from Richmond to I-85 around Petersburg, cut down to Atlanta, where we saw a Braves game and spent the night. Day 2 we took I-20 west to Vicksburg, Mississippi and looked around at Civil War stuff, put my feet in the Mississippi River (nerdy right?), and we spent the night somewhere in Louisiana. Day 3 we continued westward to Austin via I-20 for a bit and then took mostly back roads through east Texas until we got to I-35.

Anyway, the stops were decent on I-85 (plenty of good BBQ haunts in NC to choose from), but I-20 seemed like the dullest, most uneventful stretch of highway I've ever driven. Alabama's section of the interstate was laden with construction zones and speed limits in the 30s and 40s. So frustrating.

So for the ride back I'm loosely debating one of two routes (though I'm open to other suggestions and variations of those below):

Texas - Arkansas - Tennessee - Virginia. This route is the fastest, but how much does that matter to save two hours on a three-day trip? I'm unsure. This route takes I-35 to Dallas, then winds through a long stretches of Arkansas and Tennessee before reaching the Old Dominion. It's a 23 hour, 15 minute ride covering 1500 miles. (Compared to my Richmond to Austin trip in 2007, which was 23 1/2 hours, but about 15 miles shorter -- wowww.)
Texas - Louisiana - Mississippi - Alabama - Florida - Georgia - South Carolina - North Carolina - Virginia. This 25-hour route crosses through nine states and would essentially use I-10 East from Houston to Jacksonville and then 95 North, back to Virginia. It would cover 1640 miles.

Any thoughts? Are Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville better for stops or Baton Rouge, Biloxi, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, (and a bunch of NC/SC/GA places I've been to before)? Anyone?

I am also taking any "must stop" suggestions for food for anywhere in the southeastern quadrant of the continental U.S. Particularly anything you'd see on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives . Yumtastic.

PS, if you don't watch that delicious show on The Food Network, I recommend you get on that. Now.

The future of Pam Beesley?

2008-11-18T01:13:00.000-05:00

You may have already heard this proposal if I've talked to you in the past two days, but I think I have a great idea on a new job for ol' Pammy (and don't call me Pammy) on The Office:

ART DIRECTOR
IN-HOUSE (ADVERTISING)
at VANCE REFRIGERATION

Why?

SPOILER ALERT: Pam's back in Scranton. Ostensibly, for good. She has Pratt graphic design experience behind her, whether or not she likes it. So maybe she's not the master of Flash, and doesn't like making logos. Doesn't mean she doesn't have a future ahead of her utilizing those (other) art skills in another context like advertising.

And Vance Refrigeration doesn't seem like a big enough company to do their advertising off-site or at an agency. Read into the show much? In-house advertising is a very feasible option for Pam's character.

If ol' Pam works at VR, she could talk all day on the phone to Jim. (Vance Refrigeration is Dunder Mifflin's neighborhood business in the Scranton Business Park.) And she could attend lots of Dunder Mifflin gatherings. Not to mention be there for lunches mid-day.

Just saying.

This set-up would still give her interactions with other Office characters. And according to this week's preview, Toby will be back this week. Interesting...

By the way, to echo a friend's very astute observation... has Pam ever looked more radiant than she did sitting on the hood of Jim's car, waiting for him to get out of work during last week's episode? I think not.

Oh Dwight -- your eternal creepiness -- you never disappoint.

Lil J's hair is stupid

2008-11-17T23:37:00.000-05:00

I don't know what's the dumbest though: the fact that I watch Gossip Girl, the fact that I'm blogging about it, or that I'm deluding myself into thinking I have any fashion sense, especially regarding hairstyles.

Here's Lil J's old look (as in up until a few weeks ago on the show):

Cute, wholesome, girl-next-door. If only she had a non-bratty, friendly personality to match.

Her new look:

"OMG, I'm like 15 and totally angry," her hair practically screams at me.

While this can be a cute look, and very edgy designer-esque, it seems to just follow what the show does wrong -- overemphasize stereotypes. When Jenny dropped out of high school in order to jumpstart her fashion design career, of course she started looking artsy and acting the part. OMG trendy haircut, and a new BFF that's a model. And the photogs, booze, parties, sudden popularity! A whole new lifestyle and scene within a matter of moments of dropping out of her glamorous, uppity Upper East Side prep school. Because that's how life works.

Just like Vanessa (worst character on the show by the way), Jenny now has so many "of course she would" moments. Vanessa couldn't be any more stereotypically Brooklyn. She's in the know about hipster everything -- she works at a coffeeshop, is an aficionado of the arts, and always has a political agenda to stomp out whatever corporate mogul sets sight on her neighborhood. If that wasn't enough, she delivers all of her lines with a permanent pout and holier-than-thou attitude. And wouldn't you know it, everything she wears is over-the-top vintage. And she's apparently a dazzling standardized test taker but is too cool for traditional education. Undercover book smarts. Of course. I wish I was making this all up. Gag.

Anyway, what do you think about Jenny's new frock? I think the crazy eye makeup makes it less severe, but I still prefer the old look. In tonight's episode she had her hair pulled back and it looked atrocious. Very much like my elementary school classmates in the 80s who had bangs starting past the midpoint of their heads. A real golden age in hairstyles if you ask me. Nothing like bangs harkening comparisons to ye olde mullet.

Well if you aren't sold on how she looked before, here's how she looks in real life with the new 'do and without the help of the Gossip Girl makeup staff:

Yikes.

Magic Eye Syndrome

2008-11-07T10:33:00.000-05:00

So I was reading a friend's blog yesterday, and she had a nice, funny post about Photoshop Disasters, a pretty self-explanatory blog on -- you guessed it -- Photoshop disasters. Art directors, graphic designers, and Photoshop enthusiasts alike swear by this site. I'll be the first to admit it though, sometimes I see the errors, and other times, I can stare at an image for ten minutes and not be able to identify what's wrong with it.

All this time I've chalked up my visual ineptitude to being unobservant, blind, or some other unquantifiable variety of incompetent. But I've finally realized my dilemma. It's because I have Magic Eye Syndrome.

Magic Eye Syndrome of course, is no real ailment. And if it is, I feel like it only affects me.

Ever since 3rd grade or whenever those Magic Eye books hit bookstores, I've always felt like a loser. Everyone raved about those optical illusions, and how when they stared at them they could always see the unmistakable shape of ______ just leaping out of the page.

I never could see these things! Every time I've started to see one, I got so excited that I lost it somewhere on the way. Why must this always happen to me?!! (See the answer to the one above at the end of the post.)

I can't tell you how many times over the years that I've faked that I've solved a Magic Eye. No one wants to admit to being the only person in an elementary school class that they can't see it! I'm still a little embarrassed about it. I was just like Rachel on Friends when she had an ultrasound and pretended she could see her baby on the screen. Ross pointed it out to her and she said she saw it, cried, and then admitted to not seeing it. He re-pointed it out, and the process repeated over and over. Wow, that hit too close to home. Oh my God, I'm going to be that same awful mother someday!

Anyway, to this day I'll never understand why so many people raved about Magic Eye over the years. Do that many people really see the "subliminal" images? Or is the world full of fakers like me afraid to own up to their inability to solve them? And why on earth did these things cause such a fuss in the 90s?

I will now return back to looking at Photoshop Disasters, where I'll likely not see what everyone is laughing at. But hey, then again maybe it'll be in the 30% of the time I get it and laugh with everyone else -- not lying! I much prefer my odds in Photoshop Disasters (a 30% chance is way much more encouraging than 0% after all).

Graduation! Inauguration! The East Coast of this great nation!

2008-11-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

So, you may have heard that this Illinois senator guy is like, going to be like, W's successor, or something.

And that he totally took this giant paintbrush and painted a whole lot of red parts of the US map blue.

Yes, Barack Obama is going to be our nation's 44th President. I couldn't be more excited about giving the ol' Dems a shot at changing things and hopefully turning back the demolition the Bush administration has wreaked on our country. Yes the man may have preached Hope and Change ad nauseum, but is there a better solution to our status quo? Doubtful. I'm just relieved not to have to go through another four more years of the Dub (or someone whose vote aligns with him 90% of the time). Hey, and listening to a phenomenal orator never hurt anyone.

And I'm so proud of traditionally red Virginia for going blue. You'd never guess from the map below, but I'm OK with that! So maybe my hometown still went McCain (64% to 35%, no surprise there), but I'm so happy for my state on the whole. And it looks like they finally counted all the ballots in North Carolina, which was split 50% to 50%... but Obama took the state by a slim margin of 14,000 votes.

from msnbc.com

Anyway, this is all besides the point. I graduate in December! Yeyyyy. I'm moving back to the East Coast (back to ACC Country, thank God!). I'll be able to watch teams I care about to my heart's content. I'll be driving distance (err, less than a day) from Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, wherever. I miss that. Immensely. And the beaches, oh the beaches.

I mean no disrespect Texas or Austin; I've enjoyed my stay. And I'm reaaally going to miss this place. There's just really no place like home.

So I just realized that since I'll be back in the Commonwealth (Virginia for those not quite as obsessed with the state as me) starting in mid-December, that means I'll be back in time for the Presidential Inauguration in January! Sweet. No idea if I'll actually go or be able to, but the possibility is making me excitedly squirm in my seat.

Also, I can't wait to put my advertising education into practice. Art direction? Copywriting? Account planning? Other advertising? Sports marketing? Journalism? PR? Graphic design? I may not know 100% what I want to do, or where I'll end up, but I'm ready to be put to work, get paid to do what I love, and not have homework. Oh yeah, and being able to afford rent would be a welcome change.

Fun times await and I'm anxious to get started. Err, well after a nice relaxing Christmas that is. Ol' Barack and I have big goals for 2009, and I think we're ready to take 'em on!

*Apologies for my inclusion of more percentages here than on any post to this point.

Virginia is for free speech haters

2008-11-02T16:54:00.001-05:00

Why are we having issues with free speech again? And in Charlottesville again no less!

A friend of mine sent me this. Basically, the Daily Progress, a newspaper in Charlottesville, Va., reported that "Voters at polling places who refuse to remove buttons, T-shirts or other apparel with political messages will face possible misdemeanor charges," per the Virginia Code.

What sort of charges? Try up to a year in prison or a $2,500 fine! But hey, that's OK, because at least you still get to vote before they haul you away!

Virginia § 24.2-604 states:

A. During the times the polls are open and ballots are being counted, it shall be unlawful for any person (i) to loiter or congregate within 40 feet of any entrance of any polling place; (ii) within such distance to give, tender, or exhibit any ballot, ticket, or other campaign material to any person or to solicit or in any manner attempt to influence any person in casting his vote; or (iii) to hinder or delay a qualified voter in entering or leaving a polling place.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. It shall be unlawful for any authorized representative, voter, or any other person in the room to (i) hinder or delay a qualified voter; (ii) give, tender, or exhibit any ballot, ticket, or other campaign material to any person; (iii) solicit or in any manner attempt to influence any person in casting his vote; (iv) hinder or delay any officer of election; or (v) otherwise impede the orderly conduct of the election.

E. The officers of election may require any person who is found by a majority of the officers present to be in violation of this section to remain outside of the prohibited area. Any person violating subsection A or D of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
from http://cvillain.com/2008/10/30/if-you-wear-political-paraphernalia-to-election-day-in-virginia-you-face-misdemeanor-charges/

Needless to say (and rightfully so), the Virginia ACLU and a couple of Charlottesville-area groups are stepping in and voicing their disgust for this blatant infringement of free speech.

Didn't we just (finally) turn over the sign ban at UVA sporting events? Why is this issue resurfacing again?

And aren't those eligible to vote (18+) mature enough to not be swayed by someone else's innocuous campaign button or t-shirt while in line? C'mon now, we aren't that stupid, are we?

I'm curious to see how many people press the issue at the polls this Tuesday...

News flash: MPhelps alleged diet is hogwash?

2008-10-28T23:19:00.000-04:00

Today my sports journalism class got to interview Olympic swimming gold medalist Garrett Weber-Gale. Here is his most famous moment, after the USA's upset win over the French in the 4 x 100 free relay, a celebration he doesn't really have recollection of:

He said he remembered checking the scoreboard and seeing a 1 next to the USA names, and wanting to check again to make sure. After that, he doesn't really remember the yelling or hugging euphoria.

He also recalled the Olympics as being "magical" on more than one occasion.

Weber-Gale is a former Longhorn swimmer who still trains in Austin with the likes of Brendan Hansen and Aaron Peirsol, both Texas Exes and Olympians in their own right.

Despite his success in the pool, GWG's looking to make waves in other parts of his life. He has dreams of starting a specialty food business and is contact with a New York literary agent about the possibility of making a cookbook.

For more info on GWG and his love for food, see his website.

But speaking of food, the big news was that GWG dispelled the Michael Phelps 12,000-calories-a-day myth.

"That's so embellished it's absurd," he said.

He's eaten enough meals with him to know it's untrue, he pointed out.

Too bad. Guess that means I'm going to have to cut out my 18-pancake and 12-omelet breakfasts if I have any hope of competing in the 2012 London Olympics. Crickey mate.

Don't pass gas.

2008-10-22T23:52:00.000-04:00

Close your eyes and listen to this YouTube video. Seriously.

I was listening to the radio when this commercial came on. I'm pretty sure it was exactly the same script, but it was even more hilarious and effective when I only heard the audio.

Pretty cool ad, eh?

I love the surprise at the end when you find out that "passing gas" is smoking.

Plus I have a 6th-grader's sense of humor, so you know I howled the first time I heard it.

We now return to your regularly scheduled maturity.

7-Election

2008-10-21T19:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I walked into class with a cup of hot tea from 7-11 where my friend Tiffany greeted me, "You didn't vote!"

Bewildered, and confused, I had no idea what she was talking about. It was true, my Virginia absentee ballot was in fact sitting on my nightstand, but how did she know?

