Since the Mets crashed and burned, and I declared my fealty to Red Sox Nation, at least for the duration of this post-season, the lads from Beantown made short work of Los Angeles de Anaheim, but now seem to have hit a speed bump in Cleveland.
My sweetie, a lifelong Fenway fanatic, was actually pleased by their loss on Saturday. She says that it's always better for them to lose early in a season or series; if they start too strong, they inevitably fade at the end. Last night she was less complacent. Tonight, I'm praying for an early Sox lead, followed by a swarm of gnats.
Update: Rats! No gnats. No early score by Sox (but plenty by Tribe). All I can do is force myself to think, "Remember the 2004 ALCS, down 0-3 ... ."
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Holy cow! Bulls are ranked second in AP.
Two more huge upsets - Kentucky over LSU and the Beavers over the Dirty Golden Bear - cleared the way. South Florida's shellacking of eighty-miles-up-Interstate-4 rivals Central Florida (a little voice in my head suggests that running the score to 64-12 is bad for the Bulls' karma), along with Boston College's less calamitous victory over floundering Notre Dame (I never anticipated using those words together), convinced the sportswriters that USF should advance to the penultimate position (eleven of them voted the Bulls number one). The coaches who vote in the USA Today poll were, perhaps understandably, less impressed, making the Eagles second and the Bulls third.
The Fighting Illini fell to Iowa and from the top 25 in both polls, so ex-Gator coach Ron Zook goes from cheers to catcalls in Champaign.
For you poll hounds, they're here.
The Fighting Illini fell to Iowa and from the top 25 in both polls, so ex-Gator coach Ron Zook goes from cheers to catcalls in Champaign.
For you poll hounds, they're here.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Mark Crawford: a conversation with the artist.
All images on this post are © 2007 by Mark Crawford and are posted here with his permission.
“I’m not an angry person,” Mark Crawford said, his pleasantly modulated voice revealing his Midwestern origin. He was responding to my observation that the untitled painting shown above seemed to me a visual expression of ire. Looking at that painting again, I saw that my eye had first been caught by the slashes of red and their contrast with the dark ground on which they are arranged, but had not focused on the broad swaths of white that overlay them, some with descending rivulets that “droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”*
Complex, and energetic; we could agree on that. Energy also suffused a smaller painting, called Game Machine, that hung on the wall of Mark's studio to the left of the untitled painting (see image below).
With an eruption of light shading to dark green spreading across a red ground, and with traces of white, it brought to my mind the Dylan Thomas poem, "The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower."
The painting that hung below Game Machine, titled Success in College (see below), has a quieter dynamism, expressed through subtle variations of tone and texture.
Garden Charade, seen below, is, as its name suggests, playful, but its ground of magenta shading into deep purple suggests an undertow of romantic passion.
There is a yin as well as a yang to Mark’s art. Much of his work, including the paintings shown above, is within the abstract expressionist canon, although these works also seem suffused with the introspective quality of a Vuillard or Bonnard. However, in my visit to his studio, I saw other works that exemplified a different, more formal non-representational tradition. The most prominent of these was a large canvas on which was a lattice of green tendrils intertwined with yellow, on a field of white (see below), titled Living Uneasily. I said this reminded me of Islamic art. He said he had spent some time in the Middle East, where he traveled in Turkey and Egypt, and wouldn’t be surprised if that had affected his work.
A native of Chicago, Mark studied at that city’s renowned Art Institute, from which he received a Bachelor in Fine Arts. He later did graduate study at Yale, leading to an M.F.A., and after that moved to New York City. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Brooklyn Heights.
Update: You can find images of Mark's recent works on his blog here.
*The Merchant of Venice, IV, i.
“I’m not an angry person,” Mark Crawford said, his pleasantly modulated voice revealing his Midwestern origin. He was responding to my observation that the untitled painting shown above seemed to me a visual expression of ire. Looking at that painting again, I saw that my eye had first been caught by the slashes of red and their contrast with the dark ground on which they are arranged, but had not focused on the broad swaths of white that overlay them, some with descending rivulets that “droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”*
Complex, and energetic; we could agree on that. Energy also suffused a smaller painting, called Game Machine, that hung on the wall of Mark's studio to the left of the untitled painting (see image below).
With an eruption of light shading to dark green spreading across a red ground, and with traces of white, it brought to my mind the Dylan Thomas poem, "The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower."
