i re-read all the books before the movies came out. then i attempted to read them w/ my daughter but she gave up halfway thru the Dead Marshes in the Two Towers ..
i am pretty sure that is where i gave up the first time i tried to read it too when i was 10 or so
The key to reading the LOTR the first time through is to skip all the Radagast stuff, all the Tom Bombadil stuff and the songs and lore - and stick to the central story. You can go back again later once you've read through
I read the Hobbit aloud to my daughter... twice! And she's still pissed at me for refusing to read it to her a third time when she was old enough to read it to herself.
maybe I can read mine The Hobbit in a few years. she's only 6 now. How old was she when you read it to her for the first time? Some scary stuff in there...
Heh, I was given The Hobbit by a FotF when I was 10, and refused to read it because I deemed it a "kid's book". Maybe a year or so later picked it up and read it - loved it.
By reading this obituary, I learned that the adult store Adam & Eve was founded as a UNC graduate school thesis and is currently headquartered right down the road from me. Perhaps the building is discreetly packaged.
Mark Meadows releases a bunch of documents to 1/6 Commission, including a 36 page powerpoint slide that documents their coup attempt. I'm no lawyer, but this feels like treason.
I wonder if the Democratic members of Congress will regret not taking this more seriously when Gaetz and Greentree are finding them in criminal contempt of Congress.
I've got the TV on while wrapping some gifts for mailing. Ran across a Mike Lindell ad that starts off whining about cancel culture affecting him and his customers. Then talks about all he has to sell. He's really branched out. He's no longer just the My Pillow guy.
[Thornton Melon]: All right. I'll say it. 'Cause Truman was too much of a *pussy wimp* to let MacArthur go in there AND BLOW OUT THOSE COMMIE BASTARDS!
[Sam Kinison as Professor Terguson]: Good answer. Good answer. I like the way you think.
Very impressive. Hat tip to her skin care routine if she really pulled that off.
The article noted that she even had boyfriends who were convinced. My guess is that she was, um, generous...and these fellas didn't want to fuck it up for themselves by asking about her age.
I remember having a few re-entry students. I think about how I felt about them at the time and I cringe. I thought the stereo-typical thing - they were far too interested in the subject, participated to the extreme, and seemed a bit loud/weird. I would love to go back and do some in person classes and I am 1,000% confident I would act just like them.
There was an intramural softball team at UCSC called the "Re-Entry Rockets" and they took that shit SERIOUSLY. My own team was comprised of fellow Slug Volleyball players - men's and women's - and we were incapable of taking anything seriously (on account of being wasted) but we'd still crush them and ooooooh, Nelly it would piss them off!
I will have to say, the special teams screw ups got cleaned up after a few games. Other than the kickoffs no longer reaching the end zone, I don't recall anything bad happening after 3 or 4 games. I just wish we had it resolved when the season started. What else do long snappers and holders have to do before the season started?
Unfortunately, the special teams errors were largely responsible for multiple losses, whereas our best STs performance was probably a 42-14 loss at UCLA....sigh.
A change is probably needed....even when Ragle's kids made a play, like the blocked punt v. Wazzu, it backfired. A fresh start is good.
Yeah, it got a lot better in second half of season. I would have been fine if Ragle stayed. But our ST play has been very inconsistent and he got a HC promotion. I think there is nothing mad to be about it.
Ragle's probably taking a step backward in absolute dollar terms. Last coach made $168k/year+ incentives. Ragle made about $250k/year. But the cost of living in Pocatello is about half that of Berkeley. I also think that Ragle will be with like-minded folks in South Eastern Idaho, which is essentially a straight shot north on 15 from Salt Lake City.
Anyone know why Vic Enwere and maybe others have some sort of beef with Cal/Wilcox? On twitter, he's posting alot of "Please Oregon take him so I can wear Cal gear with pride again" type of stuff.
I think I saw something about how he expected Cal to reach out to football alums more and include them in the program, and they just haven't done that as much as he wanted. Maybe he feels slighted, given what he put in to the program. I don't know for sure - I wish he and Wilcox would just talk it out, whatever it is.