She sensed my follow-up question. "The cup. You didn't vote in the 7-11 election."

What is she talking about?, I thought.

She quickly explained the election, but to be completely honest with you I didn't get it. All I knew was there was some sort of voting action having to do with the cups.

Well, to the luck of my local 7-11, I awoke with a nagging sore throat for the third day in a row, which meant I sipped hot tea all day long. And since it's slightly lame and strange to carry around a Thermos around campus all day (not that I have one) and 7-11 is one block from the building housing all my classes, I made visit number two to the store in as many days.

Walking in the store I knew I had to do two things: secure a voting cup and make it back to class with I Love Lemon tea in hand in six minutes.

Thankfully I was a little less oblivious this time and was able to complete both tasks without a hitch.

At the "hot beverage bar" there's a seemingly endless parade of coffees (who knew? And Tiffany swears by the pumpkin spice flavor, by the way), but greeting the section is a bright red and blue promotional sign explaining how it works. Pretty simple if you aren't as spacey as me.

Pick red cup that says "McCain" on it to vote McCain. Pick blue cup that says "Obama" on it to vote Obama. Fill with hot beverage of your choice. Bring to counter. Purchase beverage. When beverage's bar code is scanned it adds your McCain or Obama vote to the tally, which can be followed at 7-election.com.

If you were wondering which color I picked, I'll give you two hints: it's my favorite color and is opposite of orange on the color wheel.

I commend your ability to solve that enigmatic riddle.

Not only are 7-11 hot beverages way cheaper than their Starbucks counterparts, but for the time being they are also infinitely more exciting. Not to mention, the packaging is really eye-catching and fun.

So get out there, save $2 on your next cup of coffee and get excited about the election!

Also, if you think the promotion is stupid, maybe you should read this info, which I found on the 7-11 site's "Fun Facts" section:

In the 2000 7-Election, [the] George W. Bush cup outsold Al Gore's cup by just 1 percentage point.
The 2004 7-Election results tracked exactly with published national election results: 51% for George W. Bush and 49% for John Kerry (within a few percentage points of actual poll results in many states!).

While I can't with certainty say that there is any truth to these facts (if a fact is "fun," must it also be fabricated?) it is at least interesting. With all the negative political ads going back and forth, I find the informal red vs. blue competition to be a lot more light-hearted.

So get off your lazy butts and drink and vote!

What a Ray-lief

2008-10-20T00:29:00.000-04:00

I'm soooooo excited to see the BoSox packin' and forced to watch the World Series from the comfort of their own homes. But I'm even more ecstatic about the prospect of their fans being shut up until spring training. Success!

In case you missed it, the Tampa Bay Rays won 3-1 in the clinching game 7 in a nail-biting marathon of an ALCS against the Red Sox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/sports/baseball/20alcs.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

No more "Red Sox Nation" this, "Red Sox Nation" that. Heavenly.

Like all teams in recent memory that won similar games of this caliber, the Rays doused each other in victory champagne. Players donned goggles and ALCS Champions regalia.

I wonder, where do they end up housing the already embroidered and imprinted incorrect "champions" memorabilia for the losing team? Alas, this is a mystery to be solved in a future post... hopefully.

The best quote from TBS's broadcast of the game tonight was a Yogi Berra-esque gem about the Tampa Bay Rays, "I knew they'd be celebrating like that if they won!"

I'll be rooting for the Rays in the WS, but as a non-Yankees non-Red Sox fan I feel like I've already won. I'll take my vicarious victories in life however I can get them.

Already got into college? Wanna retake the SAT?

2008-10-16T18:25:00.000-04:00

That's right. Believe it or not, this policy is encouraged 100 miles north of UT at Waco's Baylor University.

In an attempt to make Baylor more competitive in college rankings in US News & World Report, the university offered already admitted and enrolled students $300 in bookstore credit for re-taking the exam. This applied to the class of 2012 only.

Students who improved their scores by 50 points or more were given $1,000 in merit scholarships. Of the 861 who retook the exam, 150 were able to secure the $1,000 in financial aid.

SAT scores are just one of the many criteria that US News uses to rank colleges.

Baylor's average incoming freshman SAT score also raised from 1200 to 1210. A staggering 10 points. Isn't that what each question is worth?

Or perhaps more importantly, how much will this take-the-SAT-after-I've-been-admitted plan really change Baylor's rankings? US News ranks them at #76 currently.

According to the US News website, "student selectivity" of an institution accounts for only 15% of its ranking. And of this selectivity score, SAT scores account for 50% of the 15%... so 7.5% overall. I can only venture to guess what a whopping impact those 10 points will make in the grand scheme of things.

By my calculations Baylor gave up at least $408,300 in scholarships and bookstore credit (assuming the bookstore is affiliated with the school) with its new policy. All for 10 points higher on the average SAT score? Was it worth it? Only time will tell.

And also, do other universities view Baylor's decision? That Baylor is rankings obsessed? Pathetic? Honorable? Charitable?

And who is to say that all students nationwide wouldn't be able to improve their SAT scores an average of 10 points when given that extra post-applications time?

Just some thoughts...

Beauty, art, and... politics?

2008-10-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

Politics can be a beautiful thing.

Though much of the time it is anything but beautiful. Politics often showcases frustrating partisan debate, rampant blame thrust on opposing candidates, and everyone's favorite, accusatory TV commercials.

But this year it is different.

Yes, John McCain has vigorously critiqued Barack Obama and has said that his opponent would do little other than raise taxes if he were President. And Obama has made McCain's 90% voting with W during the latter's presidency no secret. So what's different about this time?

The art.

Artists from all over the country recognize the importance of this election and have used Obama's candidacy as a springboard for their artistic expression. Their work has induced what could possibly be the most artistic election ever.

Here are just a few of the many Obama-inspired works:

This leads me to wonder, why can't more candidates find a way to speak to such gifted artists? The world could be so much more picturesque.

More information and examples, especially on the color palettes and design, can be found here.

All artwork is from COLOURlovers, the "Color + Design Community for Creative Inspiration" at http://www.colourlovers.com/.

I saw the sign

2008-10-10T22:58:00.000-04:00

I gotta admit, Austin has among the coolest signs and logos for its shops, eateries, and events. It's amazing how powerful something as simple as a sign or logo can communicate about an entity. Everywhere I go interesting fonts, color combinations, and other unique design choices tantalize my eyes. Here are a few of my Austin favorites...

Signs:

P. Terry's. This is my favorite sign in Austin. The red and white on robin's egg blue (green) are a memorable color combination. I love the space age-y feel to it also.

EZ's. The glitz and faux glamour of this diner's sign introduces me to a place that knows better than to take itself too seriously.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. An Austin favorite, with a classic, vintage cinema sign.

Spider House. This place never misses an opportunity to showcase its lovely quirkiness. This sign is no different. It's even laden with Christmas lights, just like the coffee shop's patio.

Sandy's. This sign choice communicates good old fashioned burger joint to me, which is exactly what the place is.

Allen's Boots. I don't care how corny people think it is, I like when people make letters into artwork, or other art into letters (as long as it works). The boot L's work here.

Austin Java. Clearly these guys take their coffee seriously. But otherwise the sign communicates a fun, earthy, laid-back vibe.

Shady Grove. I just love the use of rope to spell "Shady" here. Always have (since the first time I saw this place).

(Did you also notice I'm a fan of neon lights? Especially ones that are also aesthetically pleasing by day.)

UT street sign. I love when colleges make everyday things their own, like this University of Texas street sign. Not only does the burnt orange hue greet the eye, but uses a starkly different font than all other street signs in the city.

Asti. This Italian dinner destination brings modernity to the forefront. Literally.

El Chilito. Just because the fare is overrated doesn't mean you won't be duped by the bright colors and intriguing packaging.

Vivo. I've never eaten here, but the sign hypnotizes me every time I drive by it.

Third Rail Creative. This downtown ad agency makes you forget for a few seconds that you're not only not in New York, but worlds away.

Tesoros. Not sure if I like the font for "Tesoros" or the heart in the logo better. I definitely recognize the Lithos Black in "Trading Company" though!

Logos:

Whataburger. When I read the word, I hear the voice of the commercials in my head, "Whatta-BURger." The logo has a stark resemblance to the Weezer logo of old, but I really like the repetition of the W's in the logo. It makes it memorable. As does the bright orange coloring and "packaging" of its franchises, with their white-and-orange striped roofs.

Torchy's Tacos. Did you really think I'd complete this post without a Torchy's reference? This logo insinuates that Torchy's is both completely badass and has a little bit of a playful side to it. Bingo.

Austin City Limits logo. The font calls to an earlier disco era. I really like the double outlines and smooth curves of the letters.

Taco Shack. Every location of this taco chain has this wooden plank lettering. It's unlike anything I've seen and really emphasizes the "shack" part of its name.

SXSW 2007 logo. Not sure what font SXSW is on this, but I sure do love it. I really like the simplicity of using thin lines to define what are otherwise bulky and lifeless letters.

Note: 90% of these graphics were found on Flickr (www.flickr.com).

Lights out on NBC in Austin

2008-10-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

So at midnight last night (this morning?) KXAN, Austin's NBC affiliate turned off its airwaves to Time Warner cable subscribers. KXAN and Time Warner are in an apparent disagreement about subscribers fees, and were unable to reach an agreement before KXAN pulled the plug.

Who wins when this happens? Definitely not Time Warner cable subscribers. DirecTV certainly benefits from the situation. It's been putting out ads trying to get NBC fans of Heroes, The Office, and 30 Rock to switch to their service, which still carries the network.

If I weren't leaving Austin in three months I'd certainly consider the switch. As mentioned earlier, new Friday Night Lights episodes will only be available to DirecTV subscribers until February 2009.

If that weren't bad enough, the rumor has it that the CW Austin has been threatening to drop from Time Warner cable as well. Which would mean no Gossip Girl. What does that actually leave me with? Mad Men (AMC), no My Boys (TBS) since it's only a summer show, and ESPN and Food Network. Yeah, so basically my only show I'd have left is Mad Men. And How I Met Your Mother, which I keep stupidly forgetting to DVR.

I passionately hope that the CW split is just a rumor, though I'm 90% sure I saw a commercial the other day warning viewers that cable may longer carry the CW later in October. I'm not completely certain on that though. Let's hope I heard and remember wrong!

Fear not though about all the NBC shows besides Friday Night Lights... they're all available for free on Hulu. The newest Office episode's up already if you missed it last week. So glad it's back!

I got the beat!

2008-10-02T17:49:00.000-04:00

This week in my sports journalism class we got to pick our "beats" for the semester. Basically a beat is the sport or team you're assigned to cover, where it is your responsibility to hunt down and report the stories going on within that sport or team. We had four options for this semester (which was largely dependent on what UT sports were in season and the professor's desire for us to cover lower-profile sports): soccer, golf, women's volleyball, and swimming and diving.

I faced a mild conundrum because I'm very interested in both volleyball and swimming. I played varsity volleyball for four years in high school. I loved the sport and my senior year we even won the state title!

But I also love swimming. I grew up with the sport and swam summer league for 11 years. I would have swum for my high school, but they didn't get the sport until a year or two after I graduated (figures).

Anyway, in a few minute span I had to decide which sport I wanted to cover. The question "what is a libero?" put the final nail in the me-covering-volleyball coffin. The sport has changed drastically since I played, and I thought my having played earlier in life would put me at a great advantage for covering the sport. That probably is the case, but there are so many ways the game has changed, and it'd probably take me quite a bit of research to comfortably catch up.

When I played volleyball in high school (which is approaching a decade ago, yikes!) there was no libero position. To this day I still don't wholly grasp the concept of this position in volleyball, but I do know that they wear a different color jersey than everyone else on the court and they are utilized in some sort of defensive capacity (think digs, or "bumping" in your high school gym class). I guess I should do more studying up here.

The sport has changed in other ways too, and it was starting to change towards the end of my "career" (a laughable concept). I played some J.O. (Junior Olympics, a division under the USA Volleyball umbrella) volleyball simultaneously, and it was a lot more up-to-date in rules and allowances than high school play was. Rules trickled down to high school play years after they had been enacted in USA Volleyball and J.O. play. Whenever you'd suit up to play in either realm, you always had to be cognizant of the rules in your league. I can't tell you how many points have been screwed up in either division as a result of the varying rules.

Anyway, among other renovations to volleyball since my play (late '90s and yes, some 2000s) included the adopting of rally score, where every point played resulted in a point for a team. In high school, you could only score if your team served. We once got in a feisty game against a rival from across the state where both teams went about 10 or 15 minutes without scoring because we just kept getting sideouts on every point. Very dramatic, and probably one of the most exhilarating games I've ever played in.

You're also now allowed to hit the net when you serve. In J.O.'s we were allowed to too (it had to be like a let in tennis in order to be considered in play), but in high school, it counted as an automatic sideout, even if it landed in-bounds. In high school we weren't allowed to set (overhand pass) on the first hit for your side either, though we were allowed to at J.O.'s. As you can see it's getting pretty confusing, and I probably skipped a bunch more disparities between the two.

Now that it's been so long, VHSL (Virginia High School League, where I played), has adopted most of the USA Volleyball rules I mentioned. They also no longer play first to 15, win by two. It's still win by two, but now they use rally scoring, but it's first to 25, win by two for each game. This is how NCAA plays too.

Anyway, you can probably follow that there's been a lot of confusion in the sport over the years.

Keeping this in mind, and that my volleyball knowledge needs a serious dusting before use again, I thought swimming would be a wiser choice for my sports beat. I'm pretty sure it hasn't changed much. Butterfly is still the most exhausting stroke for your upper body, 50 free is still the fastest and most exciting events, and the strokes of the IM and medley relays are still in the same order. Winners are still determined by fastest times. Maybe the swimsuit technology has changed, but the sport is still the same. There's some major relief in that.