The painting that hung below Game Machine, titled Success in College (see below), has a quieter dynamism, expressed through subtle variations of tone and texture.
Garden Charade, seen below, is, as its name suggests, playful, but its ground of magenta shading into deep purple suggests an undertow of romantic passion.
There is a yin as well as a yang to Mark’s art. Much of his work, including the paintings shown above, is within the abstract expressionist canon, although these works also seem suffused with the introspective quality of a Vuillard or Bonnard. However, in my visit to his studio, I saw other works that exemplified a different, more formal non-representational tradition. The most prominent of these was a large canvas on which was a lattice of green tendrils intertwined with yellow, on a field of white (see below), titled Living Uneasily. I said this reminded me of Islamic art. He said he had spent some time in the Middle East, where he traveled in Turkey and Egypt, and wouldn’t be surprised if that had affected his work.
A native of Chicago, Mark studied at that city’s renowned Art Institute, from which he received a Bachelor in Fine Arts. He later did graduate study at Yale, leading to an M.F.A., and after that moved to New York City. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Brooklyn Heights.
Update: You can find images of Mark's recent works on his blog here.
*The Merchant of Venice, IV, i.
Upset-o-rama continues.
Oh, it's beer, beer, beer,
That makes you wanna cheer,
On the Farm, on the Farm!
Oh it's beer, beer, beer,
that makes you wanna cheer,
On the Leland Stanford Junior Farm.
No doubt many a keg was tapped in Palo Alto this past Saturday night. The last time I can recall Stanford beating USC was in the fall of 1970 (they must have won at least one during the Elway era, but I can't remember). I was visiting a friend in San Francisco, and on Saturday afternoon we were doing a winery tour of Napa. On the road from one tasting to the next, we were listening to the game on the car radio, and Bruce was, to my surprise, rooting for his law school alma mater, Stanford, instead of his undergrad school, Southern Cal. By the time the final score was announced, we'd hit four or five wineries, and had enough of a buzz on to each let out a good yelp. Of course, that year Stanford had a QB named Jim Plunkett, and may even have been favored going into the game. This year, however, the Cardinal were a 41 point underdog, so this goes down as the big upset no one expected.
Other upsets included South Carolina over Kentucky, though beating the Wildcats is old hat for Spurrier, and Tennessee over Georgia, with the twice beaten Vols having fallen from the ranking and the twelfth ranked Dawgs having lost only one. but the other big surprise upset has to be once beaten but unranked Illinois over Wisconsin, previously unbeaten and ranked fifth. Thus have the Fighting Illini vaulted to eighteenth in the AP poll, one ahead of the Badgers, and ex-Gator coach Ron Zook has gone from groans in Gainesville to cheers in Champaign.
Then there was the big upset that didn't happen, the Gators' loss to LSU in the Swamp. In this crazy season, it's still possible to imagine a twice defeated Florida repeating as national champs, especially if they beat LSU on their second try in an SEC championship game.
The other big upset that almost happened involved my alma mater, South Florida. They nearly got toppled from their unprecedented number six ranking by unheralded Florida Atlantic. Despite their unimpressive showing, and with help from the losses by USC and Wisco, the Bulls advanced from sixth to fifth. Inconceivable!.
That makes you wanna cheer,
On the Farm, on the Farm!
Oh it's beer, beer, beer,
that makes you wanna cheer,
On the Leland Stanford Junior Farm.
No doubt many a keg was tapped in Palo Alto this past Saturday night. The last time I can recall Stanford beating USC was in the fall of 1970 (they must have won at least one during the Elway era, but I can't remember). I was visiting a friend in San Francisco, and on Saturday afternoon we were doing a winery tour of Napa. On the road from one tasting to the next, we were listening to the game on the car radio, and Bruce was, to my surprise, rooting for his law school alma mater, Stanford, instead of his undergrad school, Southern Cal. By the time the final score was announced, we'd hit four or five wineries, and had enough of a buzz on to each let out a good yelp. Of course, that year Stanford had a QB named Jim Plunkett, and may even have been favored going into the game. This year, however, the Cardinal were a 41 point underdog, so this goes down as the big upset no one expected.
Other upsets included South Carolina over Kentucky, though beating the Wildcats is old hat for Spurrier, and Tennessee over Georgia, with the twice beaten Vols having fallen from the ranking and the twelfth ranked Dawgs having lost only one. but the other big surprise upset has to be once beaten but unranked Illinois over Wisconsin, previously unbeaten and ranked fifth. Thus have the Fighting Illini vaulted to eighteenth in the AP poll, one ahead of the Badgers, and ex-Gator coach Ron Zook has gone from groans in Gainesville to cheers in Champaign.