That sounds about right. My experience with CAA, Cal Athletics, and the University is that they are incredibly insular and myopic. Their key goal is to raise money - but they go about it by just asking for it. Carpet-bomb lower level donors with weekly solicitations and mid-level donors get focused begging. There's no value-add to their begging. It's not until you're a big whale that you are treated to nice events that feature coaches, the AD, the Chancelor, and a few VIPs. I believe that we do not have a big enough machine that nurtures fandom down the value chain. Does Cal have a good tailgate experience? Do we have traditions that encourage participation by fans? Do we have pro-active coordination to improve game day experience (eg, transportation, parking, food, booze)? Do we nurture brands and merchandizing or do we outsource it to whomever? I feel for the guys - going from valued stars to nobodies must feel horrible. The good news is that Cal finally put together an alumni relations office in 2019. Perhaps it will take some time for them to build up.
that's part of it. Enwere and Allensworth also hold grudges for being rightfully passed up on the depth chart. Both lost their jobs to eventual Sunday talent.
I saw a couple out walking when I was on a walk yesterday afternoon. The husband was wearing a Cal cap and I gave him a "Go Bears." His reply - "absolutely."
This is kinda rad. That dude probably obtained a relation to Cal later in life, like maybe one of his kids went there. Otherwise he'd know to return the Go Bears. But I still respect his awareness and effort, and the assuredness of his response. Nice job all around.
there's some guy on twitter claiming to be a "Cal football insider" saying Wilcox is going to be Sonny's new DC at TCU. Also tweeted that defensive QA guy Michael Bruno will be the new DC at Nevada.
I went to two open air jazz concerts at my favorite local venue - Koka Booth. They roped off big squares and you could set up chairs inside their. They had packaged food (eg, Whole Foods) and wine/beer that wasn't too expensive. Very civilized. I'm not quite to the point of going to indoor venues and may never get there.
Going to see the Black Pumas and Thievery Corporation next week (separately). Those will be my first indoor shows. Saw Gary Clark Jr. (outdoors) in September.
IDLES was amazing, so much stage presence and A+++ crowd interaction. Not sure how they finished their show in the bay, but their guitarist solo'd throughout the entire crowd for a ~10min version of their love song.
Yep. I have been to several shows in the past few months; Deafheaven, Testament/Exodus, Mastodon/Opeth, Sleigh Bells, and am going to both of the Metallica 40th anniversary shows next weekend at Chase. Will also be seeing High on Fire for NYE, and have tiockets for about a dozen shows in Jan/Feb/Mar with plans to go to Roadburn fest in Tilburg, NL in April.
Yeah, they're having a lot of issues with people who are refusing both to be vaccinated and take any other precautionary actions, so cases were way up even before they panicked over Omicron. And there was a riot in Rotterdam a week or two ago that was basically a bunch of young guys who converged from multiple cities to cause trouble and found it (the police shot several people, and in a very Dutch mode the youths were setting racks of parked bikes on fire etc)
Went to an outdoors show in October. There are a bunch of bands coming through town starting in late March / early April that I'm looking forward to seeing.
Back in '94, I won a sweet Simpsons prize package from Live105. It was for the Simpsons 100th episode (which means they can syndicate), and it included a nice denim jacket and some itchy and scratchy underwear. The trivia question to win; "what is the name of Bart's nerdy friend?"
Through the 90s I could probably quote almost every episode verbatim as it was airing. The show isn't what it used to be, but those glory years were maybe the best TV comedy ever.
I read a book about how email is messing us all up, mentally. We all get too many emails and we just can't keep up with them and that makes us feel like we're ignoring colleagues or letting them down, which violates social norms. All while making our work less thoughtful and meaningful. These dynamics weigh on our mentals.
Interesting. You all must be more responsible than I am, because I have no problem letting emails sit unanswered, and eventually just delete them. If it's important the sender will track me down. I've gotten pretty good at triage through the years and I just don't sweat the rest.
I sometimes leave the audio on my work computer on after a zoom and then I get that constant pinging sound of emails coming in that frays my nerves. I feel like Marky Mark in that scene in Boogie Nights with the firecrackers
I have a bunch of folks I've met while out running but almost always go out alone. If I happen across someone I know, I'll adjust my pace and run with them but start off alone almost all the time.
