Joe had an interesting bit about Joe Namath being the most overrated player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which actually few people will dispute given his career numbers.
But it got me thinking, with the way people throw around numbers (especially when it comes to baseball), that one day will there be an official "statistical" Hall of Fame for the different major-league sports?
For instance, Hideo Nomo reached the Meikyukai, a Japanese version of a stats hall of fame, earlier this week after winning his 200th combined game between Japan and the U.S. (They also have a "traditional" Hall based on voting.) And the LPGA has a stats-based criteria for entry into their Hall of Fame.
Would going completely to numbers make a Hall of Fame fairer? I suppose it would remove bias (other than from the group determining the statistical milestones) from the selection process, but how do you measure less tangible attributes like charisma, leadership and historical significance (outside of numbers).
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Now that I've started getting nostalgic about ECW, I might as well bring out the video that showed how my buddies could incorporate wrestling angles into student government.
Monday, June 13, 2005
The hardcore nostalgia gap closes in
If a nationally-known retro radio show can have a '90s edition, I suppose we can also be very nostalgic for a wrestling organization that reached its peak about 7-8 years ago and where many of its members are still very active today.
Yes, I ordered the ECW PPV, the first time I've watched a wrestling PPV, never mind order one, in a long while. But when I heard about this event, I was more than happy to find out I was going to be off that evening so I could watch it -- and had JD over to see the festivities. It seemed like the "olden days" of oh, 1996. Not only was the action pretty solid, a handful of the shoot interviews were spectacular, which then prompted the crowd to react in kind.
It was a great show, but I also hope that it lives up to the name of "One Night Stand." While I enjoyed watching the old guys back for another go-around, it seems like it's best appreciated now in short bursts instead of trying to spin it off into a real organization again. I think it'll be hard to match the emotion and passion of this revival on a regular basis. (Plus, you can't be having the Oscar-like "those we lost" montage on regularly, can we?)
Besides, it would take a lot to get some of these guys back into shape, because honestly, some of them just didn't look all that good. On the other hand, bringing these guys back at this time worked better for the combined nostalgia/revival/reunion aspect than the gimmick battle royale at Wrestlemania a few years back.
But it was nice to be "hardcore" for a few hours at least. Now where's that cheese grater?
If a nationally-known retro radio show can have a '90s edition, I suppose we can also be very nostalgic for a wrestling organization that reached its peak about 7-8 years ago and where many of its members are still very active today.
Yes, I ordered the ECW PPV, the first time I've watched a wrestling PPV, never mind order one, in a long while. But when I heard about this event, I was more than happy to find out I was going to be off that evening so I could watch it -- and had JD over to see the festivities. It seemed like the "olden days" of oh, 1996. Not only was the action pretty solid, a handful of the shoot interviews were spectacular, which then prompted the crowd to react in kind.
It was a great show, but I also hope that it lives up to the name of "One Night Stand." While I enjoyed watching the old guys back for another go-around, it seems like it's best appreciated now in short bursts instead of trying to spin it off into a real organization again. I think it'll be hard to match the emotion and passion of this revival on a regular basis. (Plus, you can't be having the Oscar-like "those we lost" montage on regularly, can we?)
Besides, it would take a lot to get some of these guys back into shape, because honestly, some of them just didn't look all that good. On the other hand, bringing these guys back at this time worked better for the combined nostalgia/revival/reunion aspect than the gimmick battle royale at Wrestlemania a few years back.
But it was nice to be "hardcore" for a few hours at least. Now where's that cheese grater?
Everybody's free to steal sunscreen
Oddly enough, I believe this edition of Rhymes With Orange was produced long before this principal was caught plagiarizing two graduation speeches -- including the famous sunscreen speech written by Mary Schmich just days before my own college graudation in 1997. (I've mentioned this before, but I posted that column on the Trib's Web site -- just not in the format linked above -- during my brief internship there.)
While there's usual amount of hand-wringing and "everyone's plagiarizing, so what" reactions, it was interesting to get Mary's reaction to her work being attributed to yet another person besides herself. I am curious that someone could pass that particular speech off as his or her own given it was turned into a book, there was that Kurt Vonnegut urban legend, and last but not least, the Baz Luhrman song which originally reminded me that of the column in the first place.
Then again, awareness of pop culture isn't everyone's cup of tea, as evidenced by the confusion brought about when Napoleon Dynamite invaded the National Spelling Bee.
Oddly enough, I believe this edition of Rhymes With Orange was produced long before this principal was caught plagiarizing two graduation speeches -- including the famous sunscreen speech written by Mary Schmich just days before my own college graudation in 1997. (I've mentioned this before, but I posted that column on the Trib's Web site -- just not in the format linked above -- during my brief internship there.)