Then there was the big upset that didn't happen, the Gators' loss to LSU in the Swamp. In this crazy season, it's still possible to imagine a twice defeated Florida repeating as national champs, especially if they beat LSU on their second try in an SEC championship game.
The other big upset that almost happened involved my alma mater, South Florida. They nearly got toppled from their unprecedented number six ranking by unheralded Florida Atlantic. Despite their unimpressive showing, and with help from the losses by USC and Wisco, the Bulls advanced from sixth to fifth. Inconceivable!.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Aurora, the Goddess of Sparkle
This installation by the artist NATSU was part of Project Glow, in turn part of the Art Under the Bridge festival in DUMBO. As such, she was lit at night, her many prisms producing a multicolored display. But even catching the rays of the early morning sun she was sparkly and enticing (click on the image to enlarge and get the full effect).
QE 2 back in New York.
I thought my eyes deceived me when I looked across from Pier 17 at South Street Seaport to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal this afternoon, but Tom Turner of NYCMaritime confirms that it really was Queen Elizabeth 2.
Update: On my morning run on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, I saw QE 2 still at her berth. I got this photo of her, along with the masts of the German naval training barque Gorch Fock, through the fog.
Update: On my morning run on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, I saw QE 2 still at her berth. I got this photo of her, along with the masts of the German naval training barque Gorch Fock, through the fog.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
This blog takes a detour.
As I predicted two days ago (yeah, Maine's great pitching and the offensive explosion yesterday had me hoping I might get a chance to eat my words), the Mets are goners. So, for reasons I've alluded to before, this blog is now, for the duration of their survival in the playoffs, joining Red Sox Nation.Sorry, Rundeep , sweetie-pie though you are. If I weren't married to a Bay Stater, I'd be backing the Phils. After all, I'm a Pennsylvania native, and they play in the Real Baseball League.
10/1 update: Topazz has the same fatalistic view about the Phils that I had about the Mets, and predicts their collapse. She also reminisces about Lenny Dykstra, which brings to my mind the rueful thought: How could the Mets have traded him for Juan Samuel?
USA Today poll out: USF cracks top ten.
The just-released USA Today coaches' poll reflects the many upsets of top ten teams this weekend. Southern Cal, which survived a scare but proved that, this time at least, Trojans don't burst under pressure, stays at number one, and LSU remains ranked second. Florida once again succumbed to their nemesis, Auburn, and fell from third to seventh. Losing to Auburn wasn't fatal to the Gators' drive to the national championship last year, but this year's squad looks unlikely to repeat. An impressive win over Oregon vaults the Dirty Golden Bear to third and makes Cal look like a national title contender for the first time in many years. Formerly fourth ranked Oklahoma, trampled by the Buffs, sinks to tenth. West Virginia falls from fifth to twelfth after losing to South Florida, which vaults from eighteenth to ninth, marking the Bulls' maiden appearance in the top ten of a major poll. Ohio State and Wisconsin, both still unbeaten, rise from eighth and ninth to fourth and fifth, respectively. Boston College cracks the top ten, advancing from eleventh to sixth despite a relatively narrow win over lightweight U. Mass. Finally, Kentucky advances from fifteenth to eighth, making its first top ten showing perhaps since the days of Babe Parrilli (some Wildcat fan correct me if I'm wrong).
Update: The AP poll is out now, and LSU is rated number one, Southern Cal second. South Florida makes it to sixth, and the Gators drop to ninth. The B.C. Eagles come in seventh, and all else is the same as in the USA today poll.
Update: The AP poll is out now, and LSU is rated number one, Southern Cal second. South Florida makes it to sixth, and the Gators drop to ninth. The B.C. Eagles come in seventh, and all else is the same as in the USA today poll.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
DUMBO Saturday morning.
DUMBO is an acronym for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass." It's a section of Brooklyn lying next to the East River, from just north of the Brooklyn Bridge to just north of the Manhattan Bridge, both of which are elevated above it. It was primarily industrial, including some outstanding nineteenth and early twentieth century factory and warehouse buildings. Many of these have been converted to residential use and to artists' studios. This weekend, DUMBO is the site of the eleventh annual Art Under the Bridge Festival, which I've described here.Almondine is reputed to make the best baguettes west of Brest. We love them, along with their delicious almond and chocolate croissants.