Oh yeah, I also don't mind that I'll get to be interviewing Olympic swimmers and coaches on a regular basis. Did I mention that eight (8!) current and former Longhorns made the US team that competed in Beijing? Oh yeah, and apparently we get to chat with former UT swimmers who train with Longhorn Aquatics as well. Should make for exciting material to report!

FNL 101

2008-09-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

So earlier in the week I heard the most crushing news I've heard in quite some time...

Noooooooooooo!

That's right, Friday Night Lights, fondly/annoyingly known by me as FNL, will be unveiled on DirecTV a full four months before (finally) airing on NBC. Season 3 premieres on DirecTV on Oct. 1 and won't be available to the rest of us until February!

Talk about disappointing.

FNL is one of the most underappreciated shows I've ever seen. (It's awesome. Even Peyton Manning thinks so!) I've loved it from the beginning, but NBC has threatened to pull the plug on the show every year since its inception. The show has shuffled around from timeslot to timeslot, night to night, and eventually last year landed in a pretty self-explanatory timeslot... Friday night.

What does this mean for avid FNL fans like myself? I'll suffer through a disheartening one-third of a year or I'll somehow cave and buy DirecTV. Personally, I'm hoping for the episodes finding their way to Hulu.

Anyway, as a big fan of the entire FNL franchise (yes, there is a franchise in that there's more than one), I'm frequently asked what the differences are between Friday Night Lights the book, the movie, and the TV show. Here is today's lesson:

The whole thing started with H.G. Bissinger's book, Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream, a non-fiction book about the 1988 Permian football team in the west Texas oil town of Odessa. Bissinger followed the Permian Panthers around for a year, went to the annual watermelon feed, attended practices and games, and even sat in on halftime and pre-game pep talks on the team's quest for the Texas State Championship. The dark and beautifully written book was published in 1990 and exposed the unglamorous underbelly of racism, economic despair, and a community too focused on sports and not enough on education. Unsurprisingly my sentiments on the quality of Bissinger's work is not shared by many Odessa residents.

Then in 2004, the book was made into a movie called -- you guessed it -- Friday Night Lights. For the most part the movie followed the book, obviously many details were left out for the sake of time. The characters were the same, had similar dilemmas and personalities, and again was set in Odessa. Billy Bob Thornton played the part of Coach Gary Gaines. Oddly enough, Connie Britton played his wife, Sharon Gaines. Britton plays "the coach's wife" in the TV series as well.

Then, flash forward to 2006. Friday Night Lights, the TV series, hit the airwaves. However, unlike the movie, this one was not based on the book, but inspired by it. Oddly enough, the show's executive producer is Peter Berg, first cousin of the book's writer.

The TV show is a pretty sizeable departure from the book and movie. There are a few similarities, like the tragedy, immense sadness, and tough lives of the characters, the town's obsession with high school football, the team's mascot (the Panthers), and the small town Texas setting. The TV show is filmed in Austin and nearby suburb Pflugerville (note what real Pflugerville's football jerseys look like, pretty much the same look as those on the show) but takes place in fictional Dillon, Texas. The Dillon Panthers have blue and yellow jerseys, unlike Permian's trademark black jerseys (see below). Apologies for waxing Uni Watch again.

Source: odessapermian.com

The TV show never really says where in Texas Dillon is. Sometimes you'll hear that it is a few hours from Austin, or a few from Dallas, but it never gives any real indication where in the state they're located. There are frequent references to Mack Brown and/or the Texas Longhorns. Honestly my analysis of the show could last for hours, but I'll curtail the details here. But like the book, the sadness and rawness of the emotions is what makes the TV show so beautiful.

If pressed for an opinion, I would say the book is the best, but it wins in a squeaker (over the TV show... the movie didn't bring much new to the table). Great writing (Bissinger formerly wrote for Sports Illustrated by the way) wins every time, but you have to keep in mind that the hugely successful movie and great TV show (bad ratings, but critically acclaimed) wouldn't exist without the book.

PS, one day I hope to attend a high school football game at Permian. I realize that likelihood hovers around nill, as it is a 6 hour drive, and um, 370 miles away. Couple that with gas for $3.70 a gallon, and yeah...

The end. Finally.

Tasty Trailer Treats

2008-09-21T20:10:00.001-04:00

So one of my favorite things about Austin is the numerous delicious food-supplying trailers and carts.

This week I finally tried Flip Happy Crepes and Hey Cupcake!

Picture from http://stevieandkate.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post.html

While I enjoyed both of them, my favorite trailer foods still remain Torchy's (though I usually cheat and go to the Guadalupe location in the strip mall) and the snowcone stands Sno Beach and Molly's Sno Cups.

I enjoyed Flip Happy despite not being a bona fide "crepe fan." The lines are long, and I will definitely keep in mind to arrive there no later than 11 a.m. in the future. I tried an entree crepe filled with roasted chicken and goat cheese, and it was fabulous. I tried a dessert one draped with berry dressing as well, but I found the entree one to be the star of the show.

I thought Hey Cupcake! was a really cute place, but based on my limited sampling (Red Velvet and "The Standard," a vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing), I'd have to say it was a bit overrated. Plus $2.50 and $2 for cupcakes (respectively) was a bit much. But having had a rough week, I decided to treat myself. This will probably the most asinine food observation of all time, but I don't think I've ever had a cake (or cupcake) I've enjoyed more than one made from a Duncan Hines cake mix. I'm really not kidding. I'm all for making icings from scratch to add to these cakes, but the cakes themselves are so perfectly moist and tasty. This is probably why I have no future as a food critic.

Going back to Hey Cupcake!, what I found most disappointing about the cupcake was that the tops were especially hard and a little overcooked. Maybe I'm a picky cupcake-eater, but I like the cake portion to be reasonably consistent throughout, as in soft, but not falling apart.

I love all types of cupcakes... red velvet, chocolate, yellow, carrot cake, Funfetti, you name it. (By the way, I lump Pillsbury's Funfetti in that category of Duncan Hines-caliber amazing boxed cake mixes.) I have tried many far and wide, but I have yet to find one I thought tasted better than my Mom's Duncan Hines yellow cake with her own fudge icing. It's truly dynamite. If I'm feeling more charitable, I'll share the recipe at some point. Though I think she originally got the recipe from the cooking bible.

I'm looking to try some more tasty trailer and cart treats in the coming weeks as well. Right now I have my eye on Kebabalicious, Best Wurst (we'll save that one for a drunken night out though), and Rosita's al Pastor, should you feel compelled to join for sampling.

PS Thanks to my awesome friends. You've been fantastic, this week especially, but always!

More Microsoft WTF?

2008-09-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

Here's the second installment of WTF? Microsoft. This time the ad is far too long, and instead of a lousy minute and a half, it reaches four full minutes and some change. Unbelievable. It's funnier, but still irksomely long and nonsensical. There are however, fleeting moments where I thought I was seeing a brand message or learning about Microsoft products, which is an improvement over the previous ad.

I did enjoy the double reference of Cabo San Lucas. Done so in a mocking manner of course, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

Jeers for ending the commercial in the lame, annoying way as last time. Seinfeld asks about the future of Microsoft to its founder, will there be a "Frog with an e-mail? Goldfish with a website? Amoeba with a blog?" Once again he begs Gates to "Give me a sign," this time with the billionaire performing the robot.

Oh, the commercial, it's something. But nothing I care for. It probably hits its campaign goals if Microsoft aims to succeed virally and by word-of-mouth in an effort to drum up brand awareness. If it's to take back some of Apple's market share though, I'd venture to guess it isn't going to be overly successful.

Here is AdAge's discussion, which found a lot more glimpses of excitement in the commercial than me.

Classroom chat with SVP

2008-09-12T18:28:00.000-04:00

So in sports (journalism) class this week we had an hour-long conference call with Scott Van Pelt. As noted earlier, the key to discussion, as stated by the professor, was to treat celebrities like normal people and normal people like celebrities. We were prepared.

Scott, known as SVP in our class, is a very cool, laid-back, self-deprecating, funny, and articulate guy, just like the one he is on TV (and presumably the radio). He was so happy to answer the questions of a room full of aspiring sports writers, announcers, and marketers. He answered a wide variety of questions: really specific ones addressing past radio segments, hoping to get tips on getting the big break in the industry, how he enjoys acting in the ESPN commercials, how long his days are, and even "What did you think of all ESPN coverage of Brett Favre this summer?"

SVP was very honest in all of his responses. When asked about landing his ESPN job (he got it after 5 or 6 years at The Golf Channel and because of his ability to chase down Tiger Woods interviews when most journalists were unable) he even said, "you have to treat celebrities like they are normal people." Unseen to him, eyes darted around the room at each other, and of course, the professor. She prepared us well.

Well, I was watching SportsCenter last night and it was cool to hear the same relaxed voice anchoring the program a few days after the call. In watching highlights, I can't help but notice SVP's gift for saying my exact thoughts, but in a much more succinct and snazzier way. In reference to a UNC blowout of Rutgers last night, he said, "I've never seen Carolina with that shade of blue trouser. Whatever it is, it works, they win." Prior to the segment, I was aware that Carolina wasn't great at football and was surprised by their performance against a I-A football squad of any caliber not named Duke. When watching the highlight, the whole time I kept thinking "I don't think I've ever seen Carolina wear navy blue pants before. Not a good uniform choice. I miss the Carolina blue." Next thing I know SVP is commenting on the shade of trouser. I would have never put it so eloquently.

Anyway, all in all it's always encouraging to hear of likeable people finding so much success in their lives. Other celebrities (though SVP doesn't seem to think of himself as one) certainly could stand to learn a thing or two.

Reilly on Free Speech and Sports

2008-09-09T19:36:00.001-04:00

When I was younger (10 or so, let's say), I remember helping my brothers make cardboard signs for them to take to a Steelers game. I remember vividly the Prang marker set we used and how clever my brothers and I thought we were when we made a sign that said

No
Body likes
Cleveland

when the game was televised on NBC. Oh, we were smart ones all right.

I think I speak for most when I say that signs are a fun and jovial part of the atmosphere at sporting events. Most support their team, sometimes they make small jabs at the opponent, and yet other occasions they call attention to completely different phenomena (for example "Hi Mom, please send $!" pleas). Whatever the inspiration, signs are overwhelmingly a tradition that many sports fans have come to embrace.

Not so at the University of Virginia, according to Rick Reilly's latest story. According to some sort of rule there, no signs of any size are allowed at sporting events anymore. Not even "Go UVA!," not even a message on a sheet of notebook paper. The only exception, unsurprisingly, are advertisements.

As a former UVA student myself, I'm pretty appalled by the school's stance against free speech. Apparently it is some sort of new athletic department policy. Reilly interviewed former UVA football standout Ronde Barber about the situation and Barber said, "Seems odd. You'd think if there was one university that would stand up for free speech, it'd be Virginia. When I was there, the signs were really clever."

I graduated after Ronde Barber, and thankfully, sometime before the new communist revolution. And I'd have to say, my experience was pretty much the same as Barber's. UVA may not have had national championships in football or basketball, but we had clever fans dammit!

Of all of the amusing signs people brought to games, my favorite was one that someone had a picture of Dick Vitale's head Photoshopped into a Duke cheerleader's uniform. Some friends and I had camped out 17 days -- yes 17 days! -- for the big UVA-Duke basketball showdown at UVA's University Hall (U-Hall, because we love to abbreviate everything at UVA). Anyway, my friends and I got front row seats to the contest, and a group with that poster was right behind us. To no one's surprise, Dick Vitale was there to broadcast the game.

I'm not sure this is the exact picture, but it looks exactly how I remembered it in my head. Source: http://www.truthaboutduke.com/news_month.php?m=November&y=2005

And how do you think he responded? He laughed and even autographed the sign for the students! Unbelievable. I think this says in a nutshell why people should be able to make signs; they make for a good laugh, add to the enthusiasm and atmosphere of the game, and hey, the best can take whatever heat is dealt. Like Reilly said about coach-slamming signs, "Who, exactly, is Virginia protecting here? Groh? The man can handle himself. After all, he was once the head coach of the New York Jets." Right on, Mr. Reilly.

The whole controversy is downright disturbing. UVA was founded by Thomas Jefferson. That's right, the very man who penned the Declaration of Independence, our nation's third president, and so fervently stood for rights like free speech. Good ol' TJ (or Teej as I liked to refer to him back in the day) would roll over in his grave if he knew what was going down at The University these days. As Reilly said, it's un-American, and where is the line drawn? Does this mean that in the coming years the Lawn won't have free speech either? No organizations intercepting unsuspecting students in an effort to get them to join their organization/show up to their meetings/donate money/buy their baked goods/rally behind their cause? As annoying as I found those soliciting tables (I'd walk the 2 or 3 minutes out of the way to avoid them), I 100% support their right to be there. Maybe it's time the UVA athletics department took the same stand.

Dr J, Dr P

2008-09-08T23:50:00.000-04:00

Y'all catch the Dr. J Dr Pepper commercial yet? I get the vibe it's been around for a little while, but I've been seeing it a lot lately.

Well I must say I'm a fan. Why exactly? Because it is so perfectly corny in every way. Check it out:

It has all the "nos" of creative advertising wrapped into one beautiful, hilarious, so-bad-it's-good package.

How, you ask?

Does it have a ridiculous celebrity spokesman for the product?
Check, Dr. J, obviously a candidate who'd know lots about... soda. And Dr. J, Dr Pepper, very funny, we get it easily.

Oh, so an athlete is the spokesperson. Is there a cheesy slo-mo sports play in the commercial?
Check, oh you know it.

Ah yes, and for Dr. Pepper. Clever. How many times is that pun approached?
At least 3 times (Dr. J name is a pun in every mention, so there's at least a pun in introduction, when he mentions being a doctor, and tagline at end).