While there's usual amount of hand-wringing and "everyone's plagiarizing, so what" reactions, it was interesting to get Mary's reaction to her work being attributed to yet another person besides herself. I am curious that someone could pass that particular speech off as his or her own given it was turned into a book, there was that Kurt Vonnegut urban legend, and last but not least, the Baz Luhrman song which originally reminded me that of the column in the first place.
Then again, awareness of pop culture isn't everyone's cup of tea, as evidenced by the confusion brought about when Napoleon Dynamite invaded the National Spelling Bee.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
The music update
A few disjointed thoughts only connected by musical notes:
-- While at Friday's Braves game, I passed by this guy, which was only a surprise because he was in the upper deck with a few kids and other friends. But no one seemed to bother him, so maybe being up there was a good thing.
-- I'm now part of the iPod world, and now I'm wondering how quickly I'll fill up the 20GB model I've got.
A couple of more notes on the JACK radio format that's now taken hold in Chicago and New York (replacing the beloved WCBS-FM):
-- Eric Zorn over at the Chicago Tribune has a somewhat ambivalent take on the loss of the oldies station there. I guess like Atlanta, the "good times and great oldies" turned into something a bit repetitive. Nuking the format isn't the way to go, but that's the way a lot of radio types think.
-- Speaking of JACK (which in theory is an OK idea), there's now JILL radio? So what exactly makes that broader than a lite-FM station? At least HANK-FM makes some sort of sense -- all country, all time periods.
-- And linking this back to my new iPod -- if JACK were really like my iPod on shuffle, it wouldn't just be classic rock + pop/alternative rock. I'm as middlebrow and mainstream as they get, but even I have a bit more eclectic tastes than even a JACK station can muster. Just thinking of a few songs off the top of my head -- would a station play Lil Jon, Yes, Morrissey, Cameo and a mashup of In Da Club and the Benny Hill theme song in a row?
Finally, I guess I could've easily predicted a very rainy weekend, given it was Music Midtown, which was moved from early May to early June to avoid weather. Whoops.
A few disjointed thoughts only connected by musical notes:
-- While at Friday's Braves game, I passed by this guy, which was only a surprise because he was in the upper deck with a few kids and other friends. But no one seemed to bother him, so maybe being up there was a good thing.
-- I'm now part of the iPod world, and now I'm wondering how quickly I'll fill up the 20GB model I've got.
A couple of more notes on the JACK radio format that's now taken hold in Chicago and New York (replacing the beloved WCBS-FM):
-- Eric Zorn over at the Chicago Tribune has a somewhat ambivalent take on the loss of the oldies station there. I guess like Atlanta, the "good times and great oldies" turned into something a bit repetitive. Nuking the format isn't the way to go, but that's the way a lot of radio types think.
-- Speaking of JACK (which in theory is an OK idea), there's now JILL radio? So what exactly makes that broader than a lite-FM station? At least HANK-FM makes some sort of sense -- all country, all time periods.
-- And linking this back to my new iPod -- if JACK were really like my iPod on shuffle, it wouldn't just be classic rock + pop/alternative rock. I'm as middlebrow and mainstream as they get, but even I have a bit more eclectic tastes than even a JACK station can muster. Just thinking of a few songs off the top of my head -- would a station play Lil Jon, Yes, Morrissey, Cameo and a mashup of In Da Club and the Benny Hill theme song in a row?
Finally, I guess I could've easily predicted a very rainy weekend, given it was Music Midtown, which was moved from early May to early June to avoid weather. Whoops.
Monday, June 06, 2005
24-hour quizbowl people
The following takes place between Noon Friday and 3 p.m. Monday …
I knew this weekend was going to turn into a cross between Insomniac and 24, given the very quick turnaround between the end of my shift Friday night and my very early Saturday morning flight to Chicago for the NAQT high school nationals. But in the midst of the trip, an episode of Airline got tacked on.
After a usual night at work that ended at 2 a.m., I did kill off a couple of hours at a couple of places before an early-morning stop at Waffle House en route to the airport. (Typical Dave Attell-type stuff.)
The tournament itself was, in the Donald's terms, "yuuge" with 96 teams and nearly 500 players (makes giving all-star awards to the top 10 scorers seem a lot more meaningful). It was also good seeing most of the usual suspects, some old foes from my undergrad days and matching names to faces of other people I've been meaning to meet. Oh yeah, I got to hang out for a little bit with $5 million moderator team of Ken Jennings and Kevin Olmstead as well.
I did wonder how they were going to fit 96 teams when there were only about 20 ballrooms and meeting rooms at the hotel. The answer: Converting nearly an entire floor of hotel rooms into game rooms by replacing beds with tables. You usually don't find a need to fit at least 10 people into a regular-sized double, and now we know why. (On the other hand, it wasn't much worse than my Myrtle Beach experience that involved squeezing everyone into an empty administrative office.)