Friday, September 28, 2007
The bitter and the sweet: Mets are done; USF Bulls prevail.
Mets blow it. Stick a fork in 'em, they're done. For the remainder of this season, and post-season, I have my choice of rooting for the Red Sox (my wife's choice, but they had their longed for championship a few years ago), the Phillies (from my native state, and perennial losers, which always draws my sympathy), or the Cubs (who haven't won a championship since the administration of William Howard Taft).
So much for baseball. On the college football front, my alma mater, South Florida, continues to amaze everyone, including me. Their upset of fifth ranked West Virginia may get them into the top ten. As a confirmed pessimist in sporting matters, I look for something down the road to derail them. Sort-of archrival Central Florida comes up in a couple of weeks, then there's Rutgers in New Brunswick. Stay tuned.
9/29 baseball update: A bit of pillow talk this morning resolves the issue for me: I will root for the Sox as long as they're in it. Meanwhile, Archaeopteryx, a lifelong Cards fan, declares for the Cubs.
9/29 football update: The Gray Lady's sports scribes just have to rain on the Bulls' parade. The teaser on page one of today's sports section says: "In ugly game, South Florida topples No. 5, West Virginia." The article, by Ray Glier, on page six, nowhere uses the word "ugly." It does say USF committed four turnovers, and was on the short end of the total yardage and time of possession stats. It also points out that the Mountaineers coughed up the ball through fumbles or interceptions six times. So the game was "ugly" if you consider rock-em sock-em DEE-fense ugly, or, I suppose, if you're upset by seeing an unfamiliar team gate-crashing a gathering of college football's elite
So much for baseball. On the college football front, my alma mater, South Florida, continues to amaze everyone, including me. Their upset of fifth ranked West Virginia may get them into the top ten. As a confirmed pessimist in sporting matters, I look for something down the road to derail them. Sort-of archrival Central Florida comes up in a couple of weeks, then there's Rutgers in New Brunswick. Stay tuned.
9/29 baseball update: A bit of pillow talk this morning resolves the issue for me: I will root for the Sox as long as they're in it. Meanwhile, Archaeopteryx, a lifelong Cards fan, declares for the Cubs.
9/29 football update: The Gray Lady's sports scribes just have to rain on the Bulls' parade. The teaser on page one of today's sports section says: "In ugly game, South Florida topples No. 5, West Virginia." The article, by Ray Glier, on page six, nowhere uses the word "ugly." It does say USF committed four turnovers, and was on the short end of the total yardage and time of possession stats. It also points out that the Mountaineers coughed up the ball through fumbles or interceptions six times. So the game was "ugly" if you consider rock-em sock-em DEE-fense ugly, or, I suppose, if you're upset by seeing an unfamiliar team gate-crashing a gathering of college football's elite
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Visibility limited.
A few mornings ago, heavy fog covered the harbor as this Coast Guard buoy tender lay off the southern tip of Manhattan. The photo was taken from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
Whither the South Florida Bulls?
Joey Johnston says they're the real deal, but John Tamanaha plays it safe and predicts a West Virginia victory Friday night.
Monday, September 24, 2007
I've been messin' with the blog.
I decided a long time ago that the links on the right-hand column of the blog had gotten to be a problem. Some were links to outdated URLs, and there were others I had been meaning to add for some time but hadn't gotten around to. Also, they weren't categorized in any sensible way. So, I figured out (at last) how to use the new Blogger tools to create categories, which you'll see if you scroll down. I thought up cutesy names for most categories, but by the time I got to artists, architects and sports, the muse of cuteness had deserted me.
My one big addition is the music section, which I've expanded enormously (and put near the top, for you folks with short attention spans). I've scoured the web for the best links, mostly live performances on YouTube, of some of my favorite musicians and groups. Think of it as my free, electronic video jukebox. I'll warrant everything here terrific, but I'll mention a few that may be unfamiliar to many of you and that I think deserve attention.
The Be Good Tanyas are a three woman group from Vancouver that I fell in love with about a year ago when I got their album Blue Horse. The Littlest Birds is one of the best songs from that album; here it's given a video treatment that includes scenes from pre-Katrina New Orleans.