Is a cheesy over-the-top sports feat accomplished (an impossible goal or shot, slam dunking on the moon, etc.) to a play-by-play soundtrack or equally silly song?
Oh yeah, Dr. J hits the glass with his ice cube from 10 feet away. In slow motion. Gotta love the music during the shot though. It was my favorite part of the commercial.

How about a cringe-when-you-hear it line from the script?
"Trust me. I'm a doctor."

And a pun-tastic tagline to seal the commercial?
Check. Dr's orders. Doesn't get any better than that!

Apparently we can expect more where that came from from Deutsch/LA, where similar ads will feature another doctor with expertise, Dr. Frasier Crane. The boundless corniness of this installation will certainly be tough to top.

What's up in Mad Men, by Gossip Girl

2008-09-07T20:09:00.000-04:00

What's King D hiding?

Spotted. King D snuggling up to a mystery femme. Uh-oh. Looks like D is getting sloppy this season. He might be polished in the conference room, but how much longer will his extracurricular exploits remain hidden from view? Will his canoodling with all the ladies of Manhattan finally catch up with him?

Looks like Queen B's talking to a shrink and may be on to D's games. But has B taken a liking to the engaged man at the equestrian center? Or is it the other way around for Ms. Profoundly Sad? What does D think? Careful D, the perfect pitch might not get you out of this one.

Caught. P nuzzling with an unnamed model from a SC casting call. P might not be able to have children with T, but how many will he father outside his marriage before getting busted? Poor, sweet T. Little do you know you married a conniving, selfish slimeball.

Speaking of extramarital activities, how is our favorite mother, Lil P? With child and a shiny new copywriting job, but without allies, it appears Lil P might have gotten the big break, but has won no sympathies. Just because your motherhood is under wraps doesn't mean you aren't still a little girl in a man's world.

And what's that sparkle around the SC office? Why that's the shiny Harry Winston on J's hand; she and the doctor are finally engaged. What does R have to say about that? Guess everything isn't sterling in the office after all.

XOXO,
Gossip Girl

-----------------------------------------------------
Key:

(King) D = Don Draper, SC creative director
(Queen) B = Betty/Bets Draper, housewife, married to D
P = Pete Campbell, SC junior account executive
T = Trudy Campbell, housewife, married to P
Lil P = Peggy Olsen, SC secretary turned junior copywriter
J = Joan Holloway, SC office manager and queen of the secretarial staff
R = Roger Sterling, SC partner
SC = Sterling Cooper, ad agency

WTF Microsoft?

2008-09-07T12:16:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the new Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates commercial? Summed up in one uttering, it was WTF?!

The commercial drags on for 90 seconds and consists of Jerry and Bill shopping for shoes at a cheesy location of a "Shoe Circus." I'm guessing it's supposed to be like Shoe Carnival. Anyway, Jerry pretends to know a lot about breaking in shoes and makes awkward unfunny jokes for a good 70 seconds of the commercial. At the very end it is briefly mentioned that the ad was for Microsoft Windows. I have no idea what this message was supposed to mean. Was the spot supposed to be the next link we all forward on YouTube? Was it supposed to be funny? Am I the only moron that didn't get it?

I guess my overall reaction is that it was a humongous disappointment. My feeling is, if you're going to have a commercial run for that long I better be amused or learn something. I, of course, came away with neither. Choosing to have Jerry Seinfeld on the commercial certainly was a brilliant decision in order to cut through the clutter, but I was at a loss the whole time for why he was there and what was the message of the commercial. Either way it was 90 seconds of my life I won't be getting back. If you'd also to lose 90 seconds of your own life (you've been forewarned), feel free to click below:

After reading AdAge I realized I wasn't the only one confused. Apparently it was supposed to be some sort of teaser ad to hold us over until something else is launched. In the meantime, I don't get how Windows is supposed to be delicious. Or what's with the conquistador thing? I'm kind of surprised to see that this was a CP+B ad, as I'm usually a fan of their zany work. Everyone loved Mini of course, but I enjoyed the creepy Burger King and hilarious candid camera-esque Coke Zero ads with lawyers and "taste infringement." Maybe Crispin's follow-up for Microsoft will answer many questions, or we can hope, bring at least something funnier to the table.

Disgustingly Good Eats

2008-09-06T22:49:00.000-04:00

What do you do when the gastronomic world of chicken fried steak with gravy, chili cheese fries, and Oreo brownie sundaes aren't unhealthy enough?

You throw a bacon cheeseburger on a Krispy Kreme glazed donut instead of a bun! Check out the insanity!

When on a friend's recently Dugg'd pages list, I found this incredible delicacy. Apparently it was served in Google's New York office in celebration of the cafeteria's chef's birthday. On my next birthday I'll have to remember to serve up artery-clogging goodness to my family, friends, and peers.

Now seems a good as time as ever to pronounce my love for adventures to find outstanding(ly bad for me) food. A few months ago, one of my friends came up with the brilliant idea to go on a Texas BBQ-themed road trip. We drove down 183 for about 30 miles or so and did a spur of the moment tour of the towns of Lockhart and Luling, Texas. In Lockhart we sampled the 'cue of Smitty's (my favorite of the trip) and Kreutz, and made a quick walk-through at Black's Barbecue in order to briefly relax our stomachs. In Luling we saw a ton of campaigning for the town's Watermelon Thump Queen, the pinnacle award at the town's annual watermelon festival. But we also took a whack at that town's best BBQ joint -- The City Market. In filling our bellies to our content, we took a stab 3 of what Texas Monthly named the top 5 BBQ joints in Texas for 2008.

Yes, I have a hankering for more trips like this in the future. It's been a dream for the past few years to sometime make it to the North Carolina State Fair where I've heard legends about the deliciously bad-for-you delicacies: fried Twinkies, fried Snickers bars, and fried who knows what else. All of them will one day be mine! Stay tuned to my post in 2015 when I finally get to fulfill my dream! In the meantime I'll lick my lips and gaze at the holy grail:

Special thanks to Channel M for her tantalizing write-up of the NC State Fair last year (and source of above picture). I can't wait to have my heavenly deep-fried experience as well as the chance to see pig racin' for myself!

Bandwagon of the moment

2008-09-06T18:31:00.000-04:00

Hi. Just wanted to let you know I'm jumping on the East Carolina bandwagon. I want to make that known now, so you know well in advance of when the rest of the bandwagon will jump onboard in the coming weeks.

ECU is whipping up on West Virginia 24-3 with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. This team is for real. After an impressive win against Virginia Tech, ECU now seems even more poised and destined for a great season. Oh by the way, ECU is unranked (that won't be the case come Monday), and oh yeah, WVU is #8 and a sleeper pick for the national championship. Not anymore, if the finale of the 4th quarter is anything like the rest of the game!

Other college football observations:

I wasn't sure about the Dr. Lou segment on ESPN last week, but now I am. I don't like it. It may cause the occasional "heh" laugh, but it doesn't induce amazement and wonderment like his pep talks of last year. (Dr. Lou is Lou Holtz, and by the way, Skip Holtz, Lou's son, is head coach at ECU.) I did enjoy that they had an "anonymous caller" who complained of migraines caused by Notre Dame football play, as it was very very obviously the voice of Regis Philbin.

I love ESPN commercials (duh). The latest I saw today was one with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit (the most attractive broadcaster in the history of broadcasters), and USC coach Pete Carroll. They were riding a tour bus to an unknown destination and Herbstreit was ignoring phone calls from Carroll, but unbeknownst to Herbstreit, Carroll was on the bus and caught him. Not the best of their commercials, but amusing nonetheless. ESPN commercials are reason #357 that I wouldn't mind working for Wieden + Kennedy NY.

I miss the East Coast. I have such a hard time finding the games I want to watch. This week UVA was rarely televised for more than 5 consecutive minutes and Texas is on, but not until much later today . SEC and ACC games have been few and far between. Thankfully the weekend's headliner matchup, the big Florida-Miami showdown, will be televised tonight. The Big 10 is ubiquitous, and it makes me want to gag. I was so excited when Ohio State entered halftime earlier today trailing Ohio, but unfortunately they turned it on somewhat in the second half and won by 12. But still, I would have preferred to spend my college football watching on other games or conferences.

I love Brent Musberger's voice.

The UVA throwback jerseys were interesting today. They won 16-0 in a game my cable plan only allowed me to view for a few minutes. Instead of the usual navy blue ensemble with orange splices and "V-sabers"-emblazoned navy helmets they wore orange jerseys and white pants with white helmets. The pants and helmets donned a similar blue & orange stripe. Here's a look:

Anyway, congrats to the gentlemen in orange and blue on their first victory of the season. Onward to the next 12 wins (because they're going to be in the ACC championship and national championship games for sure)! That was being facetious, just in case you didn't already know.

Also if you're interested in sports "packaging" and design, as in the study of uniforms (color/font/design choices and more) I enthusiastically recommend Paul Lukas's Uni Watch on espn.com. I've been reading it off and on for quite a while, but if you're interested in "the aesthetics of athletics" with a dose of sarcasm, Lukas is your man.

OK, back to the games. Más later.

Best Class Ever?

2008-09-03T03:00:00.001-04:00

(No, really!)

So today was my first day of my "sports journalism" class. Assignments include normal activities, like blogging about sports, watching high school football games, and video conferencing with sports celebrities.

Whaaat?

Yeah, so among other "famous" people we'll get to talk to in class, we'll be doing video conferences with both Scott Van Pelt (as in the SportsCenter anchor) and Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated back page columnist-turned ESPN.com writer). Um, yeah, craziness! The professor is even talking about us heading down to interview several of the UT Olympic swimmers. You know, the Brenden Hansens, Garrett Weber-Gales, and Aar on Peirsols of the world. What?!

Well apparently rule #1 (actually #2 if I want to quote correctly from the professor's journalism tips handout from today) is that as writers we're to treat famous people like normal people and normal people like famous people. Clearly I have a long way to go.

In my head I giggled at all the new UT female students going gaga that Matthew McConaughey was at the football game this past weekend. Little did I know I'd fall prey to that same type of "OMG celebrity!!" ludicrousness a few days later. Sigh. Pathetic.

In other (though actually related) news I finally remembered to bring my camera out this past weekend and was able to snag a picture of what I wanted to photograph for the past few weeks. This is the sign just outside Kerbey Lane Cafe on Guadalupe Street. Ian C = Ian Crocker, yet another UT/US Olympic swimmer. Note to self: obsess much? The Olympics ended weeks ago!

Mulligan, por favor

2008-09-01T11:05:00.001-04:00

So last weekend wasn't the best for college football teams I was rooting for.

The only game that I was bursting at the seams to see was USC's visit to UVA. Unfortunately it conflicted with a tailgate I was attending (the best tailgate I've been to in my Austin stint thus far, mind you), pre-Texas vs. Florida Atlantic.

So unsurprising to all, Texas rolled over Florida Atlantic with a 52-10 score. I can't admit any sadness over this outcome. However the state of Virginia, my beloved Commonwealth, ended far from unscathed.

Despite being a Wahoo fan, I find myself rooting for Virginia Tech in various instances. I know this is a majorly frowned upon fan faux pas. I rationalize it in a variety of ways: "when VT is good, it's good for the state," the victory over VT (the .06% of the time it happens) is so much sweeter when both squads enter the contest undefeated (a rare situation, of course), and probably the worst of justifications: "but my brother goes there!"

Anyway, VT fan or not, the Hokies game against the East Carolina Pirates was disappointing. ECU is certainly far from a bad team, but unfortunately for Hokies fans, the general public probably now thinks their beloved squad is terrible this year, or that they lost to a bad team, both of which are far from the truth. Anyway, I watched this game in its entirety before the tailgate, and well, the Hokies looked sloppy. And the team had a penchant for sloppy play during the most inconvenient of times. An interception thrown in the red zone on the opening drive. Unsuccessfully trying to ram the RB Evans into the endzone on a 4th and goal play after his being halted at the line the two previous plays. Another red zone turnover, this time on downs (and on the very next offensive drive). With the final score of 27-22 in the Pirates' favor, you realize that if VT was able to get two field goals on the first two drives instead of two turnovers in the red zone, the game would have had a different winner. But there were many other mistakes, as well as a few instances of brilliance.

Macho Harris' injury certainly had an impact on the team, and they missed his leadership and spark on the field. Always known for Beamer Ball, with its intensity and acumen on special teams, there were some exciting plays, like when VT blocked a Pirate extra point, which resulted in a 2-pt conversion. However, these points were more than nullified with a variety of special teams miscues: by missing their own extra point, a moderate-length field goal attempt that smacked into an upright, and a VT punt that blocked and returned for an ECU touchdown in the game's waning minutes. The team certainly had their opportunities, but never was able to fully capitalize on them.

While I care an awful lot more about UVA's loss to USC, I wasn't able to see the game due to the scheduling conflict with the tailgate. As it turns out, 3 hours of deliciousness and fun probably was a better decision than 3 hours of heartache and disappointment. After viewing part of the NC State-South Carolina game on Thursday night, I had one mission for the Hoos: whatever you do, just please score! Though I didn't see the enough of the game to make a convincing point about this, there isn't a doubt in my mind that the Hoos were missing the leadership and impact of their now-NFL hero, Chris Long. When you lose 52-7, it's obvious that the team is lacking both offense and defense. And I'm pretty confident when I say that if Long was still a Cavalier, the Trojans would have scored less than 52. That's not to say I think "we'd" beat USC, but I think it would have been a lot more competitive. Well the good news is that USC is #3 in the country, so the scant few really expected the game to have a different outcome. Yeah, I'm not sure how mollifying that statement that really is.

