These directions say we go to [Tempe] Arizona!

Thoughts from 19 Sept 2008 - To The Heat I Head...

I am jacked beyond belief about Tailgate 2008 - Desert Dawg Edition. While this may not be tailgating as we know it under the shade of UGA’s beautiful North Campus and amid Athens’ gorgeous co-eds, we are slated to have a spectacular weekend in Tempe. A few friends and hordes of the Bulldog Nation are converging on invading Athens West for the weekend. We will feel at home when we make Mill Street resemble Broad Street - red and black clad fans barking loudly, discussing the finer points of our beloved Dawgs, and shouting Go DAWGS! We will make do with what ever Tempe Tailgating has to offer and represent Georgia well. Now which way to the Taco Stand?

Let me say it again...I am stoked out of my gourd about this weekend. I have been reading blogs and newspaper articles online most of the week, and thanks to a last minute grab of the Mac and PDX's free Wi-Fit, my 90-minute flight delay spent reading about the Dual in the Desert seemed much shorter - reading more blog posts and newspaper articles. Enough of this reading I say...get me to Tempe. The excitement is so rampant around the House of Davi that even The Wife is singing songs about "going to see the Doggies!" I am not making up this my friend. It is a beautiful sound to hear!

The trip has started well...Jen is safe in Tempe, and I am safely on my way now. Dinner was eaten at a red and black table with red chairs. What a wonderful start.

So I am off and going, having talked with a few people on my flight who are aware of the excitement that surrounds this Dawgs in the Desert Weekend, so this should be an indicator that things will be nuts in Athens West / Tempe. Go DAWGS! Now it is time for the Bulldog Nation to show Sparky how to...

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SEC Back-Up

Greetings from high above the Midwest as Jen and I make our way to Charlotte before our travels take us to Myrtle Beach - Charleston - Peachtree City - Alpharetta - Oakboro (rural Charlotte).  Another trip on crack, but at least I will not return to Portland and return to school.

But I digress before I even start. Is that possible? Anyway…my musings today stem from two factors. (1) I finally took the advice of my buddy Andrew and purchased Dixieland Delight (by Clay Travis), which has been part of my entertainment on my flight thus far. The book tells the tales from Clay’s 8,000 mile tour / road trip through the Southeast and the 2006 SEC football season - 1 home game at each member school - and (2) I had to be calmed while violently shaking my cozy plane seat as I was cheering on LSU who staved off elimination from the College World Series by plating 4 runners in the bottom of the 9th to beat and eliminate Rice (6 - 5).

So where does this leave us you ask?  Primary colors are great - red, yellow, blue - but seeing additional / secondary colors is a plus…they make life more, well, colorful.  That being said, we all have primary colleges for whom we devote much time, energy, and money, but I think we, like the color wheel, need secondary options, too.  What happens when you have a hankering for Chick-fil-A on Sunday when you know they are closed?  You do not vouch to never go again.  You simply find another yearning to supply your gastronomic craving and know that this is neither the first nor the last time you will encounter this exact same dilemma.  You have your primary desire, which is closed, so you find a secondary option to quench your thirst even if it is not as good as your primary drink of choice.

I am not here to help you lay out rules and hash through your options to find an alternative school for whom to cheer, but I have come to realize over the past couple of years that the Bengal Tiger Cats of Louisiana State University are my secondary color of choice.  But LSU is an SEC school you quip.  Right you are my friend, but I am not going to deny my primary Georgia squad when they meet in competition.  That would be like amputating your arm because you jammed your finger.  No way baby…that’s just not going down.  But when LSU is playing Rice, why should I not cheer for them?  My friend Molly is a Cajun, and she is one of the coolest people I know.  I have heard good things about LSU folk, and I hope to experience a night in the Bayou this October when the DAWGS head to Baton Rouge for what is expected to be a slugfest and a key game in Georgia’s run at a national title.

Quality, wholesome, jambalaya- and gumbo-making Cajuns are quality people on whom I wish no evil unless they meet my beloved Red and Black clad brethren from Athens.  You, my Bengal Tiger Cat friend, you are my Kid Sister to Georgia being My Buddy!

