Monday, January 31, 2005

Changes for the Better

Ah, much better. Baltimore is now the City that Reads, and I've also changed the link colors so that they're hopefully more pleasing to the eye. A link from the last post, from the web site truthaboutduke.com, still doesn't seem to be working, but the whole site is down at the moment so that may be the problem.

Many thanks to Ma and Pa Underchuckle for their helpful comments and discerning eyes!

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Happy Birthday!

To Me! Received an early birthday present last night, courtesy of the mighty Terrapins: MD wins in Durham. AGAIN.

Here's my review of the game, in Terrapin Red, naturally:

What can I say about the game, it was incredible! The Terps overcame the hostile drone-like synchronized cheering of the teamfromDurham's student fans and the biases of the officials to win yet again in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Nik Caner-Medley, playing like a first-team all ACC player right now, absolutely abused Redick in the second half. Abused might not be the right word. Let's just put it this way, it wouldn't have been legal in Texas a few years ago, before the Supreme Court struck down certain state laws. Those two long three-pointers were especially nice, since those are usually Redick's trademark.

I was most impressed by how smart and composed the team was. No dumb fouls, lots of ball movement - which is essential against the
teamfromDurham since they always overplay on defense. And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the excellent officiating. Even Vitale had to admit there were several obviously blown calls. Maryland did get a few back, but the balance still went to the teamfromDurham. I especially enjoyed Randolph's shove-to-the chest clear-out of a Maryland defender before a slam dunk late in the game. Way to stand up to the man, zebras! And once again Shane Battier reaches out from beyond the grave - aka his NBA career - in the form of ridiculous charge calls directly underneath the basket.

My favorite part of the game had to be the long, panning shots of the student drones, um, fans, with about 3 minutes left in the game. They could feel their chances slipping away, and looked so devastated. It was as if someone had taken away their BMWs, or shot their purebred dog. Yes, drones, the terps shot your poodle
(figuratively of course, I LOVE dogs! Even poodles. Well, poodles aren't my favorite, but it's not their fault they look like they do. Anyway, rest assured no poodles or any other dogs were harmed during the writing of this review). Again. Since it's almost an annual occurrence these days, they should be used to it by now, shouldn't they?

I personally think there's also a form of political Karma at work here: Krewsiwooski's Republican fundraising efforts simply aren't healthy for the Chi of his team!

For anyone who's counting, that's two wins in a row against these guys. And there's at least one more match-up this season, in College Park next month, plus the ACC tourney is at MCI center this year. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Wind-Powered Tube Animals

I saw this article on WIRED this morning and it absolutely amazed me. Larger-than life plastic animals that are wind-powered and have the capability to anchor themselves in storm conditions? Where can I get one? There are additional photos, and some videos as well - although I couldn't get some of them to play correctly - at strandbeest.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Coronation Day!

Today in Washington DC, the second coronation of "W" - or as history will hopefully refer to him, George the Dim - is being celebrated. As I sit in my office across from the Mayflower Hotel, I have a fantastic view of nine motor coaches idling, rumbling in the cold, ready to engulf supporters (read: donors) and whisk them off to festivities.

Helping to guide people to the appropriate bus are people in bright red baseball caps, caps that feature a white "W" inside a white circle. Have any other presidents ever had their own personal merchandising before? These caps must be pretty exclusive; I can't find them for sale at George's online store!

I guess we should be thankful that they're not red velvet cowboy hats with a huge silver W tacked on. Who knows, that could have been the initial plan, but with the war in Iraq, the tsunami, etc., it's appropriate to tone it down some, right? Good choice, Republicans! I like your hats.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

C'mon, EVERYONE'S doing it!

Seriously, they are. Or at least they're hoarding all the fun URLS on blogger.com. This address was my fifth choice! Anyway, we'll see how long this lasts. Judging by the many abandoned blogs that are out there, I wouldn't hold my breath. This site could begin and end with an audience of one, but hey it's free!

I'm not going to attempt to describe what this is going to be about, because I don't quite know. It's certainly NOT going to be limited to specific topics, places, or persons. Stay tuned...