Anyway, the state of Virginia will be looking for some sort of redemption next week. The Hokies will face Furman and the Hoos will host the just-down-I64 Richmond Spiders. Uni Watch promises that UVA will be wearing some sort of interesting throwback jerseys for the battle. UT plays away next week, so I'll be doing my darndest to find a way to watch the action, without conflict. The good news, I suppose, is that both teams are on an even playing field now, with a blank slate more or less. If both are 0-1, that means the Hokies can't already be bragging about their superior record. Either way, I was happy to see that UVA is getting credit in the press for their difficult schedule this season. Even with the caveat of it being an "inexact science" I liked that someone else acknowledged those playing tough schedules this year (the article gave UVA the #10 nod, with the Georgia Bulldogs topping the list).

By the way, college football season really makes me miss the East Coast. You're probably thinking, how is that possible? You live in Austin, TEXAS, the heart of all football action. Well you're right, that is true. But why, when I have hundreds of channels on Time Warner, am I only able to get 2 or 3 games on at a time on gameday? On Saturday, my options for early game were VT vs ECU on ESPN (solid choice), Pitt vs Bowling Green (not bad) on ESPN2, and some D2 or 1-AA game of one team I had heard of, and one I hadn't, on one of the ESPN HD channels. Well on the (amazingly awesome) East Coast I was always able to find decent football on non-cable channels as well. ABC always had at least one key SEC matchup (yes, the best conference in college football, more on that in future posts probably) and CBS would broadcast at least one ACC game. It is so difficult to keep up with my old region now that I'm in Texas. It always makes me sad, but I guess I'll just have to keep silently lobbying for more network coverage of those two conferences in other parts of the EEUU. Well see how successful that campaign is.

Wicked excited about college football!

2008-08-29T11:15:00.001-04:00

So "wicked" is one of those words that surfaces in my vernacular about two or three times a year. But yesterday I caught myself saying, aloud, and over phone lines, "I'm wicked excited about college football." I blame a long lost high school friend who moved to my podunk (I say that lovingly!) Virginia town for peppering my vocabulary with these occasional New England-isms.

Anyway, if I say wicked, I actually mean it... or at least in its slang definition.

Yes, college football is back. Last night several games were on, but I tuned in to the NC State-South Carolina game & channel flipped with DNC excitement in Denver. "The other USC" knocked in a field goal in the waning seconds of the 2nd quarter in an otherwise scoreless first half. Despite hanging with the Gamecocks early, the Wolfpack got pummeled in the second half. Spurrier's South Carolina posted 34 to NC State's blank score.

Anyway, the thing I took away most from the game was the halftime show (I'll admit, I did a lot more watching of Obama's speech last night, which by the way was fantastic). I was shocked and dismayed to find out that ESPN is now doing a Dr. Lou segment in lieu (oh, I'm so clever...) of Lou's Pep Talk. Lou's pep talks were awesome last year! I figured they had a long future ahead so long as Lou Holtz continued his broadcasting career with the network.

In this new Dr. Lou segment, Lou Holtz (former Notre Dame and South Carolina head coach), pretends to be a psychiatrist that counsels big names around college football. Yesterday, Dr. Lou dispensed advice to Lloyd Carr, former coach of Michigan. Lloyd Carr had an admirable run at Michigan's helm, but will probably will always be remembered for his team's big upset loss against Appalachian State in the home opener last year. He resigned from his post at last season's conclusion. Dr. Lou articulated the keys to a decent life outside of the realm of coaching to Carr: having someone to love, something to look forward to, and something to hope for. Dr. Lou delivered his wisdom in a faux shrink's office and in front of a phony doctor of football philosophy diploma. While I didn't mind this new segment, it certainly lacked the splendor and firepower of his pep talks of old. Maybe the segment's luster will build in the coming weeks.

Nonetheless, R.I.P. Lou's Pep Talks. You'll be missed. Here was one of my favorites from last year that Lou gave for Michigan right after the Appalachian State loss last year. I guess Michigan is a favorite team for Holtz to reach out and embrace:

What is a trapezoidal lane?

2008-08-20T23:08:00.000-04:00

Every four years I'm reminded of several oddities that are associated with Olympic (and international) basketball. The most bizarre to me is the strange, non-rectangular key on the court (or lane, or paint, according to your basketball jargon preferences). Anyway, it looks like this:

According to the NBC Olympics site, this strange lane is called a trapezoidal lane. For whatever reason I've always thought it was strange visually (but then again, I was raised on ACC hoops and Jordan's 1990s glory days), but I missed the explanation for why it exists.

A blog entry I read detailed that it was a way to equalize the height of players on the international stage. Making the lane wider closer to the basket means a tall center will have to move further to avoid a 3-second call, which in theory, gives shorter teams a chance to compete with those brimming with taller players. Its intent is that "big men" can't lurk under the basket for extensive periods. The trapezoidal lane should force them to be more mobile, while giving teams with good perimeter shooting some unknown advantage. Despite these intentions, this obstacle has done little to avoid the Redeem Team's Olympic-long dunkfest. Apparently we won't be seeing the trapezoidal lane for much longer, and international hoops will be moving in favor of the NBA (aka non-eye sore) styled rectangular lane starting in 2010.

I still think international hoops have this different lane for the sake of being different, and apparently, so does that blog's author. I extend my kudos and agreement.

Like a moth to the flame, I am to the Games of Torch

2008-08-13T03:16:00.000-04:00

So as usual my pre-planned night of paper-writing became write 3/4 of a page, watch 2 hours of Olympics, write another 3/4 of a page, more Olympics. Even the threat of 70% of my grade in a class relying on my usefulness this week isn't enough to beckon me away from the excitement.

Today Michael Phelps collected golds 4 & 5, as well as WRs (world records) 4 & 5 of the Games. What does a WR even mean these days if every single swim race seems to produce one (or multiple in many instances)? Well, I'll share some theories, but it will have to be another day.

How heartbreaking was it to see Alicia Sacramone's meltdown after falling off the beam in the team competition today? I could barely watch. China certainly gave the US plenty of opportunity to snag the gold, but they never fully capitalized on the host country's mistakes.

I guess the US getting the silver just makes that 1996 "Magnificent Seven" team win in Atlanta all the more special. Besides, how much of a team is it if only four competed? (Actually, don't answer that, I know the answer to that question.)

Actually now that I think about it, prime time tonight was just about the most perfect few hours of Olympic watching there could be. All swimming and gymnastics. I'm down for that!

This will probably be my last Olympic update for a few days, or at least the rational side (cell?) of my brain hopes so. Til then, I bid ya adieu.

PS, If they happened for the 2004 Athens games, I don't remember, but I'm loving the nightly Bela Karolyi-Bob Costas chats in NBC Primetime. And by chats I pretty much just mean listening to Karolyi. That guy is so enthusiastic and hilarious, it definitely keeps me watching! If you're wondering why you've heard his name, you probably remember him from this:

Cliff Notes version of a Sparks Note version of an Olympic Update

2008-08-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

Despite my darndest efforts not to watch the Olympics this week in order to get through my wildest workload week in a long time, I have failed miserably. Though nowhere close to having seen all that I'd like to see, I still have yet to miss a swimming race. Due to the marvels of DVR I've caught every prelim, semifinal and final heat at the Water Cube. By the way, is this not the coolest building ever?

In case you missed it, just wanted to let you see the highlight of the entire Olympics thus far:

Truth be told, rewatching this race still gives me goosebumps.

While I miss the days when the USA got gold in just about every contest, it never gets old deflating rival smack talk. Before this race, a member of the heavily favored French 4x100 free relay team, Alain Bernard, told reporters, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here [The Olympics] for." As only one could dream, team captain Jason Lezak pulled past the French squad (and the smack-talking anchor Bernard in particular) in the last half meter of the race, in a race where the top five squads blasted through the world record. Awesome!!

And for the suddenly Michael Phelps-obsessed and just-born swimming fans, this gave Phelps a perfect 2 for 2 in gold medals to races thus far. He racked up another gold in his 200 free yesterday as well, with a world record to boot, and now is 3 for 3.

08-08-08

2008-08-08T15:04:00.001-04:00

It's here, it's here! The (Summer) Olympics are here! I've only waited 4 exhausting years for this! (You'd think I was a world-class athlete with that proclamation.)

Too bad it's the most insanely busy week of my life (OK -- that's a little dramatic -- but it is extremely hectic right now). I just hope I don't miss all the action.

Go Team USA! I had a snowcone named after you last week in your honor.

My mini Olympic week consists of an agency-wide intern presentation at work, hour-long presentation for my class, and two papers, one being 18 pages. While much less exciting and exhilarating than platform diving or performing the iron cross on rings, it will be intense in its own "special" way.

I will definitely be squeezing in mini-watching sessions for swimming at the very least, and very likely gymnastics, diving, and track & field as well. Here's to hoping Michael Phelps gets mostly silvers (except relays) & that the other US Olympians take golds in all his individual events.

I'm such a jerk. But how can you not despise him when you see this picture? Ugggh.

If that wasn't bad enough, the free Olympic Preview Sports Illustrated delivered to my house (under someone else's name) had him "gracing" the cover. Fine, fine, he's a big story, again. And he's great for the sport. I get it. But did a full 9 (I got tired of counting after that) pages have to be dedicated to this guy? I guess it's only prep for all the "feel good" producers' storylines that will be raised again and again. But did we really need to know how many Facebook friends he has? The answer is 4,621 if you were wondering.*

Anyway, here's hoping that Team USA destroys the Land Down Under in all swimming relays (just a little friendly competition of course)! Though I'll admit, I'm still pretty sad that we won't see Gary Hall, Jr. in these Games.

In the back of my mind I'm on the semi-lookout for ambush marketing attempts too, but with recent IOC sanctions, I have a feeling I won't be seeing much of that.

OK, back to the insanity.

*This number has probably grown since I wrote this.

Annoying phrases and other meaningless drivel

2008-08-01T00:15:00.000-04:00

It's been a whole week since a rant post, but frankly, it's time...

"Burning the midnight oil, eh?"

That has got to be one of the most annoying phrases ever vocalized. I can just see an old guy you barely know but thinks he knows you well saying it about you reading something at midnight, or pulling an all-nighter to write a paper. Or in reference to your retelling of such an incident.

Why does everyone who says this phrase think they are saying something insightful or funny?

I'm pretty convinced that saying something as "phony" as that, to quote Holden Caulfield, you either have to be 40+ or just a huge jackass.

While we're on this subject, here are some other annoying phrases and questions posed to me regularly (thanks SW, I'm sure you know which one I'm crediting you with):

It is what it is... (Really? You don't say.)
Hey, did you know you're sunburnt? (Um, do you think I'm hard of feeling sunburn?)
Do you know how many calories are in that? (I'm eating chicken fried steak, and yeah I'm aware of the consequences you bumbling idiot. Isn't it evident that I don't care?)
You knew what you were getting yourself into. (Yeah true, but how is this "incisive" comment helpful?)
Fair enough. (What does that even mean?)

That's all for now because I actually do have to go B the m-n O now. Translation: stay up really late to perform an arduous reading task I should have hours/days ago. Gross.

Fake Indie

2008-07-24T18:44:00.001-04:00

Look around you, the world is full of posers. People who wish they were someone else. Someone cooler. Sometimes they talk the talk, or even walk the walk, but somewhere in between or before, they frequently wear the uniform.

One of the most common hats people try on is the one of fake indie. I don't know that there is one true uniform, but real and fake indies are tough to differentiate on dress alone. One of the many choices they may opt for include "checkerboard" Vans shoes, ripped jeans, and more or less obscure bands' t-shirts.

I actually like this look and have chosen to rock interesting shoes of my own from time to time when I bother to wear something other than flip-flops. I personally don't understand why so many chose to wear this particular eyesore (sorry friends who own this model) when there are so many other pretty Vans variations, including some pretty cute argyle ones. Anyway, I digress.

What I'm wondering is, why does everyone chose this particular Ramones t-shirt as their way to assert their deviation from the mainstream?

It can't be that indie if I've seen it shown so much on mainstream media. I've seen this shirt worn by quasi-hipster, in the music "know" characters Peyton Sawyer (on One Tree Hill) and Brendan Dorff (from My Boys). (Yes, I admitted some pretty embarrassing TV-watching in the previous statement.) I also see people wear this shirt around quite a bit. Maybe it's because I live in Austin... who knows. It's a cool shirt, but it surprises me how many people own it. Is it comparable to the Hard Rock Cafe shirts of the '90s? Well, not quite, but it's still interesting to observe its ubiquitousness. I can't help but wonder if the people I see wearing this shirt are the people I saw milling around ACL and raving about the amazingness of The Killers.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyway I guess my point is wear what you want because it's you. If indie is what you are, be just that... be independent. Aren't there some unsaid tenets about being indie regarding not selling out and embracing differences? Be yourself. Of course you can and should adopt influences you see and incorporate them into your own wardrobe. But make it you. Oh wait, I'm the last person anyone should be taking fashion advice from.

So this isn't a complete loss I'll impart some actual fashion sense: dress to accentuate whatever attributes you like about yourself.

The writer of this post admits to enjoying so-called indie music but rarely remembers the names of the artists and even less often, the words to the songs. Her favorite music groups are "ones that peaked in 1994" and "once-indie bands that sold out." She even pays for her music on iTunes. How patently uncool.

(Relative) Illustrator Competence

2008-07-24T18:25:00.000-04:00

Another license in blogging is shameless self-promotion. I haven't exploited this ritual yet, that I know of, but I'm going to toot my own horn a little: I'm not completely inept at Illustrator anymore! I am very, very slow and inexperienced still, but I can now at least "make stuff" and by "make stuff" I mean objects that are recognizable to others. Woohoo! Here is my first endeavor:
Too bad you can't see the crisp, "vectorness" of this since I don't know what file format to save it in so that it could also be uploaded to this website. (Any feedback on this will be gladly accepted.) Oh well, I made my first baby step in the graphic design world!