Does Marshawn have any official role with Cal? We need to make him an official ambassador and have him appear at events, kind of like Ernie Banks did for the Cubs. Assuming Marshawn is willing of course. He is so beloved and charismatic and genuine.
my measure for this is how much time i spend reading vs watching TV. generally when i am reading more it means i am engaged and interested in trying new things and using my brain harder and i feel better about myself.
there is a lot of great TV these days, so it is not that i think it is a bad thing. but it is certainly "easier" for me to watch TV than read.
it is also probably a personal psych thing that i equate harder with better.
I've def been in the TV > books mode, even tho I keep buying books and place them on my bedside table. just too easy to relax the brain at night (and there *is* a lot of good stuff to watch!)
I was reading the whole Percy Jackson series, along with the Egyptian gods ones. They loved it and mostly would wait for me to read it to them rather than ahead. And they were 12-14 ish at the time. I really liked the series. I need to finish up the last couple of books in the Percy Jackson series since I moved to Portland for a year in the middle of the 2nd to the last. They ended up finishing them up on their own before I got back.
I've learned that certain relatives (on both sides of the gene pool) are oblivious idiots. Further, the idiocy is not confined or defined by one's political leanings or religious persuasions/inclinations.
For myself - take care of yourself. DO NOT get sucked in by oblivious idiots, no matter how tempting it may be to slap 'em upside the head using email.
One time when I was a baby attorney this senior associate asked me to cover a hearing. When I got back I joked to him that it went well, I got to pretend to be a lawyer. He said to me: “we are all just pretending here”. So true!
Fail fast. When you're younger, take a lot of risks - or at least go into ventures that are worth a high amount of risk. But if something doesn't go well, DO NOT GET STUCK WITH SUNK COST FALLACY. Get over your embarrassment/disappointment, look at what your options are going forward, and then act accordingly. Often, that means selling your losers as fast as possible, reversing behavior, and even walking away from something completely.
year end donations .. this is the first year that we used our "donor advised fund" to give $$ to Cal and others.
the idea is that you gift highly appreciated stocks at face value, but since they are going to charitable cause you dont have to sell the stocks and pay the capital gains and you still get the tax deduction for the donation amount.
interesting...will have to talk to accountant about that. sold some AAPL in 2020 and got crushed with cap gains (which is fine...I didn't "earn" the money, so it's all gravy).
anyone watch Invasion on ATV+? S1 ended last night. Maybe 10/19? Some good eps, some slow ones. And overall, a slow burner.
I read some IMDB reviews, and it's 75% shit, 25% "don't listen to them; they're just a bunch of Independence Day knuckle-draggers".
A friend of mine sent a Reddit thread that has some interesting theories, but with those, it means another 10 hours to start getting more resolution/understanding. And I'm not sure I'm willing to give them that time...
I got thru E1 a couple of years ago – shit, at this point way more than that, since I watched it in an LAX restaurant #CovidTime – and it didn't float my boat. My my sci-fi friend likes it, so will prob try again at some point.
I started Altered Carbon a couple of times, but never stuck with it. Despite Joel Kinnaman. (Who I completely didn't recognize 3.5 years ago as the same guy from The Killing, which was great!)
S1 and S2 of the Killing were great. S3 was ok. And S3.5 (half final season) wasn't really interesting.
the missus and I watched E1 of Breaking Bad and E1 of The Killing one night (like 7 years ago?) and never stopped with The Killing. And never went back to BB.
Watched The Conformist, Bertolucci, 1970 by myself since I thought (no doubt correctly) that I would be the only person who liked it. Really drew me into the story, great performances, but I had some moments marveling at the cinematography that kinda made me stop to notice how cool the shot was - that sort of broke the 4th wall a bit.
Like the very art-houseness of it made it seem less natural. Odd feeling.
My 16 y.o. has, to her disappointment, finished the UK segment of her AP Comparative politics class and they've now moved on to Russia. They spent yesterday watching some fairly bonkers (by her description) documentary about Putin with all sorts of weird translation issues - which she knows because her bestie is in the same class and speaks Russian. Aaaaaanyway long story long, I've sold her on watching Death of Stalin & apparently the missus wants to see it too, so for once I can participate in family movie night without risk of censure if I don't enjoy the film.