Black 47 is a traditional Irish hip hop band led by my old drinking buddy Larry Kirwan. I have a link to their official website, which gives you streaming audio of "Funky Ceili," their thrash metal "Danny Boy," and "Downtown Baghdad Blues," as well as news about forthcoming appearances, etc. I also have a link to their video of 40 Shades of Blue, featuring Larry in his pudding-bowl haircut.
I had the pleasure of hearing, and afterwards meeting, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown at Blues Harbor in Atlanta about fifteen years ago. Here he is doing Dollar Got the Blues in Hamburg, Germany in 1983. Gate was home in New Orleans and seriously ill when Katrina hit; she undoubtedly hastened his death. Here's a link to some scenes from his jazz funeral.
The East Village Opera Company does arrangements of operatic arias to rock instrumentation. People who are very invested in how this music should sound are duly offended; others, knowledgeable in the operatic canon, praise them for faithfulness to the composers' intent. Here's their rendition of La Donna e Mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto.
I've long been a fan of the British folk-rock group Fairport Convention, and have included two videos of them on my list. One of these, Time Will Show the Wiser, is a real 1960s period piece (it's from either '67 or '68, depending on whether you believe the caption on YouTube or the graphic on the video itself), and features the band's lineup for their first (eponymous) album, with Ian Macdonald and Judy Dyble on lead vocals (both had left the band before Fairport's second album, What We Did on Our Holiday, was made). The other Fairport video I've linked to is Now Be Thankful, from an outdoor performance in 1970. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good video of Fairport when the late Sandy Denny was their lead singer and pianist. However, I've included her doing a medley of three songs solo, starting with the awesome The North Star Grassman and the Ravens.
Newfoundland's Great Big Sea joined with Ireland's national treasure, the Chieftains, to produce a rousing performance of Lukey. Commentary on YouTube suggests that everyone involved in this video, with the possible exceptions of the schoolgirls and the guy driving the shooting brake, was several sheets to the wind when it was made. Maybe GBS brought a bottle or two of screech with them when they visited Ireland.
Mark Knopfler, best known as one of the founding members of Dire Straits, is a stone guitar genius. About a year ago, I saw something about his collaborating with country songbird Emmylou Harris, and thought this sounded intriguing. Here's a video of the two of them doing a song called This Is Us, in a concert in Brussels. I also have Knopfler jamming with another guitar legend, Eric Clapton, on Dire Straits' original hit, Sultans of Swing.
I wasn't able to find video of Marshall Chapman (see my earlier post on her here) in performance, but I've linked to her official website, Tallgirl.com. If you click on "To order CDs," you can play generous samples from some of her songs (no obligation to go on and buy, but I think you'll be strongly tempted).
Can I ever forgive Delbert McClinton for wearing a Yankee t-shirt (in Austin, no less)?
I'll close with an open-ended question: if Self-Absorbed Boomer was an open source blog, what would you change?
My one big addition is the music section, which I've expanded enormously (and put near the top, for you folks with short attention spans). I've scoured the web for the best links, mostly live performances on YouTube, of some of my favorite musicians and groups. Think of it as my free, electronic video jukebox. I'll warrant everything here terrific, but I'll mention a few that may be unfamiliar to many of you and that I think deserve attention.
The Be Good Tanyas are a three woman group from Vancouver that I fell in love with about a year ago when I got their album Blue Horse. The Littlest Birds is one of the best songs from that album; here it's given a video treatment that includes scenes from pre-Katrina New Orleans.
Black 47 is a traditional Irish hip hop band led by my old drinking buddy Larry Kirwan. I have a link to their official website, which gives you streaming audio of "Funky Ceili," their thrash metal "Danny Boy," and "Downtown Baghdad Blues," as well as news about forthcoming appearances, etc. I also have a link to their video of 40 Shades of Blue, featuring Larry in his pudding-bowl haircut.
I had the pleasure of hearing, and afterwards meeting, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown at Blues Harbor in Atlanta about fifteen years ago. Here he is doing Dollar Got the Blues in Hamburg, Germany in 1983. Gate was home in New Orleans and seriously ill when Katrina hit; she undoubtedly hastened his death. Here's a link to some scenes from his jazz funeral.
The East Village Opera Company does arrangements of operatic arias to rock instrumentation. People who are very invested in how this music should sound are duly offended; others, knowledgeable in the operatic canon, praise them for faithfulness to the composers' intent. Here's their rendition of La Donna e Mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto.