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Tuesdays

Most high school students are not fond of reading. However, a random moment sparked a conversation between a student and me about Jon Krakauer’s work. Krakauer happens to be my favorite author [“Into Thin Air” being my most preferred book]. Therefore, when asked for my thoughts on my favorite book, I was stoked out of my gourd.

I have no idea what prompted the Krakauer question, but I spewed my thoughts about “into Thin Air,” “Into the Wild,” “Under the Banner of Heaven,” and Krakauer’s writing in general. After sharing my thoughts, class continued with no further thought about the author.

Or so I thought.

At class’s start A few days later, the Krakauer asking student handed me “Tuesdays with Morrie” (by Mitch Albom). “You should read this,” he stated confidently. “You will enjoy the book.”

I stared at the book, read the title and back cover, and quickly reasoned that this book was similar to my favorite Krakauer works in one fashion only - human suffering. To my initial disliking, the book did not include the outdoor elements, the real danger, the sport, and the unexpectedness of humans trying to conquer nature that keep me glued to Krakauer’s every word. I had emphatically emphasized the great qualities that I drew me to Krakauer’s writings. Nevertheless, I took the book and lackadaisically suggested “I would read it when I am done with my current reading material.”

Fast-forward a week. I am bored with my book “Last Dance” (by John Feinstein), a book on the Final Four that I should love and read quickly. However, this book did not stimulate me or hold my interest, so I was left trying “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

Reading fast and Todd are antonyms, but I have read 3/4 of the book in a few days. Granted, it is a small book, and I was able to read on my flight from Portland to Atlanta.

Nevertheless, I am engrossed in a book I thought I would not like, that is unlike Krakauer’s books, and that is emotional and touching, and I am ok with these facts. I look forward to finishing the book and concluding my lessons with Morrie, and I suggest you start your class with Morrie soon…before or after reading the three aforementioned Krakauer works.

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Masu Experiement

I was hooked from my first sushi bite. It was Van Pelt who did it to me...spicy tuna, a California roll, and possibly some tuna nigiri. Kedron Kroger, no some fancy sushi joint, is where this all went down. Van Pelt dropped by my parents place to let me know he was going somewhere and that I should go with him, which was a common occurance. "Sushi?" I responded with a befuddled look on my face I am sure. He just chimmed "get in the car and let's go." The car was not some super nice ride, but rather a matte gray color Chevrolet Cavalier he called The Gray Ghost. So off we went to open my world to sushi, which I am yet to stop eating.

Fast forward many years to last Friday. After a round of frisbee golf in Laurelhurst Park with KG and a round of Carcossonne on a beautiful afternoon, thoughts, er stomachs, turned to victuals. Sushi at Masu East was the unequivocal desire of KG and Courtney.

Yes...we ate the fried bones, and they were delicious!

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FREE Cone Day :: Ben and Jerry’s

Tuesday, April 29 :: 12pm - 8pm

I shared this with you last year, and I will share it with you again this year…and every year that we keep in touch for crying out loud. What a great way to celebrate the starting of Ben and Jerry’s adventure into the ice cream business. Most places have sales to celebrate special events, but Ben and Jerry’s does it right with FREE Cone Day. The best part of this (for those who want lots of ice cream) is that you can eat as much as you want. At my first stop and Jen’s only stop last year, we saw a high school student working on his third round…of trying ALL of the flavors. You read that correctly…this guy had eaten a cone of every flavor twice, and he was now working on round three of EVERY flavor. You just have to go to the back of the line after each scoop.

On April 29, find the nearest scoop shop and celebrate with Ben, Jerry, and the throngs of fans who appreciate the best corporate [albeit green friendly corporate] ice cream. I hope to find a Ben and Jerry’s close to downtown Atlanta…where will you be enjoying your FREE cone?

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A Melodious Fabric of Society

Jen and I were outside a few days ago when we were suddenly taken back to yesteryear by a melody we heard from a few blocks away. We were so shocked at what our ears were telling us that we looked at each other to make sure we on our own were not going crazy.