UConn's 239 game win streak against unranked opponents ends as the Huskies go ICE COLD, scoring only 5 points in Q4. Didn't help that they were without Buekers
Who becomes our Big X rival? Michigan for being the Blue and Gold public school with good academics that has Harbaugh? Northwestern for being the lone private school? Maryland for giving us that previous humidity game?
Lots of people have raved about this, thinking of the iconic teams and stadiums. The reality is trading games against regional rivals, who are close enough to go to for road games, and will sell tickets when they come for a game people care about, for games with Illinois and Rutgers (and when the ACC kicks in, Syracuse & Boston College or Virginia, which no one living anywhere neat their Pac-12 school of interest can afford the time and money to go to, and will bring zero fans to the game when they visit, and therefore depress both the gate and the local economy.
I'm going to disagree - I've been to SC games at the old Meadowlands and Metlife field, as well as at UVA, and there were good showouts from SC alums - and we're not a fanbase that is known for traveling. I think if the games are near hub airports, you'll see people travel from the west coast for them.
Your right; there will be some interest in games near hubs, which is not where most schools are located. And a trip to 1 game in the Meadowlands will still cost me more than the sum total for a trip to Washington/WSU. a trip to the Bay Area (Berkeley area ridiculous price goughing not withstanding), and a trip to Salt Lake City added together. Once the novelty wears off, neutral site games quickly lose a lot of their luster.
I hear ya, AP...I guess it all depends on who you draw....Cal plays Davis in Sept. ‘22 - do we really think that’s gonna pump up the Berkeley economy? No...but hosting Wisconsin will, tho.
Wisconsin will, but this notion that all 12 Pac schools will get Wis/tOSU/Mich/Penn St with ANY regularity is delusional. When they do come out, it will be for a good USC team, or to play UofO in Vegas. Also, the Davis game isn't one you will be losing; it will be a conference game (the Pac wants to drop to 8 if this goes through).
I go to Madison few times every year, and it's a nice little town. Main streets have some resemblance of Telegraph and the campus is beautiful. They wear red, so perfect to be our rival. Michigan would be my #1 choice but I would take Wisconsin too.
That article mentioned discussions of neutral sites? Ugggh. No thank you. Playing on campus and the gameday traditions is what makes college football what it is.
you can hear the band practicing in the Big House from my father in law's back yard, and yet I've never bestirred myself to get out there for a game, I should do something about that.
I watched the Ohio State/Michigan game on TV and really don't know what the big deal is....the atmosphere seemed no different from Memorial Stadium when I was there on 10/2 for the Wazzu game.....;-)
Social media and boards are collectively losing their minds over who the next Oregon Coach will be. According to the Internet, anyone and everyone has been confirmed to be the next coach, although Chip Kelly seems to be the favorite, despite the $9m buy-out at UCLA.
Wait until next month with a handshake and a wink in the meantime and Chip's buyout goes to $0. Spend it on a DC not named Jerry Azzinaro and a recruiter who won't draw sanctions for at least a couple of days.
Hiring a guy bc he’ll stay won’t get you a berth in the CFP. Folks playing the “it’s hard to win at Cal” card are just trying to excuse away Wilcox’s mediocrity.
Still not convinced Wilcox will be able to make the philosophical change in his offensive approach to win enough for the Ducks. Would be a lot of 9-4 years, which won’t cut it in Oregon, unless you’re gonna give him 10 years.
Well, there is something to be said for that...when a game swings on 2-3 plays per night like Wilcox-coached teams seem to do, having elite players that actually make plays can be the difference.
With Wilcox, though, perhaps his conservative offensive approach that seeks to limit mistakes is responsible for constantly being involved in close games that turn on those 2-3 plays.
"Construction will be funded entirely with private philanthropy and will be managed through the UO Foundation." I need to quit buying those Nike shoes.
That's what happens with the Raiders. Holy Roller is the one I frequently think of.
Also I thought I remember reading that once you start the slide it needs to be ruled a slide. I guess they added intent? Since he obviously intended to start the slide but didn't touch the ground with his leg/knee. Kinda like the Tuck Rule.
How was this language NOT already in the rule is my question....this was an easily predicted outcome that should have been accounted for...if you can’t count on the NCAA to get things right, who can ya count on?