I've long been a fan of the British folk-rock group Fairport Convention, and have included two videos of them on my list. One of these, Time Will Show the Wiser, is a real 1960s period piece (it's from either '67 or '68, depending on whether you believe the caption on YouTube or the graphic on the video itself), and features the band's lineup for their first (eponymous) album, with Ian Macdonald and Judy Dyble on lead vocals (both had left the band before Fairport's second album, What We Did on Our Holiday, was made). The other Fairport video I've linked to is Now Be Thankful, from an outdoor performance in 1970. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good video of Fairport when the late Sandy Denny was their lead singer and pianist. However, I've included her doing a medley of three songs solo, starting with the awesome The North Star Grassman and the Ravens.
Newfoundland's Great Big Sea joined with Ireland's national treasure, the Chieftains, to produce a rousing performance of Lukey. Commentary on YouTube suggests that everyone involved in this video, with the possible exceptions of the schoolgirls and the guy driving the shooting brake, was several sheets to the wind when it was made. Maybe GBS brought a bottle or two of screech with them when they visited Ireland.
Mark Knopfler, best known as one of the founding members of Dire Straits, is a stone guitar genius. About a year ago, I saw something about his collaborating with country songbird Emmylou Harris, and thought this sounded intriguing. Here's a video of the two of them doing a song called This Is Us, in a concert in Brussels. I also have Knopfler jamming with another guitar legend, Eric Clapton, on Dire Straits' original hit, Sultans of Swing.
I wasn't able to find video of Marshall Chapman (see my earlier post on her here) in performance, but I've linked to her official website, Tallgirl.com. If you click on "To order CDs," you can play generous samples from some of her songs (no obligation to go on and buy, but I think you'll be strongly tempted).
Can I ever forgive Delbert McClinton for wearing a Yankee t-shirt (in Austin, no less)?
I'll close with an open-ended question: if Self-Absorbed Boomer was an open source blog, what would you change?
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Bulls advance; Gators slip
People keep hitting my blog from web searches for the latest AP college football top 25, so I'd better put the link up now. There you are.
My alma mater, South Florida, advances from 23rd to 18th in both the AP and USA Today polls on the strength of a convincing victory over a weak North Carolina team. Meanwhile, the Florida Gators fall back from third to fourth in the AP poll (though retaining third in the actually more important, since it counts for BCS rank, USA Today poll) after having a near-death experience in Oxford, Mississippi.
Everything in my bones tells me that South Florida's glory run will come to an end next Friday evening against West Virginia, but then I didn't think there was any way they could beat Auburn. I'm more confident that the death knell for the Gators will sound at Baton Rouge on October 6th. But then, I didn't think there was any way they could beat Ohio State.
My alma mater, South Florida, advances from 23rd to 18th in both the AP and USA Today polls on the strength of a convincing victory over a weak North Carolina team. Meanwhile, the Florida Gators fall back from third to fourth in the AP poll (though retaining third in the actually more important, since it counts for BCS rank, USA Today poll) after having a near-death experience in Oxford, Mississippi.
Everything in my bones tells me that South Florida's glory run will come to an end next Friday evening against West Virginia, but then I didn't think there was any way they could beat Auburn. I'm more confident that the death knell for the Gators will sound at Baton Rouge on October 6th. But then, I didn't think there was any way they could beat Ohio State.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Baseball whine time.
At last I've found someone who's as much of a fusspot Mets fan, and pathological Yankee hater, as I am. It's gratifying to see Braves and, especially, Yankees fans also represented there (scroll down).
I'm disappointed not to find the Phillies represented, though. Somebody should have called on Joe Queenan.
I'm disappointed not to find the Phillies represented, though. Somebody should have called on Joe Queenan.
Shame and scandal in sweet New England
So far I've resisted commenting on Belichikgate (someone besides me must have called it that, I trust); its only effect on me being my concern over whether, with fall approaching, I'll be able, without attracting derision, to wear during my morning run on the Promenade the Pats hoodie sweatshirt my sweetie gave me for my birthday after they won Super Bowl XXXVI. Now, as so often happens, I find that Twiffer has done the job admirably, using as his springboard some hyperventilation by Gregg Easterbrook.
And the Easterbrook piece led me to this, which I can't resist sharing.