You could call some of this the most boring episode of 24 ever since much of it was just spent reading questions and hanging out with people between rounds. On the other hand, that's what everyone, except Jack Bauer, seems to do during those 24 hours, so maybe just I'm just one of those revolving-door analysts, but unlike Chloe, didn't have a need to fire a gun at a charging assassin.
Saturday night, there was a side trip (just down the street to the former Rosemont Horizon) to see Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals between the Chicago Wolves and Philadelphia Phantoms. It was nice to see some future Thrashers such as Kari Lehtonen for Chicago (and oddly enough, the Panthers' top prospect Jay Bouwmeester), but it was a sloppy, penalty-filled game that makes you long for the NHL if you cared to miss it. Philly won in the second overtime (we left after the first one).
The finals of the tournament on Sunday were an interesting sight to see as eventual champs Thomas Jefferson (who had slaughtered everyone the whole weekend) negged 10 times and still won the whole thing. Then they challenged a bunch of moderators to a match. With much of the quality moderator corps having written most of the questions, finding those blind to the question were few and far between. I thought I would've been drafted to play (meaning they'd really scraped the bottom of the barrel). But I had a flight to catch -- or so I thought.
My mid-afternoon flight Sunday was delayed when I got to O'Hare. No big deal, I thought. Just more time to grab something to eat (the Billy Goat Tavern has a stand at the airport -- same attitude and so-so food as the original place). But then came a second delay, then the official cancellation about the time the original flight would've landed in Atlanta. Thus came the mad dash from the gate to the United customer service center where my agent seemed to treat it as if everyone had just missed their flight and told us to go standby for the final flight of the day. However, whereas the canceled flight was on a 737, the last flight was on a modernized Buddy Holly plane. It's not a good sign when the gate agent says your chances of getting on are "very slim." Eventually I got a voucher to stay at an O'Hare area airport and got a standby seat on a late morning flight (instead of an early afternoon one I was rebooked on) and finally getting back home about 18 hours later than I expected. The one time I don't fly Delta or AirTran, and this is what I get.
Oh yeah, my cell phone died in the midst of this, but finding an outlet in the terminal was like trying to find the needle in the haystack. Now I know how cool it is that at least one terminal at the Atlanta airport has a bank of outlets designed for people to recharge cell phones and laptops.
The following takes place between Noon Friday and 3 p.m. Monday …
I knew this weekend was going to turn into a cross between Insomniac and 24, given the very quick turnaround between the end of my shift Friday night and my very early Saturday morning flight to Chicago for the NAQT high school nationals. But in the midst of the trip, an episode of Airline got tacked on.
After a usual night at work that ended at 2 a.m., I did kill off a couple of hours at a couple of places before an early-morning stop at Waffle House en route to the airport. (Typical Dave Attell-type stuff.)
The tournament itself was, in the Donald's terms, "yuuge" with 96 teams and nearly 500 players (makes giving all-star awards to the top 10 scorers seem a lot more meaningful). It was also good seeing most of the usual suspects, some old foes from my undergrad days and matching names to faces of other people I've been meaning to meet. Oh yeah, I got to hang out for a little bit with $5 million moderator team of Ken Jennings and Kevin Olmstead as well.
I did wonder how they were going to fit 96 teams when there were only about 20 ballrooms and meeting rooms at the hotel. The answer: Converting nearly an entire floor of hotel rooms into game rooms by replacing beds with tables. You usually don't find a need to fit at least 10 people into a regular-sized double, and now we know why. (On the other hand, it wasn't much worse than my Myrtle Beach experience that involved squeezing everyone into an empty administrative office.)
You could call some of this the most boring episode of 24 ever since much of it was just spent reading questions and hanging out with people between rounds. On the other hand, that's what everyone, except Jack Bauer, seems to do during those 24 hours, so maybe just I'm just one of those revolving-door analysts, but unlike Chloe, didn't have a need to fire a gun at a charging assassin.
Saturday night, there was a side trip (just down the street to the former Rosemont Horizon) to see Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals between the Chicago Wolves and Philadelphia Phantoms. It was nice to see some future Thrashers such as Kari Lehtonen for Chicago (and oddly enough, the Panthers' top prospect Jay Bouwmeester), but it was a sloppy, penalty-filled game that makes you long for the NHL if you cared to miss it. Philly won in the second overtime (we left after the first one).
The finals of the tournament on Sunday were an interesting sight to see as eventual champs Thomas Jefferson (who had slaughtered everyone the whole weekend) negged 10 times and still won the whole thing. Then they challenged a bunch of moderators to a match. With much of the quality moderator corps having written most of the questions, finding those blind to the question were few and far between. I thought I would've been drafted to play (meaning they'd really scraped the bottom of the barrel). But I had a flight to catch -- or so I thought.