Oh absolutely. Great move for him - more an indictment of Wilcox & Musgrave....this kid is a day 2 Draft pick...he’s not that with Garbers & this scheme.
LOTR is 20 years old today.
i re-read all the books before the movies came out. then i attempted to read them w/ my daughter but she gave up halfway thru the Dead Marshes in the Two Towers ..
i am pretty sure that is where i gave up the first time i tried to read it too when i was 10 or so
The key to reading the LOTR the first time through is to skip all the Radagast stuff, all the Tom Bombadil stuff and the songs and lore - and stick to the central story. You can go back again later once you've read through
I also never finished reading all the novels.
Loved the movies, though!
I found the movies ok. never watched any of them a second time.
I plodded thru LOTR over a summer when I was like 10-yo. I got 50 or 100 pages into Return of the King and quit. Never tried again.
I've read The Hobbit multiple times, but not since I was a teenager (maybe because it *was* a kid's book...see Cugel below).
I read the Hobbit aloud to my daughter... twice! And she's still pissed at me for refusing to read it to her a third time when she was old enough to read it to herself.
maybe I can read mine The Hobbit in a few years. she's only 6 now. How old was she when you read it to her for the first time? Some scary stuff in there...
Six is totally fine! You can place a comforting arm around her at the scary bits.
I'm still trying to get Star Wars in front of her. started it about 18 months ago and while she was fine, mom wasn't ;-)
gotta get thru our current gnome series and then might start the Hobbit (it's all short people!)
Heh, I was given The Hobbit by a FotF when I was 10, and refused to read it because I deemed it a "kid's book". Maybe a year or so later picked it up and read it - loved it.
Stop me if you've heard this before:
A guy drives through the Vegas airport fence...
in a limo...
wearing a clown mask...
before making a bomb threat...
to try to hijack a plane...
to Area 51...
(double hand gesture with tall hair) Aliens.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/09/us/nevada-man-stolen-jet-area-51/index.html
By reading this obituary, I learned that the adult store Adam & Eve was founded as a UNC graduate school thesis and is currently headquartered right down the road from me. Perhaps the building is discreetly packaged.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article256339892.html
Makes me wonder if I went to the right graduate school.
Our Self-Damaged Democracy
Mark Meadows releases a bunch of documents to 1/6 Commission, including a 36 page powerpoint slide that documents their coup attempt. I'm no lawyer, but this feels like treason.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mark-meadows-overturn-election-results-jan-6-committee-1269532/
Here is a leaked powerpoint (not proven to be the same, but I'd put money on it that it is because there's massive political points to be won): https://web.archive.org/web/20210716135230if_/https://www.ingersolllockwood.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/voter-fraud.pdf
I wonder if the Democratic members of Congress will regret not taking this more seriously when Gaetz and Greentree are finding them in criminal contempt of Congress.
Almost get shot down over Ukraine once, shame on Russia.
Almost get shot down over Ukraine a second time, shame on me.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43447/russian-air-defense-missile-systems-move-closer-to-ukraine-as-tensions-build
Bannon reiterates his plan to organize 4,000 paramilitary shock troops to support a GOP victory in 2024.
https://www.newsweek.com/bannon-gaetz-call-shock-troops-take-control-government-if-trump-returns-24-1657916
Arrest him for treason and execute him.
Got a text to join Trump's new social media platform this morning. I couldn't respond with STOP any faster.
I've got the TV on while wrapping some gifts for mailing. Ran across a Mike Lindell ad that starts off whining about cancel culture affecting him and his customers. Then talks about all he has to sell. He's really branched out. He's no longer just the My Pillow guy.
Re-entry students
[Thornton Melon]: All right. I'll say it. 'Cause Truman was too much of a *pussy wimp* to let MacArthur go in there AND BLOW OUT THOSE COMMIE BASTARDS!
[Sam Kinison as Professor Terguson]: Good answer. Good answer. I like the way you think.
“Mr Melon, your wife was just showing us her Klimt.”
“Oh, you too huh?”
So, this happened...
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/woman-48-lives-and-dates-for-two-years-as-her-22-year-old-daughter-at-university/
Very impressive. Hat tip to her skin care routine if she really pulled that off.