And the Easterbrook piece led me to this, which I can't resist sharing.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Jaguar E type
When I was in my senior year of high school, the E type (or XK-E, as it was commonly known) was big news. Although first made in 1961, it had just begun to penetrate the American market in 1962-63. Its hefty six cylinder engine and monococque body were charismatic. I recall a trip to Sheppard's, Tampa's exotic car specialist, to retrieve my Sunbeam Alpine from one of its many visits to the service bay, when I encountered six mechanics working on one. They were squatting, three to a side of the engine (which had been lifted out of the car), and appeared to be engaged in some sort of religious ceremony (which they may well have confessed to have been their sense of the matter).
The. Worst. Baseball. Weekend. Ever.
First, my beloved Brooklyn Cyclones, having breezed past their archrivals, the Staten Island Yankees, in the semifinals, once again came a cropper in the championship series.
Then to the Mets. It seems now that whenever they play their only remaining serious rivals for the division pennant, the Phillies, Joe Btfsplk is in the stands wearing a Mets cap and holding a "Ya gotta believe!" sign. Yesterday was especially painful, as it looked like the Mets had traded their usual lineup for nine clones of Inspector Clouseau.
The only bright spot was the Red Sox' Saturday trouncing of the Yanks, unfortunately bracketed by two losses to the Beasts of the Bronx.
9/18 update: Arrrrrrrrgh! Yechhhhhh! Twiffer once accused me of sounding like a Cubs fan. Maybe I'd be happier if I were one.
Then to the Mets. It seems now that whenever they play their only remaining serious rivals for the division pennant, the Phillies, Joe Btfsplk is in the stands wearing a Mets cap and holding a "Ya gotta believe!" sign. Yesterday was especially painful, as it looked like the Mets had traded their usual lineup for nine clones of Inspector Clouseau.
The only bright spot was the Red Sox' Saturday trouncing of the Yanks, unfortunately bracketed by two losses to the Beasts of the Bronx.
9/18 update: Arrrrrrrrgh! Yechhhhhh! Twiffer once accused me of sounding like a Cubs fan. Maybe I'd be happier if I were one.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
College football update: Bulls in top 25; Gators roll.
The South Florida Bulls, despite having an off week and despite their last week's upset victim, Auburn, being upset a second time by perennial SEC also-ran Mississippi State, have cracked the top 25 in both the AP and USA today polls (you can see them here). I'll stick with my theory that they'll have a lot of trouble next week with revenge-minded North Carolina, smarting from a loss this week to lightly-regarded Virginia.
Meanwhile, the Florida Gators continued their dominance over non-traditional rival Tennessee (I explained the "history" between these teams here). I expect the Gators to be a little flat against Ole Miss next week, but to prevail nevertheless. What happens after that against their traditional nemesis Auburn, now twice beaten, is an open question.
Meanwhile, the Florida Gators continued their dominance over non-traditional rival Tennessee (I explained the "history" between these teams here). I expect the Gators to be a little flat against Ole Miss next week, but to prevail nevertheless. What happens after that against their traditional nemesis Auburn, now twice beaten, is an open question.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
It's official: USF football is big-time.
Her (rubbing eyes): Why so late last night?
Me (after a yawn and stretch): Big game. My alma mater beat Auburn with a TD in overtime.
Her: Beat who?
Me: Auburn. That's Auburn University, in Alabama, not the town in Massachusetts. They're a major football power in the SEC. Ranked seventeenth in the AP poll going into the game.
Her (turning over): Oh. How'd the Red Sox do?
So it goes. It now seems unlikely the Bulls will be able to pull off any more surprises. After an off week, they play North Carolina at home on the 22nd, and will undoubtedly be favored. The pessimist in me sees this as a classic scenario for a letdown; I suspect USF has just enough Gator DNA to fall flat coming off a big victory. If they can get past the Tarheels, they face their really big test on Friday the 28th, when they host the currently number three ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, who will be itching for revenge.
It seems I may have been wrong in thinking that dumping Michigan from the top 25 because of their loss to Appalachian State was an overreaction. Unfortunately, their drubbing by Oregon (which must have Lloyd Carr perusing Monster.com) may serve to dim ASU's accomplishment.
Update: South Florida didn't make the top 25 in the AP writers' poll (which doesn't count for BCS purposes) or the USA Today coaches' poll (which does), though it gets strong honorable mention in both (you can see the poll results here). It's interesting to note that Oklahoma is ranked third and Florida fifth in the AP poll, while those rankings are reversed in the USA Today poll, in which Florida received seven first place votes. I can only conclude that Urban Meyer is much better liked by his fellow coaches than is Bob Stoops.
Me (after a yawn and stretch): Big game. My alma mater beat Auburn with a TD in overtime.