My mid-afternoon flight Sunday was delayed when I got to O'Hare. No big deal, I thought. Just more time to grab something to eat (the Billy Goat Tavern has a stand at the airport -- same attitude and so-so food as the original place). But then came a second delay, then the official cancellation about the time the original flight would've landed in Atlanta. Thus came the mad dash from the gate to the United customer service center where my agent seemed to treat it as if everyone had just missed their flight and told us to go standby for the final flight of the day. However, whereas the canceled flight was on a 737, the last flight was on a modernized Buddy Holly plane. It's not a good sign when the gate agent says your chances of getting on are "very slim." Eventually I got a voucher to stay at an O'Hare area airport and got a standby seat on a late morning flight (instead of an early afternoon one I was rebooked on) and finally getting back home about 18 hours later than I expected. The one time I don't fly Delta or AirTran, and this is what I get.
Oh yeah, my cell phone died in the midst of this, but finding an outlet in the terminal was like trying to find the needle in the haystack. Now I know how cool it is that at least one terminal at the Atlanta airport has a bank of outlets designed for people to recharge cell phones and laptops.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Zoom, zoom, va-voom
Great line from some sports radio guy about Danica Patrick's impressive showing at the Indy 500: "I always wondered what happened to Winnie Cooper."
Great line from some sports radio guy about Danica Patrick's impressive showing at the Indy 500: "I always wondered what happened to Winnie Cooper."
Sunday, May 29, 2005
You sure Puddy wasn't responsible?
If you're looking for reasons why we so many corporatized, bland or the singular-type team nicknames, maybe you blame this guy, who says wants the New Jersey Devils to change their name -- despite the fact that it doesn't refer to Satan, but rather a state legend that I would learn about in social studies class just after the team took to the ice.
I still remember the contest to name the team, and god forbid had the Meadowlanders been chosen as the nickname.
What is interesting is the state politician proposing the name change represents the district where the new arena will be built. Wonder if it's an early "We really don't want you here" type of talk.
If you're looking for reasons why we so many corporatized, bland or the singular-type team nicknames, maybe you blame this guy, who says wants the New Jersey Devils to change their name -- despite the fact that it doesn't refer to Satan, but rather a state legend that I would learn about in social studies class just after the team took to the ice.
I still remember the contest to name the team, and god forbid had the Meadowlanders been chosen as the nickname.
What is interesting is the state politician proposing the name change represents the district where the new arena will be built. Wonder if it's an early "We really don't want you here" type of talk.
Friday, May 27, 2005
A bunch more assorted thoughts and links (as I develop a pattern of not developing any regularity to these postings) ...
• The streaming audio file of The Shins mini-concert I attended at the local radio station is available for downloading.
• Is Atlanta required to have a kooky criminal on the lam seemingly every month? First, it was the Fulton County courthouse shooter, then the runaway bride and now the fugitive on the crane. Any guesses on what the next wacky criminal will be coming through here?
• With the flood of reality shows coming out this summer, I guess it's safe to say that the major outlets to catch missed episodes of favorite shows are on DVD or TiVo. Of course, many shows now lend themselves to watching it in order so as not to get confused (24, Alias, Lost); but there's still room for one-off shows that will work well in reruns and syndication, although most of them are variations of CSI or Law and Order.
• Speaking of the reality shows, there's celebrity versions of almost every TV competition, whether it be Jeopardy!, The Mole or bowling. But how in the world did they come up with celebrity ballroom dancing (featuring among others, Stacy's Mom, TV's J. Peterman and Evander Holyfield)? And what does ETC think of the whole thing?
• Saw Star Wars: Sith the other day. I'm not a big geek for the series, but I have seen them all and thought this was a good way to wrap up the prequel and lead to the trilogy we know well. It's better than the other prequels, but it's not saying much. I guess I really liked the darkness of the movie -- Order 66 was especially evil. That reminds me: How much was George Lucas inspired by real-life politics for this film?
• Now that he was dethroned in rather impressive fashion in the UToC, how well received will the KenJen board game and potential Comedy Central game show be?
• While many of us are saying that this photogenic young athletic star isn't the same thing as this one, remember that Anna seemed destined for success until we all started ogling her. We're just doing the double-admiring now to cover all our bases. That said, Indy becomes relevant for the first time in years.
• The streaming audio file of The Shins mini-concert I attended at the local radio station is available for downloading.
• Is Atlanta required to have a kooky criminal on the lam seemingly every month? First, it was the Fulton County courthouse shooter, then the runaway bride and now the fugitive on the crane. Any guesses on what the next wacky criminal will be coming through here?
• With the flood of reality shows coming out this summer, I guess it's safe to say that the major outlets to catch missed episodes of favorite shows are on DVD or TiVo. Of course, many shows now lend themselves to watching it in order so as not to get confused (24, Alias, Lost); but there's still room for one-off shows that will work well in reruns and syndication, although most of them are variations of CSI or Law and Order.