The sweet, melodious music we heard was from none other than The Ice Cream Man. You got it…the ol’ white truck with pictures and prices of his goods on the outside and quality frozen treats on the inside. It was almost 80 over the weekend in Portland, so The Ice Cream Man was making his rounds and blaring the unmistakable tunes. I can taste a Rocket Pop right now.

While this is the first Ice Cream Man sighting this year, this is not the first time we have seen and heard The Ice Cream Man in Portland. However, every time we see and hear him, Jen states that this is another one of the great aspects of Portland that helps us realize we live in a pretty cool city. Additionally, it is unfortunate that what was once an integral part of life, our childhood, and the American summer is now a shocking occurrence.

The Ice Cream man is a pretty neat guy peddling top-notch product.

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Better than Expected

What a fun Dance this has been...and if only a pair of shots could have found the bucket for Davidson, but what an incredible game we witnessed last night! While Stephen Curry was highly touted by CBS, he lived up to his hype in the first half before being put on lock down by Rock Chalk's Box & One D.

Nevertheless, ALL Four 1 seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time, which is pretty remarkable since they should be the best teams in the tournament in the first place, but we all watch to see (a) big time upsets and big time little guys in the first weekend, (b) Cinderellas give it their all in the second weekend, and (c) top quality hoops the final weekend. I think we can put a big fat YES for (a) and (b), now we just have to wait to see if we get the quality hoops this coming weekend as CBS salivates over 2 games - 1 actual and 1 potential game - (1a) Roy Williams (who did not give a "shit" about UNC following the 2003 NCAA Championship game) vs. His Former Team and Bill Self and (1p (for potential)) Tyler Hansbrough vs. Kevin Love. The stories within a game aspect that CBS craves are there...let's hope that CBS broadcasts the games rather than talks obnoxiously about the stories...then again, who am I kidding!

The real point of this thought is to say a half-hearted I was not 100% correct to CBS...at least through the first 2 weekends of The Dance, which is why I might be partially correct. However, I want to applaud CBS for (a) having new Masters commercials and (b) not running them over and over and over and over and...you get the idea. However, CBS has one more weekend during which it can cram The Masters...A Tradition Like No Other down our throats. Here's to not allowing that to happen as I dream again about next year's perfect bracket.

With one more weekend, the goal is still the same...Stay As Long As You Can!

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Blinking Yellow

Driving can be a pain in tush at times because of all of the reasons that flow through your mind and my mind. Thankfully, though, I am not driving in Atlanta anymore!

However, while driving today, again I encountered (though I did not get to use) what I have before thought to be one of the best driving aspects ever programmed. What is this you ask, what can be so wonderful?

The blinking yellow turn signal my horsepower pumping partner.

Why do I, or we, need to wait through, at worst, both directions green lights just because I am turning left? That is like being penalized for not using change to purchase something that costs $1.55.

I do not know if there is a council to which I can ask for more blinking yellow turn signals, but I might start to look for them. When ever I spot these, I get a little tingle of happiness because I know at least one traffic signal oriented intersection is doing things right! If only there were more.

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Corporate Sponsorship...It Can Get Worse

When I think naming rights (or group's putting corporate names on structures) cannot get any worse, I open AdAge this morning only to read the following article.

*Note 1 - AdAge does not leave its articles online for long, so the short article is below as well.
*Note 2 - I am not going to subject you to senseless links that would lead you to corporate websites.
*Note 3 - My one musing is in red. The article should provide enough fodder.

Children's Hospital in Hot Water Over Corporate Sponshorships (from AdAge)

*The New York Times ran an article on this hospital as well.

Published: March 12, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- What's in a name? If you're a Columbus, Ohio-area children's hospital, plenty of donations.

The Nationwide Children's Hospital, so called in recognition of the insurance company's $50 million donation, is drawing fire from advocacy groups for its embrace of corporate sponsors. The facility is preparing to break ground on the Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department and Trauma Center. Another retailer, Limited Too, will be recognized for its $5 million donation with the Limited Too & Justice Main Lobby. [Next up - a new OshKosh retail spot that you walk through as you leave the B'Gosh Delivery Room and the Gerber Dining Hall in the Gerber Life Insurance Wing.] [In its current naming situation, this is the future of the building and its make-up.]