Musings from a Cold Shower-Taker

2008-07-20T12:41:00.000-04:00

Part of writing a blog is the seemingly inherent title to whine and complain. Often it's what I've done best, but with my recent and blooming love affair with the city of Austin, I've sorta been oblivious to one of my daily nuisances.

I absolutely love the neighborhood I live in. I live in North Campus, just south of even better Hyde Park. I love being walking distance from so many places... the Drag, UT, Hyde Park of course, and several bars and restaurants I like. I don't like that there is a lot of graffiti around, everywhere, including my apartment's washer & dryer room (!), but the free parking and amazing location more than quell that annoyance.

I do, however, pay sooooo little compared to the rest of my neighborhood, and often even less than my friends who commute great distances to get to the city's downtown or UT. The thing that has annoyed me most has not been the graffiti however, but the lack of hot water in my apartment.

I had always been able to get at least 3 minutes of hot water for my shower on a bad day, 5-8 minutes on an average day, and 8+ minutes if I showered sometime during the magic 4:00 pm hour. Don't ask me why this is the case; I have no idea.

However, as of Friday, they started working on our natural gas. I stressed started as it is now Sunday, and the work hasn't been finished yet. They kept interrupting when a friend was over and we were trying to watch TV, and later, when I tried to take a nap (however I ignored their knocking and slept anyway, and my roommate dealt with it). They took apart our oven, so now I can't cook, and the shower now produces no heat whatsoever. It has been a total nightmare.

I am assuming that the 100% lack of heat in the shower is somehow related to the "fixing the gas." This being the case, I now have to work up my guts for a full 15 minutes in order to brave my very shortened, 5-8 minute, polar bear plunge shower. Yes, we are now down to 0 minutes of warmth in the shower. The worst has been the hairwashing. At least when you wash everything else you can mostly get out of the way of the frosty downpour, but washing your hair commits you fully to the freezing shower concept, and your whole body will face borderline hypothermia once you've made this decision.

I have had to face this struggle for 3 straight days and my bitterness shows no sign of subsiding. My roommate says that they're coming in either Monday or Tuesday to fix the gas and I pray, pray, pray that that alleviates our shower dilemmas once and for all.

In the meantime, it's time to head out and remember what it's like to be warm again... and then immediately regret that desire 5 minutes later in the 95-105 degree Texas heat.

Austin Outburst Addendum

2008-07-07T01:07:00.000-04:00

Sporadic Austin thoughts/updates:

Finally got a chance to check out Barton Springs this past weekend. Very cool, will definitely be going back. (Note to Gregory Gym Pool: don't worry, I still love you too!)
The aforementioned snowcone shack I love on South Lamar is called Molly's Original Sno-Cups. You can't miss the gleaming silver trailer in the P. Terry's parking lot. While there this weekend for a post-Barton treat we stumbled upon P. Terry's 3rd anniversary party and got free t's and yummy burgers to accompany our 'cones.
Tried breakfast tacos at Torchy's... indeed they're better than Taco Shack.
I need to save up more of my pennies so that I can actually buy stuff at the stores on South Congress and Hey Cupcake!, speaking of silver trailers full of sweet treats.

I leave you with a picture of the taste oasis I'll be partaking in the rest of the summer. More reason for more Barton Springs and Peter Pan trips! I recommend the somewhat juvenile combination of cotton candy, bubble gum & blue raspberry.

Picture source: 100 Percent Cottam blog

Did you get a chance to see Wimbledon?

2008-07-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

Because if you didn't, you surely missed out!

The men's final pitted #1 Roger Federer and #2 Rafael Nadal in an epic match that won't be forgotten in ages. A match lasting over four and a half hours and three rain delays finally concluded with a victor -- but not without five sets and three of them needing tie-breaks. After losing the first two sets, Federer pulled himself back to take sets 3 and 4 in tie-breaks. With a wild 2-2 fifth set under way, another rain delay postponed the excitement, but only made the intensity more nerve-wracking. Would Federer win his sixth straight Wimbledon? Or would Nadal finally win a Grand Slam not on clay (anything other than the French)?

Long story short, Nadal won the match, but not without a fifth set going to yet another tie-break.

Did the victory denote a changing of the guard? Have we seen the end of Federer's reign over the tennis world? Is Nadal the new king, or will the two continue to endure legendary contests? As long as there is the promise of mesmerizing competitions like this one, the tennis world has a lot to look forward to.

Silly Quiz

2008-07-03T00:54:00.001-04:00

When I met my boyfriend a little over a year ago one of the first things he ever told me was that I was "totally perfect for Austin." It could have been my weird personality, or my interest in music, and love of Tex-Mex or the outdoors, but I'm not sure exactly what sparked him to say that. Though I had only been to Austin briefly once, my limited experience led me to believe that he was precisely right.

Anyway, I took a "What US city are you?" quiz yesterday, and wouldn't you know, these were my results:

You are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.

You're totally weird and very proud of it.

Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way.

Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

Shoulda taken the darn thing ages ago, yes?

Austin Lovin'

2008-07-01T00:46:00.000-04:00

I'm head over heels... for Austin freakin', Texas!

I have lived here almost a year and I can't get over how much I LOVE this place! The weather, the food, the sports, the music, my school, my job, and again, my God, the foooooood. I have eaten Tex-Mex approximately 289 times since I moved here, and this is very likely not an exaggeration.

A short list of what I love about this town:

Red River -- my favorite street in Austin. Home to lots of fun music venues like Stubb's and Emo's. And delicious food like Moonshine, Austin's best brunch, and Ironworks, probably the best BBQ in town.
UT football games -- the roaring crowds, the occasional Matthew McConaughey sighting, a real band, sweating to death and screaming at the 'Horns... What could be a better way to spend a Saturday?
Austin City Limits -- you already know this
Zilker Park Botanical Garden
Peter Pan -- BYOB mini golf
road trips to close-by towns to sample Texas-style BBQ (beef brisket, etc.)
that awesome snowcone place beside P. Terry's on Lamar, just north of intersection with Barton Springs
UT's on-campus oasis, the Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex, for outdoor lap swimming when motivated, and lazy poolside relaxation
kayaking on Town Lake
movies at Alamo Drafthouse
funky and fun coffeehouses like Spiderhouse, JP's Java, and Mozart's

And well I wouldn't even scratch the surface without a full list of my favorite Tex-Mex places thus far, I must stress. I'm always looking to add more to the repertoire:

Chuy's -- great queso, delicious food
Hula Hut... sister restaurant of Chuy's but with a patio overlooking Lake Austin. They mix Polynesian and Tex-Mex flavors. I'm partial to their BBQ chicken tacos.
Guero's Taco Bar -- yummy South Congress place where you can eat chips and salsa and watch bands play while you wait for your table
Torchy's Tacos -- might be my new favorite. Fresh and exciting ingredient combinations... I recommend the Brushfire taco, filled to the brim with Jamaican Jerk chicken, mango, sour cream and a spicy "Diablo" sauce.
Freebirds -- the Texas chain beats Chipotle at its own burrito game. And the chicken is always wholly cooked! (Though kudos to Chipotle for having intoxicatingly delicious guacamole over and over again.)
Taco Shack -- my weekend go-to breakfast taco staple... simple, no fuss
Trudy's -- this college town favorite has legendarily strong Mexican Martinis and limits you to two per outing
The Oasis -- panoramic views of Lake Travis and the self-claimed "Sunset Capital of Texas"
Iguana Grill -- the lesser known Lake Travis treasure that I'd have to say beats The Oasis on the Tex-Mex food and live music, and certainly rivals its sunset allure

I know there are quite a few obvious "can't miss" places I didn't mention in Austin, but there are lots more places I need to see! Still haven't gone to Barton Springs or Greenbelt, but I'll be working on making it to both places in the coming weeks.

Happy 4th of July! Go out and enjoy the best of wherever you live has to offer!

I can't wait for 8-8-08!

2008-06-19T13:59:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the summer sports doldrums. The NBA finals -- which I actually watched this year -- are now over and it is months away from football season. How is a gal to amuse herself?

One could make the argument that baseball is in full swing, and of course, it is. However, the Braves aren't doing anything exciting right now, other than Chipper making a run at a .400 season average, which would be the first player to do so since Ted Williams way back in 1941. He is exactly at .400 right now, after suffering a short slump in the last week or so. A yearly tradition, I wait with bated breath in hopes that he doesn't have yet another season-ruining injury, which has happened the last umpteen seasons. John Smoltz, another one of my "vintage" Braves favorites, is already out for the season and has been for several weeks. The Braves have a phenomenal home record but can't seem to buy a victory on the road... yet somehow they are in the hunt. They are currently 5 1/2 games back and tied for third in the NL East.

All these somewhat interesting storylines aside, it's the down-and-dirty middle of the season where players are worn out, many of them slumping, and it's way too early to make any meaningful post-season projections. Stanley Cup ended, as did the NBA Finals. College football and NFL are months away.

In the relative abyss though, there is something I can't wait for: the Summer Olympics! Thank goodness this year is an Olympic year, because the barren sportscape for the summer is too much of a depressing thought to take. (Though I guess there's Eurocup soccer, which I've been watching a decent amount of at work. I swear it's on for everyone, not just me!)

As most of America knows, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics start on 8-8-08, thanks to NBC's recent advertising blitz. And to use a hackneyed old adage, the world will be watching. The unabashed evidence of corporate sponsorship during commercials for the month of August, the political implications, and oh yeah, some of the best displays of athletic prowess we'll see in years to come... all boiling in a cauldron of the "only-once-every-four-years" excitement, how can anyone deny it?

While all these storylines are indeed interesting to me, I am (obviously) most exuberant about the sports. I live to watch the swimming events all day, and love to cheer on the Red, White and Blue as they destroy (or attempt to) the Land Down Under in relays. I marvel at the incredible maneuvers athletes are able to accomplish in both gymnastics and diving. And what sort of uncivilized person doesn't enjoy watching track and field? And then there's volleyball, water polo, soccer, basketball, and other countless entertaining team sports. And while I may not understand synchronized swimming, I must admit, it's baffling how much people can accomplish while holding their collective breaths underwater. And other than the wedgie-picking, I love beach volleyball too.

So needless to say, August 8th can't come soon enough. Another stellar Olympics is coming, and I can't hide my enthusiasm! Here's to hoping the next month and a half zoom by so we can get 'em started!

Blahston.

2008-06-18T02:01:00.000-04:00

So the poor, poor deprived Boston fans got themselves another championship. Celtics beat the Lakers in game 6 of the NBA Finals. Yawn. Since I am neither a celebrity nor a Lakers fan, I found myself somehow pulling for Boston in a league in which I'm incredibly indifferent.

I did however learn today that LSU's "Big Baby" Glen Davis is on the Celtics today. Who knew? I told my roommate this today and it's so true... when a college player goes into the NBA, for me he pretty much fades into obscurity. Kinda strange considering that very same event signals his entering the consciousness of most of the rest of the population.

At least there is one statistic the non-bandwagon and non-New England part of the population can find solace in: 18-1. I will be laughing about that one for quite a while. Here's a picture reminder for good measure.

That picture is a beaut!

The Advertising Ivy League

2008-06-16T21:43:00.000-04:00

So today I was internet-ing and I stumbled upon (though not by using StumbleUpon) a list of advertising agencies that allegedly compose an unspoken Ivy League. I've thought about the concept a few times and was curious if anyone had ever ventured to publish a list, and somewhat serendipitously found this today.

According to the daily (ad) biz, these are today's Ivy League advertising institutions (as of May 2008):

And of course Honorable Mentions... aka "Bubble Teams":

While I don't pretend to know any more than the next ad enthusiast, I'd be surprised to see CP+B, Goodby, and W+K not on the list. TBWA is a far from shocking inclusion as well. I was happy of course to see Virginia is for Lovers' (of old) (The) Martin Agency on the honorable mention short list though.

In an industry so volatile, you can never be certain how long any agency can maintain Ivy League status. This list (though a blogger's opinion) could well be obsolete in a matter of months. Either way, it was enjoyable to see a blogger venture to rank the advertising world's titans for the rest of us to contemplate.

Honk for the Pens

2008-06-07T17:49:00.000-04:00

So during my two weeks on the East Coast I got some time to travel to some of my favorite places: New York, Pittsburgh (for my brother's graduation and to see relatives), Richmond, and even a quick jaunt over to soak some rays in Virginia Beach. I did lots of flying, and even had a quick mini train trip up to DC. Lots of places in not a lot of time.

My dad picked me up from the airport in Pittsburgh and chauffeured me to my grandparents' house where I spent a few days relaxing with relatives. The hockey playoffs (though not Stanley Cup) playoffs were in full swing, and as usual the city was bleeding black and gold, though for once, not always for the Steelers.

We drove on (PA) Route 51 to my grandparents' house and my dad and I suddenly noticed that lots of people decided to start honking their car horns for no apparent reason. Then all of a sudden I saw what was stirring the commotion:

Yes, on the side of busy Route 51 was a large Stanley Cup erected from aluminum foil ("tin foil" to use proper Pittsburghese). The chintzy yet endearing masterpiece was accompanied by a "Honk for the Pens" sign. Based on my limited sampling, the message was greeted with substantial success and lots of honking.

I tried my darndest to get my camera out of my bag and snap a picture before we sped by, but of course I failed. I vowed to myself that I would try to find a picture later, but since neither my grandparents nor parents have non-dial-up internet, I figured the story most likely would end there.

However, this morning I remembered the silly and amusing roadside spectacle and ran a search in Google for it. Sure enough someone had blogged about it already! Fantastic. They also were able to get a picture (albeit blurry), so I was exceedingly pleased.

Anyway, I'm sure Librari[d]an will never read my blog, but if for some reason he ever does, I just want to let you know that this find made my day. Go Pens (and my utmost affection for the city of Pittsburgh for its boundless enthusiasm and fandom)!