• Speaking of the reality shows, there's celebrity versions of almost every TV competition, whether it be Jeopardy!, The Mole or bowling. But how in the world did they come up with celebrity ballroom dancing (featuring among others, Stacy's Mom, TV's J. Peterman and Evander Holyfield)? And what does ETC think of the whole thing?
• Saw Star Wars: Sith the other day. I'm not a big geek for the series, but I have seen them all and thought this was a good way to wrap up the prequel and lead to the trilogy we know well. It's better than the other prequels, but it's not saying much. I guess I really liked the darkness of the movie -- Order 66 was especially evil. That reminds me: How much was George Lucas inspired by real-life politics for this film?
• Now that he was dethroned in rather impressive fashion in the UToC, how well received will the KenJen board game and potential Comedy Central game show be?
• While many of us are saying that this photogenic young athletic star isn't the same thing as this one, remember that Anna seemed destined for success until we all started ogling her. We're just doing the double-admiring now to cover all our bases. That said, Indy becomes relevant for the first time in years.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
A little catching up ...
Didn't realize until recently the last post was on the third anniversary of the start of this thing. Oh well, it comes, it goes, I continue to blather on.
I was home in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago, primarily to attend a wedding of a former two-time college roommate. Good times all around, and it was interesting meeting a few more people from the alma mater (the other set of friends from school). Also good to see Gobo and wife at the wedding, as well as Steve and Melissa.
Also saw The Producers on Broadway (that TKTS booth is actually not so bad if you're going just before the start of the Wednesday matinees). I also learned why I don't drive in Manhattan when I don't have to since it took me 2 1/2 hours to get from midtown out to my brother's place in Connecticut. It also seems weird when you say you got a great parking deal when you paid $11 for an afternoon.
Oh yeah, it's way early for football, but here's one of three mock drafts I've done the past few weeks. Hopefully that's it for a few more weeks, until the next set of magazines come calling. (Oh yeah, also met the rest of our New York staff on the trip -- I guess it's a positive that I match my mugshot; something you can't say about everyone.)
Didn't realize until recently the last post was on the third anniversary of the start of this thing. Oh well, it comes, it goes, I continue to blather on.
I was home in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago, primarily to attend a wedding of a former two-time college roommate. Good times all around, and it was interesting meeting a few more people from the alma mater (the other set of friends from school). Also good to see Gobo and wife at the wedding, as well as Steve and Melissa.
Also saw The Producers on Broadway (that TKTS booth is actually not so bad if you're going just before the start of the Wednesday matinees). I also learned why I don't drive in Manhattan when I don't have to since it took me 2 1/2 hours to get from midtown out to my brother's place in Connecticut. It also seems weird when you say you got a great parking deal when you paid $11 for an afternoon.
Oh yeah, it's way early for football, but here's one of three mock drafts I've done the past few weeks. Hopefully that's it for a few more weeks, until the next set of magazines come calling. (Oh yeah, also met the rest of our New York staff on the trip -- I guess it's a positive that I match my mugshot; something you can't say about everyone.)
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
A few notes and observations before heading home to New Jersey ...
-- If you see some of those fantasy football magazines later this summer with my picture and picks in it, just realize that I'm providing some of the information it right now. I'm in the midst of three straight weeks of fantasy football mock drafts just a month into the baseball season.
-- I followed Greg's lead and downloaded this band quiz. Without resorting to researching yet, I've gotten about 130 of the 270 bands on the test so far. Eventually, I'll look up the answers.
-- Rob has a good review of Songs for Silverman. But one thing I noticed is that the first single, "Landed," sounds a whole lot like this song. As Craig put it, maybe it's a Carolina vibe going on. On the other hand, I was really happy to hear Landed on this station driving into work on Sunday.
-- If you see some of those fantasy football magazines later this summer with my picture and picks in it, just realize that I'm providing some of the information it right now. I'm in the midst of three straight weeks of fantasy football mock drafts just a month into the baseball season.
-- I followed Greg's lead and downloaded this band quiz. Without resorting to researching yet, I've gotten about 130 of the 270 bands on the test so far. Eventually, I'll look up the answers.
-- Rob has a good review of Songs for Silverman. But one thing I noticed is that the first single, "Landed," sounds a whole lot like this song. As Craig put it, maybe it's a Carolina vibe going on. On the other hand, I was really happy to hear Landed on this station driving into work on Sunday.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Maybe the reason it's taking Barry Bonds so long to come back is that he's being operated on by this guy, who may be confused with this guy.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
It'll change your life
I guess we surprised even the local radio station with the turnout for a small concert with The Shins that will be aired on the radio (and posted online) in the near future. It was a nice little set -- running through the two songs I already knew (thanks, Zach Braff) plus a few other tunes from their albums. Nice stuff and good way to pass about an hour.