Her: Beat who?
Me: Auburn. That's Auburn University, in Alabama, not the town in Massachusetts. They're a major football power in the SEC. Ranked seventeenth in the AP poll going into the game.
Her (turning over): Oh. How'd the Red Sox do?
So it goes. It now seems unlikely the Bulls will be able to pull off any more surprises. After an off week, they play North Carolina at home on the 22nd, and will undoubtedly be favored. The pessimist in me sees this as a classic scenario for a letdown; I suspect USF has just enough Gator DNA to fall flat coming off a big victory. If they can get past the Tarheels, they face their really big test on Friday the 28th, when they host the currently number three ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, who will be itching for revenge.
It seems I may have been wrong in thinking that dumping Michigan from the top 25 because of their loss to Appalachian State was an overreaction. Unfortunately, their drubbing by Oregon (which must have Lloyd Carr perusing Monster.com) may serve to dim ASU's accomplishment.
Update: South Florida didn't make the top 25 in the AP writers' poll (which doesn't count for BCS purposes) or the USA Today coaches' poll (which does), though it gets strong honorable mention in both (you can see the poll results here). It's interesting to note that Oklahoma is ranked third and Florida fifth in the AP poll, while those rankings are reversed in the USA Today poll, in which Florida received seven first place votes. I can only conclude that Urban Meyer is much better liked by his fellow coaches than is Bob Stoops.
Friday, September 07, 2007
S-AB enters the terrible twos.
I missed it: this blog had its second birthday on August 30th. My only excuse for failing to commemorate this as I did last year is that I was headed north on the Adirondack on that very day.
Anyway, birthdays are times to make promises. I promise that S-AB will be more controversial in the coming year. It befits its age.
Anyway, birthdays are times to make promises. I promise that S-AB will be more controversial in the coming year. It befits its age.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
College football kickoff
No real surprises the first weekend of play, except for the One Big Surprise. In Monday's New York Times, Viv Bernstein had a front page story about how Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore assembled a team from players who were "on the recruiting bubble" but were "too short or too thin or, in some cases, too obscure to have been noticed by the major programs." In this respect, Bernstein makes Moore sound like college football's analogue to Billy Beane. The same Times had, in the sports section, an essay by ASU alum Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics. I expected Dubner to have some dismally scientific take on his old school's unexpected triumph; instead, he mostly reminisces about his student days in Boone, when the football team was lousy but the soccer team was great (sort of reminds me of my days at South Florida, except that our football team then was nonexistent). He also informs us that Appalachian "is pronounced app-uh-LATCH-un, not app-uh-LAYCH-un, and that goes for the mountains, too, not just the University." I believe this is true south, but not north, of the Mason-Dixon Line, but invite anyone to correct me.
Mike Celizic uses the upset as a platform to campaign for the abolition of pre-season rankings. His principal reason is that a high poll position at the outset of the season tends to be sticky, despite the team's actual performance. However, he wrote his column before Michigan was summarily dumped from the top 25 (an overreaction, in my view). In any event, it's a useless campaign. Even if AP gives up the game, all those publishers of pre-season preview books are going to continue doing theirs.
Mike Celizic uses the upset as a platform to campaign for the abolition of pre-season rankings. His principal reason is that a high poll position at the outset of the season tends to be sticky, despite the team's actual performance. However, he wrote his column before Michigan was summarily dumped from the top 25 (an overreaction, in my view). In any event, it's a useless campaign. Even if AP gives up the game, all those publishers of pre-season preview books are going to continue doing theirs.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Mets sweep Braves!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hilly Kristal, 1932-2007.
Last year I posted about the perhaps temporary demise of the famous new wave rock venue CBGB & OMFUG. At the time, I noted, there was a possibility that the club might reopen at a different location, although that location might be Las Vegas, not New York.
Yesterday, as I was sad to learn, lung cancer counted as its latest victim CBGB's founder and guiding spirit, Hilly Kristal.
Yesterday, as I was sad to learn, lung cancer counted as its latest victim CBGB's founder and guiding spirit, Hilly Kristal.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The economics of lobster rolls.
Matthew Yglesias presents this gem in the Atlantic (be sure to scroll down through the comments, too, for discussion of such worthy topics as why hot dogs taste better at the ballpark), with inspiration from Tyler Cowen.
Thanks to WikiFray companion John McG for the link.
Thanks to WikiFray companion John McG for the link.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)