June is for Hockey, of course

2008-06-06T00:06:00.000-04:00

So other than a very brief stint in elementary school, I've never really watched much NHL. I remember one Christmas when I was younger I got a Pittsburgh Penguins jacket and was pretty psyched, but growing up in the Richmond area, there just weren't rinks around for hockey, let alone ice skating. We eventually did get a rink, in late high school, but by that point I had already picked up just about every other sport and had been playing for years. Other than the semester I briefly considered taking it for a PE credit (and instead opted for skiing), the sport rarely entered my radar.

Anyway, my brother just graduated from college in Pittsburgh and I got to spend a few weeks on the East Coast during this past month, and during much of it I had some quality time to hang out with him. Well apparently in his last year he's become quite a fan of the hometown Penguins. It was fun talking to him about it, and his sudden enthusiasm certainly piqued my interest. We caught a few moments of an early playoff game at a bar right before his graduation dinner (in Pittsburgh) and I caught several more of the Stanley Cup games this week.

Anyway, like any good kid who has over 30 (40? 50?) relatives in the Pittsburgh area, I have (re-)decided my team was the Penguins. I caught several of the games this past week including an unbelievably exciting triple-overtime Stanley Cup game 5. The last 3 minutes of game 6 weren't a slouch either. After an electrifying win in game 5, the Pens fell in the waning tenths-of-a-second in game 6, to the Detroit Red Wings. It was a hard fought series, and hopefully NBC's decision to air several of the final games will result in the sport gaining more fans. I know this is one of them. I look forward to the return of Crosby, Malkin, and the boys, and their taking of the Cup next year (bandwagon much?).

Pittsburgh's game winning goal for 4-3 victory in triple overtime of Stanley Cup game 5.

Other headlines: Celtics vs Lakers in the NBA Finals. I can't bear to listen to any further ESPN analyses rehashing past Celts/Lakers matchups from the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird era. I can almost guarantee that in the coming years the current (2008) Finals will be of no comparison to the nostalgia of the old contests.

Picture Source: NY Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/2008/06/02/2008-06-02_penguins_tie_red_wings_late_in_regulatio.html

Sunshine and Tabula Rasa

2008-05-27T16:26:00.001-04:00

Long time no post. Due to my laziness I think I'll just make lists of tasks I hope to accomplish this summer... and other miscellaneous thoughts.

Goals for this summer:
1. Get advertising internship (check)
2. Take two summer school classes (signed up, much more to do)
3. Learn Illustrator
4. Learn InDesign
5. Learn AP writing style
6. Read more books... and finish them!
7. Write!
8. Less internet, more sleep.
9. Work on ads on my own

Miscellaneous:
1. Road trip to Houston for an Astros game at Minute Maid Park, preferably when the Braves are in town
2. Quality time at Barton Springs
3. Explore more of Austin/Hill Country
4. More BBQ-inspired road trips
5. Swim more, run more, maybe even bike or learn to row?
6. Get tan, relax in the sun
7. East Coast vacay in August: Outer Banks, Virginia Beach, Key West (keep dreaming)... somewhere beachy

Places where I'd like to go, but probably lack the time (these are "nearby" as in within Texas):
1. Big Bend National Park
2. South Padre Island

Restaurants I'd like to try:
1. Roy's (Hawaiian fusion)
2. Casino el Camino (gigantic burgers)
3. Juan in a Million (breakfast tacos)
4. Z Tejas (upscale Mexican)

He definitely has that sun-kissed, next Dan Marino look.

2008-05-03T03:22:00.000-04:00

When you see this face what do you think?

This guy is a total dork.
Is he a scientist? An aerospace engineer?
Man, I bet that guy got beat up a lot as a kid.

Well, believe it or not non-sports fans, but this guy is a football correspondent for ESPN. And no, his talents aren't relegated to writing and behind-the-scenes pursuits. This guy is a regular sportscaster on a number of ESPN programs.

The guy, John Clayton, is actually pretty knowledgeable, and not in that spouting off statistics kind of way. He's qualified. He's well-spoken. I will never know how he broke into the business though, because it's hard to believe an overly nerdy face like this has found a successful career in broadcasting, let alone the television sportscape (is that a word?) which is dominated by ex-players and well groomed guys, who for the most part, look and sound like jocks.

Everyone at some time or another has heard that if you must beautiful and can't have a discernable accent if you want to break in, and furthermore, stay in, broadcasting. Honestly, how many ugly people do you see delivering you your local news? It's not that Clayton's voice soothes the listener either, like a Morgan Freeman or Dennis Haysbert (of 24 and Allstate commercials fame). This guy has somehow slipped through America's harsh judgmental cracks and made a broadcasting career for himself based on merit, not beauty.

This is not to say that Clayton is ugly, as he certainly isn't. He is however, not handsome, and yes, he is outrageously geeky-looking. He looks like the last person you'd expect to know anything about football, and seeing him on TV analyzing the NFL Draft and other such news causes a huge disconnect between my expectations and what I actually see on TV.

Though Clayton has worked in this capacity for ESPN for several years, I still can't get myself to get past his appearance. Perhaps this makes me shallow, but in a glamor-obsessed media landscape (yes, that is a word!) John Clayton is the ultimate enigma. Despite his qualifications however, I will always look at him and think, "What does this guy know about football?", "He would get massacred if he ever stepped on a field and played a down!", and "Why isn't this guy using his intellect to make a killing in the stock market or conducting neurological tests in some obscure wing of a psychiatric hospital?"

Or then again, maybe he is for all that we know, and leading a clandestine double life.

Picture Source: Tan13506's Xanga Site
http://www.xanga.com/tan13506/478323381/item.html

Remember the Slowskys?

2008-04-23T15:14:00.000-04:00

The other day I was talking to a friend about using animals to make funny ads, and I mentioned how much I loved "The Slowskys" campaign for Comcast from a few years ago. I was shocked to find out that she hadn't seen the commercials, and I figured that this was preposterous and necessitated an immediate remedy.

For those also unfamiliar, the commercials featured Bill and Karolyn, a married turtle couple, more fondly known as The Slowskys. The turtles liked things just so, at their own, slow pace. They found the high-speed of Comcast internet overwhelming and instead opted for a more comfortable alternative for them, in the form of slower DSL service.

My favorite thing about the commercials were the subtleties. One of my favorite lines was when Karolyn piped up that they "felt rushed" by Comcast's high speed. Another commercial has a strategically placed coffee mug that says "Decaf for life." These fine details really add up to the atmosphere and overall humor of the spots.

Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy:

A good introduction to the Slowsky family...

"I didn't know you could read!"
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."
(Great banter between Bill and Karolyn)...

Love Karolyn's sass when she quips about Bill's middle name:

All these and more are the great work of Goodby Silverstein & Partners out west in SF.

IHOP Update

2008-04-19T18:34:00.000-04:00

So today I made it to the local IHOP and tried half of the Horton Hears a Who promotional menu. I tried both the Beezlenut Splash beverage and Who-Cakes. The Beezlenut Splash arrived first and was about what I expected; it tasted like Sprite with slurpable Jello chunks inside.

Upon delivery, the waiter mentioned that he had never seen an adult try either item. I must say the lack of adventurousness in the Austin IHOP-eating community is pretty disappointing. Despite this warning, I was not to be deterred on my mission. He frequently checked up on us to see that things were going OK and to see what I thought of my drink (and of course later, the Who-Cakes).

Then the Who-Cakes arrived. They were a complete sugar overload, and it made me glad that at the last second I decided to add a starchy side of hashbrowns to my order. I was warned multiple times, but of course, I had to try for myself. I'd have to say they are a lot prettier than they are tasty.

The combination of syrups was a bit much, but inside the pancakes in the stacks hadn't absorbed nearly the same amount of syrup, which made them taste a lot better. I would have to say that the least appetizing part of the Who-Cakes were the multi-colored chocolate pieces sprinkled on top. Once I made this realization and scraped them to the side, my meal was a lot more enjoyable. I felt sorta bad about this though because the waiter made sure that they gave me extra chocolate on top in order to make it prettier:

As lame as I could possibly be, I didn't end up finishing the Who-Cakes. I ate about 2/3 of them though, which was easier after discovering the food's improvement upon removing the chocolate. It was nice to enjoy the lollipop at the end too. I did order a refill on the Beezlenut Splash though.

If you want to try the Horton menu, you better hurry! The promotion ends tomorrow, April 20th!

Q: What do Dodgeball and Planters have in common?

2008-04-14T01:36:00.000-04:00

A: One terrifying, icky, unibrowed female.

Left: "Fran" of the Purple Cobras in Dodgeball
Right: The new "starlet" in Planters Peanuts commercials

Four years late on the craze, last night I finally watched that movie Dodgeball. Though the movie was about as entertaining as I anticipated, the plot wasn't much like I expected. I just figured Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller were professional dodgeballers in some sort of dodgeball league. I had no idea that the premise was Vaughn's character playing dodgeball in order to use the prize money in order to save his bankrupting gym. (Which now that I think about it, isn't this the same as Happy Gilmore, where Adam Sandler's character takes up golf in order to win enough money to save his grandma's house from foreclosure?)

Regardless, Vaughn plays dodgeball for a team called Average Joe's (also the name of his gym) and Ben Stiller heads the rival gym's team, the Purple Cobras. The Purple Cobras are saturated with testosterone-injected males and one exceedingly frightening and masculine-looking female named Fran.

I couldn't help but notice that this scary woman looked surprisingly familiar. Finally I figured out the resemblance. She looks just like the gross creature that is presented on the new Planters Peanuts commercials. Originally aired during the Super Bowl, this commercial also utilizes a gross, irksome unibrowed woman.

If you want to throw up in your mouth a little, check the Planters girl out here:

Decent commercial, but EWWW.

So question of the hour... was the Planters commercial inspired by Dodgeball or is it merely a revolting coincidence?

UPS Whiteboard - What happened to you?

2008-04-11T17:43:00.000-04:00

I was a huge fan of the UPS Whiteboard commercials when they came on the scene. They showed an "actor" (actually a Creative Director at The Martin Agency in Richmond) drawing fascinating little doodles on a dry-erase board that could somehow be partially erased or slightly manipulated in order to explain a B2B shipping task, like routing or freight.

These ads were so simple and yet so attention-grabbing. Maybe it was the quirky, long-haired artist, or the irony of using a song by The Postal Service to sell UPS shipping, but I found these ads catchy and couldn't watch them enough. Here's an example:

Unfortunately, at some point during March Madness, I saw that these Whiteboard commercials had adopted a new look. Before, all of the UPS capabilities were demonstrated in 2-D on a dry-erase board. Now, these ads use some sort of animated component in order to demonstrate the same messages as the older commercials, but in a slightly more complicated way. I'm curious to find what others think of about the renovated strategy. Here's one of the newer ads:

I wasn't even sick of the old ads yet, but I feel like The Martin Agency should have opted to execute more of the traditional-style ads but with different graphics and "lessons." If it were my decision, I would have opted for a new soundtrack... perhaps a different tune by The Postal Service, or even a new band all together that shares a similarly interesting yet soothing electronic quality.

Maybe UPS advocated for the new approach as opposed to vice versa. Either way, whenever I see one of the new commercials I am saddened that it isn't one of old.

The Best Free Show Everyone Missed

2008-04-06T17:48:00.000-04:00

Last night I had a chance to see The Roots play at the UT campus for 40 Acres Fest. I had my doubts about giving up a night of Final Four action, but free live music five blocks from my apartment will certainly get my attention.

Despite conflicting with one of America's favorite sporting events, thousands showed up to see the show. The spectators were treated to The Roots' own brand of experimental hip hop. They played a great set and even integrated beats from "This is Why I'm Hot," "Sexyback," and "Jungle Boogie." I loved whenever the entire band would dance together in a choreographed routine, but the highlight for me was the endless energy of the tuba player. Despite lugging around this enormous instrument for the duration of the show, he always radiated his enthusiasm in his dancing while he played. The Roots definitely put on a memorable show.

Picture source: http://www.utexas.edu/txunion/

In hoops action, Memphis defeated UCLA by 15 and Kansas beat UNC by 18. It has been a fitting Final Four to end what has easily been my worst bracket-picking job of all time. Like everyone else, I doubted Memphis, and was once again proven wrong. Though after seeing the Tigers manhandle the Longhorns last week, I can't say that the outcome of the Memphis-UCLA game was a huge surprise. As for Kansas, I'm still upset about Davidson losing to them by 2 in the Elite 8. Does this mean Davidson would have beat Carolina by 19 if they made that 3-pointer at the buzzer? Could you imagine, with all the UNC fans cheering so fervently for Davidson in the opening rounds?

I guess this means my personal "Kansas rule" will have to be revoked for March Madness Bracket '09 and beyond. For those of you who don't know, after several years of Kansas choking in the tournament and screwing up my bracket, I decided to institute a "Kansas rule" where I didn't allow the team to proceed beyond the Sweet 16 in making my selections. After two or three years of this working beautifully, the Kansas rule (as well as all of my personal bracket-picking rules this year) has blown up in my face. Which means next year I'll put them in the Final Four, and an unknown team like Bradley will knock them out in the first round again, devastating my bracket and leaving me cursing.

Revised final prediction: Memphis beats Kansas 78-66 in the final. Take that with a grain of salt.

Crazy Candy IHOP Pancakes

2008-04-04T02:37:00.000-04:00

So the other night I went out to dinner at IHOP, where I was greeted by a colorful, eye-catching sign advertising IHOP's new promotional menu to celebrate the Dr. Seuss movie, Horton Hears a Who. These types of signs generally don't get my attention, but I was immediately struck by the fact that IHOP was offering pancakes that looked like candy. Here's a quick view of what I mean:

When I got to my table to scan the menu for strawberry waffles and hashbrowns I came across a laminated insert where I saw these candy-looking pancakes again. They were baffling. Who would order these? What on earth would candy pancakes taste like? I couldn't believe they put a lollipop through the pancakes stack! I was intrigued.