The setup for the "concert" was interesting. It was just a large conference room minus any tables and chairs, but with a few instruments in the middle, plus a mixing board to the side, and the producer in an adjoining booth. However, they found a way to get in about 100-150 people into this small room just sitting on the floor and standing against the wall -- supposedly it was the largest turnout for any of their mini-concerts at the station itself. It reminded me of an event at my dorm in college.
I guess we surprised even the local radio station with the turnout for a small concert with The Shins that will be aired on the radio (and posted online) in the near future. It was a nice little set -- running through the two songs I already knew (thanks, Zach Braff) plus a few other tunes from their albums. Nice stuff and good way to pass about an hour.
The setup for the "concert" was interesting. It was just a large conference room minus any tables and chairs, but with a few instruments in the middle, plus a mixing board to the side, and the producer in an adjoining booth. However, they found a way to get in about 100-150 people into this small room just sitting on the floor and standing against the wall -- supposedly it was the largest turnout for any of their mini-concerts at the station itself. It reminded me of an event at my dorm in college.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Say goodbye to ...
-- Atlanta's oldies station, part two. It was a tad incongruous to hear an oldies station call itself "new," especially when it was around for two years at the time of its demise.
I'll miss the oldies station here in town, if just for a change of pace. Unfortunately, that station was slipping back to "Good Times and Eight Oldies," which is not a good sign. It's even more sadder that the station actually showed a lot more variety (for an oldies station, that is) in its final hours with their weekly "Atlanta Graffiti" show. Why does it seem that some of the most interesting and varied music on mainstream commercial radio comes on specialized shows?
You can check out more of the revolving Atlanta radio scene through my friend Rodney's radio blog.
-- Chris Candido, one of New Jersey's greatest wrestling talents who, unfortunately, is following a trend of younger performers of dying early. However, it should be said that he appears to have died from complications following an injury last week, and not from drugs, which is often the case. In fact, it makes his whole story all the more tragic.
-- My quizbowl colleagues (save a Mr. Jennings -- whatever happened to that basketball guy anyways?) in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. I was at a local bar to share in Mark's first-ever defeat, and then watched Brian's loss at home a couple of days later. Great runs by both guys, it's just too bad they couldn't advance any further.
-- Atlanta's oldies station, part two. It was a tad incongruous to hear an oldies station call itself "new," especially when it was around for two years at the time of its demise.
I'll miss the oldies station here in town, if just for a change of pace. Unfortunately, that station was slipping back to "Good Times and Eight Oldies," which is not a good sign. It's even more sadder that the station actually showed a lot more variety (for an oldies station, that is) in its final hours with their weekly "Atlanta Graffiti" show. Why does it seem that some of the most interesting and varied music on mainstream commercial radio comes on specialized shows?
You can check out more of the revolving Atlanta radio scene through my friend Rodney's radio blog.
-- Chris Candido, one of New Jersey's greatest wrestling talents who, unfortunately, is following a trend of younger performers of dying early. However, it should be said that he appears to have died from complications following an injury last week, and not from drugs, which is often the case. In fact, it makes his whole story all the more tragic.
-- My quizbowl colleagues (save a Mr. Jennings -- whatever happened to that basketball guy anyways?) in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. I was at a local bar to share in Mark's first-ever defeat, and then watched Brian's loss at home a couple of days later. Great runs by both guys, it's just too bad they couldn't advance any further.
600 and 14
Sure, the runaway bride story may have been a bit overdone, but that's what happens when you're dealing with a society-page type wedding. I'm not sure there will be 14 combined bridesmaids or groomsmen in the multitude of weddings I have attended or will go to over the past year. Still, at least we can have a bit more fun with it now.
That's where my local alt-rock station comes in. My favorite Sunday morning show went thematic to close out the show, playing these songs in honor of this week's events:
Nellie Mckay: I Wanna Get Married
Liz Phair: Polyester Bride
Collective Soul: Run
Jack Johnson: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Dave Matthews Band: Where Are You Going
R.E.M.: All the Way to Reno
Bethany Joy Lenz: If You're Missing (Come On Home)
Sheryl Crow: Leaving Las Vegas
Fiona Apple: Criminal
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: People Just Ain't No Good
Who says regular radio is a complete waste of time? Besides, it's offering me a chance to sit in on a private Shins concert next week.
Sure, the runaway bride story may have been a bit overdone, but that's what happens when you're dealing with a society-page type wedding. I'm not sure there will be 14 combined bridesmaids or groomsmen in the multitude of weddings I have attended or will go to over the past year. Still, at least we can have a bit more fun with it now.