But it is the affiliation with Abercrombie, known for its not-exactly-child-friendly advertising, that is drawing the most criticism. Abercrombie donated $10 million to the hospital in 2006 for the construction of the center.

Not kidding around
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood sounded alarms this week with a widely distributed press release detailing its position, as well as a letter sent to hospital officials. The group also began a letter-writing campaign today in opposition of the use of the retailer's name.

The advocacy group earlier created a public-relations nightmare for McDonald's over its sponsorship of student report cards. The fast-food chain discontinued that program in January.

Susan Linn, the group's director and a psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center, said the group took action after it was contacted by a concerned hospital employee. "[Our] stance is that selling naming rights is a terribly troubling trend," said Ms. Linn. "It gives corporations a veneer of respectability that, in fact, they may not deserve, and this is a good example of that."

Incensed by A&F
"Abercrombie & Fitch is really among the worst of corporate predators," she continued. "A company with such cynical disregard for children's well-being shouldn't be able to claim the mantle of healing. ... And, personally, I find it very concerning that they named their hospital after an insurance company."

Jon Fitzgerald, president of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation, explained that the hospital is not selling naming rights but recognizing donors for "transformational" gifts. "It's a very common practice that when an institution is fortunate enough to receive a significant gift, or any gift for that matter, it requires some sort of recognition," he said. "If you took a look across universities and other hospitals you would see many retailers involved in naming opportunities at those institutions."

Mr. Fitzgerald also said the hospital, not the corporations, made the decision to rename or name certain areas in their honor. He noted that because design plans for the new building have not been finalized, he could not comment on how the Abercrombie & Fitch name would be used.

In response to the letter, Mr. Fitzgerald expressed concern. "Clearly we're open to talking to anyone who has issue with the directions we take to support our mission," he said. "And clearly we'll take into account what their concerns are. But this is a 2-year-old decision."

Tom Lennox, a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch who has also served on the hospital foundation's board of trustees since 2005, said, "We are proud of our long-standing relationship with the hospital and pleased to help secure its bright future." He declined to comment further.

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A Ruining Like No Other

Welcome to one of the most beautiful, most wonderful, most amazing times of the year my friends. In actuality it started a few days ago for our small, Cinderella hopeful friends (including the local Portland State Vikings!) who are hoping the shoe fits, but in reality, it all starts today as the Big Boy Conference Tournaments tip-off and teams make that one final push to get an invite, sure up an invite, or move up their invite number to the Big Dance.

March Madness.

I need not utter anything else(!), but I will...although not about the tournament itself. Wait...man, March Madness sounds so pleasing to the ear as the words bring back so many memories, sounds, smells, brackets - good and bad - bracket busters, buzzer beaters, couches, and ouches. But I digress.

March Madness (MM and More) does not bring just the pageantry of hoops and all that college ball has to offer. Unfortunately, March Madness also marks the rebirth of CBS's ability to ruin a beautiful event (if not more since CBS stands for Can't Broadcast S#@*), CBS's efforts to hawk an event we all love, and CBS's bullying ways that mean cramming an event down our throats. Unless you are going to be watching your first NCAA Basketball Tournament, then you know I am talking about The Masters.

During the tournament, you will watch more golf coverage than you will the rest of the year if you are not a golf fan. You will see almost every inch of Augusta National. You will quickly figure out that you are watching basketball and golf simultaneous. It gets that ugly. As we all know, the commercials end with A Tradition Like No Other, but I am not sure if the reference is to The Masters itself or CBS's annual muscle job of running the commercials incessantly. BUT WAIT...CBS could not wait this year. Some CBS marketing person decided that starting the cram job during March Madness simply did not give them enough time. While I do not have an official date or reference to prove this, my jaw dropped when I saw a Masters commercial during the NFL Playoffs. I kid you not my Bracketville Friend. Evidently CBS took Bracketville's "Stay as Long as You Can" slogan.

The Masters is simply a great event, and now we can watch more of it thanks to ESPN's coverage. However, I am simply not ready to digest a fist full of The Masters, A Tradition Like No Other. I can always count on CBS for being great at Ruining Like No Other, so thanks for being good at it!

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