I browsed the menu and found out these so-called "Who-Cakes" are actually are made of astonishingly normal ingredients, despite their appearance. It was just a stack of four pancakes, covered with boysenberry and blueberry syrups and covered with rainbow chocolate chips. Granted the lollipop toothpick was a little bizarre, but who doesn't enjoy a piece of candy or a mint to tie up a meal?

The menu also featured a famous Dr. Seuss favorite, Green Eggs and Ham. If these weren't enough, they also had a special drink concoction you could order in order to wash it all down with: Beezlenut Splash. The Beezlenut Splash was simply lemon-lime soda (I assume Sprite) with red and blue Jello cubes interspersed throughout. Crazy! The drink was only $2 and you could get all-you-can-drink refills.

Needless to say, as a child trapped in a twenty-something's body, I am completely psyched about this whole Horton promotion. I am in the process of recruiting people for an IHOP and movie doubleheader. The movie features Jim Carrey, Steve Carell (of my beloved The Office), Will Arnett (from Arrested Development), and his wife, Amy Poehler (of SNL). Pretty awesome cast, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more excited about the prospect of partaking in these Who-Cakes.

In other news, The Office returns in a mere week! Jim Halpert, how my weeks have longed for your return...

Pictures source: IHOP website, http://www.ihop.com/

Sayonara R-Braves, you will be missed

2008-04-02T20:46:00.000-04:00

While I've known for awhile that they were going, talking to my Dad about the impending departure of the Richmond Braves today made it more real. The Richmond Braves, the Atlanta Braves' AAA affiliate, are packing and moving to suburban Atlanta for the 2009 season. Unable to negotiate the building of a new stadium with Richmond mayor Doug Wilder and the city government, the Braves have elected to take their business elsewhere.

I grew up in the greater Richmond area, and it was always a delight to take in an R-Braves game on a lazy summer night. I loved going to see the next talent, the great players and heroes of tomorrow. You could always get amazing seats too, for very reasonable (under $10) prices.

Over the years I got to see Chipper Jones, Javy Lopez, Ryan Langerhans and more at the beloved Richmond ballpark. They all must have still been kids when they played. I distinctly remember Dad saying back when I was in middle school or so, "There's this kid, 18 or 19 years old, who is tearing up the minor leagues. He's going to be playing in Richmond, but only for a week or two. I want to see him before he makes it to Atlanta." He was talking about Andruw Jones.

Thanks to my Dad's insight, I was one of only a few thousand to ever see Andruw ever suit up in an R-Braves uniform. We caught one of his scant few games in Richmond. He hit one out of the park, and sure enough, only had one more game or two with the R-Braves before getting the call up to Atlanta.

I had some wonderful times in that stadium. It's a shame that the next generation of Richmonders won't have the same memories.

Goodbye Richmond Braves. You will be sorely missed. I just hope I get to see one more game before you embark.

Picture Source: http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=4545

Opening Day at the Nationals New Stadium

2008-03-30T22:43:00.000-04:00

Tonight the Washington Nationals christened their brand new ballpark. Having lived in DC the past two years, witnessing the past two opening days in person, and watching 20-plus games at old RFK, this game certainly piqued my interest. It also didn't hurt that the Nationals opened up against my beloved Atlanta Braves.

Based on all I could see radiating from my TV set, the new stadium is an amazing upgrade from the personality-lacking RFK. Food venues looked decent, the field didn't show the evidence of splitting duties with a soccer team, and on the whole the stadium looked like a great place to enjoy a night or afternoon of baseball (perhaps this was aided by a 40,000+ crowd on hand). I can't wait to catch a game there the next time I'm in the area.

I've yet to see a quality photo of the finished stadium as yet, but this might give you a good idea:

Picture source: The Ballparks of Baseball website
www.ballparksofbaseball.com/future/wash751.jpg

Now that looks like a real ballpark. Eerily similar to the Braves' own Turner Field... Apparently the Nats' new home offers views of the Capitol and National Monument as well.

Sadly, the Braves lost 3-2... I didn't have the chance to see much of the game, but I did see the Braves come from behind in the top of the 9th to tie it up 2-2 on a passed ball, but this excitement was brief. In the bottom of the inning Ryan Zimmerman hit a walk-off homer to make the inaugural day memorable for Nats fans. At least Zimmerman is a UVA baseball alum, so that lessens the pain.

Overall it's been an abysmal day for teams I like... Texas lost by almost 20, and won't be joining the Final 4. Also, Davidson lost by 2 to Kansas, ending the awe of the nation. We will now be "treated" to a Final Four with four #1s, which has never before happened. I don't know what angers me more, how dull and uninteresting that makes next weekend or that millions of basketball idiots across the country who make picks solely on the basis of seed are slaughtering me.

For the record, I picked two of them, UNC and UCLA. My final is UNC over UCLA.

The Yellow C in UCLA

2008-03-29T19:30:00.000-04:00

What's up with the yellow C in UCLA on the Bruins basketball jerseys? I've been wondering this for weeks but I finally found out. It's not to emphasize California in the school name or to demonstrate that California is the Golden State in visual form... Actually, the C is the roman numeral for the number 100, and denotes that UCLA has compiled 100 team NCAA championships, the first of any athletic program in the country. Read more here.

Now you can have this piece of trivia at your disposal the next time it comes up in conversation.

Picture source:
http://www.pe.com/sports/college/ucla/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_ucla_hoops_10.3fa22fc.html

One Ugly Tree

2008-03-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

California may have a lot of strong impressive trees, but the Stanford Cardinal mascot is not one of them. A state known for its beautiful, slender, sky-scraping redwoods and massive, daunting sequoias, one would think its best university would have a better tree representative. Nonetheless, Stanford University chooses to unite behind this ridiculous mascot:

Source: Kramer's Site
http://kramer-walker.tripod.com/index.html

Today's basketball action featured the #3 Stanford Cardinal against the new hometown, #2 Texas Longhorns. Even though the Cardinal suffered a 20-point drubbing by the Horns, the camera always seemed to be pointed at this ridiculous-looking, floppy, dancing tree going into commercial breaks. Do fans actually unite behind this absurd, wobbling faux plant?

One would think after all these years of watching sports I would have seen this eye sore before, but this was actually a first. I can see why. Stanford probably wants to keep this unfortunate representative a secret so as not to deter their brilliant future applicants.

Also, what's up with Stanford being called the Cardinal? Why does this school have to be so weird that they can't pick a normal team name? I didn't even know that Cardinal was the color of red (and not the bird) until about age 18. Of course, up until that time my question was, why can't they be plural like everyone else?

In other news, Davidson clobbered #3 Wisconsin by 17. They now march on to the Elite 8 to play the winner of #1 Kansas-#12 Villanova. Kansas was up by 10 "at press time."

Sonic: Mystery Solved

2008-03-27T01:55:00.000-04:00

Finally, after a year or two of checking every so often online, I found out what agency makes Sonic's hilarious commercials! Not only that, but someone else who touts the campaign's genius. As it turns out, Barkley, an employee-owned agency out of Kansas City, churns out these dazzling ads.

According to an article in Ad Age (proof that someone else enjoys these commercials as much as I do), these ads are acted out by improv actors. Turns out the amazingly entertaining actors have been improvising gems to the prescribed scripts this entire time!

The commercials either show the same two male friends interacting or a husband and wife team. I think the commercials with the pair of guys are a complete riot. Here's an example of the duo in action:

The husband and wife are less absurd, but are certainly still funny. They run in the 60th percentile of funniness, let's say, while the all-guy team is consistently in the 80th-95th percentile. Nonetheless, I love that the wife is always giving the husband lip, instead of the other way around. The pitiful husband is a great foil to the stronger, and mildly sardonic wife. Check them out:

Just like I've been saying for several years now, I can't wait to see what ol' Sonic comes up with next. Apparently the guy team has made 115 "video blackouts" together since 2003. What great comedic chemistry!

Significant Others and Team Allegiances

2008-03-25T19:07:00.001-04:00

What do you do when your significant other has rooting interests differing from your own? Coming from relatively similar geographies, this issue is rarely broached in my own relationship. However, with the NCAA tournament showcasing so many teams, this issue has inevitably surfaced.

I'm from "ACC Country," which means picking your one ACC team to root for regardless, hating either Duke or Carolina (for me, Duke), and talking smack about your conference's superiority during basketball season, peaking in March. It also means once the tournament starts, rooting for all the ACC teams (except maybe Duke or UNC, depending on your preference), especially for someone like me, who gets to see their team in it about as often as Halley's Comet.

My boyfriend, a Hoya alum, however, is a Big East fan. ACC fans and Big East fans don't generally get along. Both tout their respective conferences' strength of schedule, traditional matchups, powerhouses, and how many teams get invited to the Big Dance. Well the Big East got 8 bids to the ACC's 4 this year, so needless to say, my argument this year hasn't been particularly compelling.

Besides the ACC, I also tend to root for so-called "mid-major" schools hailing from smaller, lesser known conferences from Virginia and North Carolina. In past years that has included University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University (aka VCU), George Mason, Old Dominion, and UNC-Wilmington.

When the bracket first came out for this year's tournament, I was particularly excited about Davidson, a mid-major out of North Carolina. I knew they were undefeated in their conference and were on a 22-game win streak, but what had impressed me most about Davidson was their ability to play with mighty Carolina in a game at the start of the season. Ranked #1 at the time, UNC escaped with a narrow 4-point victory. That's not to say the teams are even close to the teams they were at the start of the season, but this still left a lasting impression on me. When I saw that Davidson was a #10 seed and was facing #7 Gonzaga in the first round, I was certain that Davidson would be victorious and move on to the second round to face #2 Georgetown. As it happened, the first found was a lot closer with the Zags than I had anticipated, but the outcome turned out favorably, with a Davidson victory. I thought Georgetown would face a tough opponent in Davidson in the second round, but you pick your entire bracket before any of the games happen, so only time would tell.

Then came the big showdown between David and Goliath on Sunday afternoon. My boyfriend, whose weekend plans revolved around Georgetown's playing schedule (and reasonably so), was glued to the action. Speaking on the phone before the game, I wished his team good luck, but chose not to convey the fact that I was rooting for Davidson. Watching the game in the comfort of my home I could freely root for Davidson without apology, but I felt like a fraud inside. When Davidson slipped by Georgetown in the waning minutes, I was excited for the Cinderella possibilities, but this pleasure was immediately soured by the anguish I knew my boyfriend was experiencing.

I have found that the best solution to this predicament is to be supportive, but to keep your own rooting interests silent. Unless it's a team you fervently root for all the time, or the "other" team in a contest featuring a team you hate, it isn't worth being over-the-top in your rooting interests. We'll see how this approach works in the coming weeks. I have to root for some underdog, and none of the others particularly interest me right now. Though to be honest, the tournament is addictive every year, no matter what storylines surface.

In the meantime, gooo-ooo-ooo Davidson. 2 more days 'til the return of the Madness!

Picture source: CBS News website: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/23/ap/sportsline/main3960789.shtml

There are no Cinderellas

2008-03-21T19:40:00.000-04:00

I'm really digging this new Nike commercial I keep seeing during the tournament. I stop and pay it respect every time it comes on:

John Thompson III watching Pops on the tube. Appalachian State football. Jimmy Valvano running around the court in disbelief. A reprise of John Thompson III, this time at Georgetown practice overseeing his team running the Princeton drill. Boise State practicing the Statue of Liberty play. MJ hitting the shot. Long, mesmerizing video cuts. The tolling bell bringing it all together.

Another great Wieden + Kennedy Nike spot. Wow.

March Madness... why not start a blog?

2008-03-21T18:16:00.000-04:00

It's the most wonderful time of the sports year! All year I wait for the Ides of March, give or take a few days, and the time is finally here. With St. Patrick's Day, March Madness, and Easter all squished into one week, what's not to like?

Unlike yesterday's relatively unexciting day of hoops as measured by the upset barometer, the tournament has lived up to its billing today. Yesterday's highlight was #2 Duke's narrow 1-point escape of #15 Belmont. But today... well we're only half done and so far:

#13 San Diego beat #4 Connecticut 70-69 in OT
#12 Western Kentucky beat #5 Drake on a last-second 3-pointer in OT, 101-99
#10 Davidson beat #7 Gonzaga by 6 after trailing by as much as 11 during the game. The effort was led by Stephen Curry who poured in 40 points.

By the way, San Diego and Western Kentucky will face off in the 2nd round. Yes a 12 versus 13. One will make the Sweet 16. If you're looking for a Cinderella, this is the game to watch.

My bracket is doing so-so thus far, but the first round isn't over yet. For the second year in a row I ended up picking the same Final 4 as a famous ESPN commentator. Last year I picked the same as Michael Wilbon of PTI: Georgetown, Texas A&M, UCLA, and Florida. This year Dick Vitale and I both think #1 UNC will take it all, in a final against #1 UCLA, with #2 Georgetown and #2 Texas rounding out the 4. Oh yeah, guess who else has UNC over UCLA in the final? Barack Obama.

So far I've lost 3 of my Sweet 16, but no teams in later rounds. I correctly called #10 Davidson over #7 Gonzaga, but my other calls (#14 Georgia over #3 Xavier and #9 Baylor over #6 Purdue) haven't panned out. I have a couple more upsets up my sleeve for later rounds, but definitely no 12's or 13's in the Sweet 16.

On a (yet another) personal note, I was sad to see George Mason lose in the first round. Who wasn't a bandwagon fan during their incredible run in 2006? Regardless, I fell in love again when I saw a GMU fan who held up a sign during the CAA conference tournament proclaiming, "George Mason is this year's George Mason." Funny, but sadly, not this year. Oh well. I guess the lack of repeating will make the run all the more memorable... unless WKU or San Diego duplicate the magic in '08?