That's where my local alt-rock station comes in. My favorite Sunday morning show went thematic to close out the show, playing these songs in honor of this week's events:
Nellie Mckay: I Wanna Get Married
Liz Phair: Polyester Bride
Collective Soul: Run
Jack Johnson: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Dave Matthews Band: Where Are You Going
R.E.M.: All the Way to Reno
Bethany Joy Lenz: If You're Missing (Come On Home)
Sheryl Crow: Leaving Las Vegas
Fiona Apple: Criminal
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: People Just Ain't No Good
Who says regular radio is a complete waste of time? Besides, it's offering me a chance to sit in on a private Shins concert next week.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Feeling a draft
For those interested, here's my column on the top fantasy prospects from the draft (mostly focusing on this year with a little nod to keeper leagues).
A few other notes and thoughts that didn't make the column for a variety of reasons:
-- Because he's from the alma mater, I will support the Luis Castillo pick, although the steroid charge is still a giant red flag, although I'll have to believe it's a one-time thing. At least you can't confuse that Luis Castillo with this Luis Castillo.
-- I wasn't sure where to put in a line about the Lions taking UConn's Dan Orlovsky since he's probably not a fantasy prospect for a few years, but it is worth noting that Detroit teams have done well with UConn alums, just ask the Pistons (Rip Hamilton) and the Shock (Swin Cash).
-- It's curious to see that Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern all had the same number of players drafted. Michigan's three picks were among the first 33 and that was it; Ohio State finished its haul with Maurice Clarett; and Northwestern finally reached three with Noah Herron going to the Steelers (their second NU pick of the draft).
-- It may be just me, but Aaron Rodgers looks a lot like John Heffron, one of the Last Comic Standing winners.
-- I like the Jets taking a kicker where they did. Doug Brien was going to be run out of town on a rail, so why not take the best kicker there. Besides, they still got a solid corner in Justin Miller a few picks later. However, with all the big kicks that he had, the Nuge did miss a key one in the Buckeyes' loss to Northwestern, so he's not perfect.
For those interested, here's my column on the top fantasy prospects from the draft (mostly focusing on this year with a little nod to keeper leagues).
A few other notes and thoughts that didn't make the column for a variety of reasons:
-- Because he's from the alma mater, I will support the Luis Castillo pick, although the steroid charge is still a giant red flag, although I'll have to believe it's a one-time thing. At least you can't confuse that Luis Castillo with this Luis Castillo.
-- I wasn't sure where to put in a line about the Lions taking UConn's Dan Orlovsky since he's probably not a fantasy prospect for a few years, but it is worth noting that Detroit teams have done well with UConn alums, just ask the Pistons (Rip Hamilton) and the Shock (Swin Cash).
-- It's curious to see that Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern all had the same number of players drafted. Michigan's three picks were among the first 33 and that was it; Ohio State finished its haul with Maurice Clarett; and Northwestern finally reached three with Noah Herron going to the Steelers (their second NU pick of the draft).
-- It may be just me, but Aaron Rodgers looks a lot like John Heffron, one of the Last Comic Standing winners.
-- I like the Jets taking a kicker where they did. Doug Brien was going to be run out of town on a rail, so why not take the best kicker there. Besides, they still got a solid corner in Justin Miller a few picks later. However, with all the big kicks that he had, the Nuge did miss a key one in the Buckeyes' loss to Northwestern, so he's not perfect.
Hello, I'm Kip Kyrgyzstan
You, too, can have your own Michael Vick Experience with the Ron Mexico name generator.
You, too, can have your own Michael Vick Experience with the Ron Mexico name generator.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Boom goes the dynamite
Lest I be the one to judge someone's public speaking prowess in front of the camera, but after seeing a few too many iffy quizbowl moderators, this clip is just too funny. I figured it's the next Dream Job winner, but my friend called it the ESPN version of William Hung.
Lest I be the one to judge someone's public speaking prowess in front of the camera, but after seeing a few too many iffy quizbowl moderators, this clip is just too funny. I figured it's the next Dream Job winner, but my friend called it the ESPN version of William Hung.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
More TRASHiness
For those interested, the stats can be found here and here. Oddly, IE renders it properly, but Firefox displays it in Kanji. It's been fun seeing some of the writeups from the competitors -- and noting what I wrote.
Any other remarks and stuff from the weekend are more than welcome in the comments.
For those interested, the stats can be found here and here. Oddly, IE renders it properly, but Firefox displays it in Kanji. It's been fun seeing some of the writeups from the competitors -- and noting what I wrote.
Any other remarks and stuff from the weekend are more than welcome in the comments.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Emerging from the TRASH heap
OK, I think I can sort of return to reality after working on TRASHionals stuff in between some non-stop stretches at the real job. After getting home late last night, I got a lot of much-needed sleep and a chance to just veg out today -- thankfully.
It was good to all the usual suspects again, including many of you on the left-hand rail who have already posted their results. (To the NUQB alums reading this, yes, I made sure to set up your matchup and read for it -- it's fun to have the power to do that.)
Actually, I wish I got to spend a little more time with a bunch more of people since there were others I barely got to see, but when you're running around and pulling the strings, there's only so much that you can see of the competitors other than the one round I read per team (if I see the team at all). In fact, other than people who know me very well, I'd realized most of the people involved have zero idea who I am (in the grand scheme of the organization) or what I do. For now, I'm OK with it, especially since a lot of the stuff I do are the small details that aren't so obvious -- the scheduling/bracketing/room flow stuff.
Nonetheless, the whole tournament worked amazingly well. We were ahead of schedule for a good part of the weekend and I saw a nice spread of competition and met some nice new people along the way. I think the questions were solid, although there are some hitches of course. (Yes, we may have overdone the Sideways stuff.) I have to tip my hat to the Pitt/CMU people who provided tons of support and did a good job of putting up with me as I directed people around.
Congrats to Brian, Jeremy, Mark and Dave for winning it all (undefeated no less plus a thrilling final match) -- I suppose the belt will travel pretty much in a straight line from Wisconsin to Barrington to Columbia to Norman.
Pittsburgh was a very nice city from what I saw this weekend -- and I suppose it will give me a sneak preview when I get around to visiting the Groces when they move up there later this year. PNC Park was very nice for one of the neo-retro parks and it helped that it was just a few blocks away from our hotel (which also hosted an event that so lent itself to a bonus question).
The Cathedral of Learning was an impressive site from the outside and very nice enough inside for hosting a large tournament -- although it would've been cool if we could've had matches in "The Italian Room," "The Armenian Room," etc. Plus, from a logistical standpoint, it was nice that there were a ton of eateries just down the street. I finally got my chance to try out Primanti Brothers, although I wasn't as overwhelmed by it as much as I thought I would -- the fries in the sandwich were nice, but the steak part was a disappointment. FWIW, it was interesting that there was only a slight markup in the price of the sandwich at PNC compared to the restaurant itself.
Finally, on the way home, I finally got my chance to test out the XM Radio on the AirTran flight. It was pretty cool since there were plenty of listening options, compared to the preprogrammed stuff that usually shows up on in-flight entertainment, although it's still not the Dish Network stuff I got on Song. But it at least it give me something to look forward to the next time I fly the airline.
OK, I think I can sort of return to reality after working on TRASHionals stuff in between some non-stop stretches at the real job. After getting home late last night, I got a lot of much-needed sleep and a chance to just veg out today -- thankfully.
It was good to all the usual suspects again, including many of you on the left-hand rail who have already posted their results. (To the NUQB alums reading this, yes, I made sure to set up your matchup and read for it -- it's fun to have the power to do that.)
Actually, I wish I got to spend a little more time with a bunch more of people since there were others I barely got to see, but when you're running around and pulling the strings, there's only so much that you can see of the competitors other than the one round I read per team (if I see the team at all). In fact, other than people who know me very well, I'd realized most of the people involved have zero idea who I am (in the grand scheme of the organization) or what I do. For now, I'm OK with it, especially since a lot of the stuff I do are the small details that aren't so obvious -- the scheduling/bracketing/room flow stuff.
Nonetheless, the whole tournament worked amazingly well. We were ahead of schedule for a good part of the weekend and I saw a nice spread of competition and met some nice new people along the way. I think the questions were solid, although there are some hitches of course. (Yes, we may have overdone the Sideways stuff.) I have to tip my hat to the Pitt/CMU people who provided tons of support and did a good job of putting up with me as I directed people around.
Congrats to Brian, Jeremy, Mark and Dave for winning it all (undefeated no less plus a thrilling final match) -- I suppose the belt will travel pretty much in a straight line from Wisconsin to Barrington to Columbia to Norman.
Pittsburgh was a very nice city from what I saw this weekend -- and I suppose it will give me a sneak preview when I get around to visiting the Groces when they move up there later this year. PNC Park was very nice for one of the neo-retro parks and it helped that it was just a few blocks away from our hotel (which also hosted an event that so lent itself to a bonus question).
The Cathedral of Learning was an impressive site from the outside and very nice enough inside for hosting a large tournament -- although it would've been cool if we could've had matches in "The Italian Room," "The Armenian Room," etc. Plus, from a logistical standpoint, it was nice that there were a ton of eateries just down the street. I finally got my chance to try out Primanti Brothers, although I wasn't as overwhelmed by it as much as I thought I would -- the fries in the sandwich were nice, but the steak part was a disappointment. FWIW, it was interesting that there was only a slight markup in the price of the sandwich at PNC compared to the restaurant itself.
Finally, on the way home, I finally got my chance to test out the XM Radio on the AirTran flight. It was pretty cool since there were plenty of listening options, compared to the preprogrammed stuff that usually shows up on in-flight entertainment, although it's still not the Dish Network stuff I got on Song. But it at least it give me something to look forward to the next time I fly the airline.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