The article noted that she even had boyfriends who were convinced. My guess is that she was, um, generous...and these fellas didn't want to fuck it up for themselves by asking about her age.
https://giphy.com/gifs/roadshow-films-aJzJGcd9sk0bm/fullscreen
I remember having a few re-entry students. I think about how I felt about them at the time and I cringe. I thought the stereo-typical thing - they were far too interested in the subject, participated to the extreme, and seemed a bit loud/weird. I would love to go back and do some in person classes and I am 1,000% confident I would act just like them.
My son HATED them when he was a Slug.
There was an intramural softball team at UCSC called the "Re-Entry Rockets" and they took that shit SERIOUSLY. My own team was comprised of fellow Slug Volleyball players - men's and women's - and we were incapable of taking anything seriously (on account of being wasted) but we'd still crush them and ooooooh, Nelly it would piss them off!
When I was at UCSC, I was a part of a co-ed intramural softball team named Rhondda's Men. Rhondda was the only woman on the team. She played catcher.
Another co-ed intramural team was actually all women. It was called The Cycle.
Cal
Chigi to Hawai'i
https://twitter.com/chigi_123/status/1469433146978361345
Some may be upset. Some will be quite pleased.
https://twitter.com/FootballScoop/status/1469370234444337158
I guess this means we may never know why he got tarmac'd in Eugene on the flight up to the UW game
that's the photo they went with?
He's happy lol
Why would anyone be upset?
I will have to say, the special teams screw ups got cleaned up after a few games. Other than the kickoffs no longer reaching the end zone, I don't recall anything bad happening after 3 or 4 games. I just wish we had it resolved when the season started. What else do long snappers and holders have to do before the season started?
Unfortunately, the special teams errors were largely responsible for multiple losses, whereas our best STs performance was probably a 42-14 loss at UCLA....sigh.
A change is probably needed....even when Ragle's kids made a play, like the blocked punt v. Wazzu, it backfired. A fresh start is good.
Yeah, it got a lot better in second half of season. I would have been fine if Ragle stayed. But our ST play has been very inconsistent and he got a HC promotion. I think there is nothing mad to be about it.
Ragle's probably taking a step backward in absolute dollar terms. Last coach made $168k/year+ incentives. Ragle made about $250k/year. But the cost of living in Pocatello is about half that of Berkeley. I also think that Ragle will be with like-minded folks in South Eastern Idaho, which is essentially a straight shot north on 15 from Salt Lake City.
2021: Cal vis-a-vis Division 1
Punt return avg: 80th out of 130. UCLA, Utah, CU, and 'furd all in the top 10.
Kick off returns: 4th out of 130. Most TDs surrendered: Utah
Kick off defense: 51st out of 130. Worst Arizona (can't stop 'em)
Kick off defense attempts: 28th Best: Arizona (can't score)
Anyone know why Vic Enwere and maybe others have some sort of beef with Cal/Wilcox? On twitter, he's posting alot of "Please Oregon take him so I can wear Cal gear with pride again" type of stuff.
It's all speculation, but the common thread is that they all got demoted in the depth chart.
I think I saw something about how he expected Cal to reach out to football alums more and include them in the program, and they just haven't done that as much as he wanted. Maybe he feels slighted, given what he put in to the program. I don't know for sure - I wish he and Wilcox would just talk it out, whatever it is.
That sounds about right. My experience with CAA, Cal Athletics, and the University is that they are incredibly insular and myopic. Their key goal is to raise money - but they go about it by just asking for it. Carpet-bomb lower level donors with weekly solicitations and mid-level donors get focused begging. There's no value-add to their begging. It's not until you're a big whale that you are treated to nice events that feature coaches, the AD, the Chancelor, and a few VIPs. I believe that we do not have a big enough machine that nurtures fandom down the value chain. Does Cal have a good tailgate experience? Do we have traditions that encourage participation by fans? Do we have pro-active coordination to improve game day experience (eg, transportation, parking, food, booze)? Do we nurture brands and merchandizing or do we outsource it to whomever? I feel for the guys - going from valued stars to nobodies must feel horrible. The good news is that Cal finally put together an alumni relations office in 2019. Perhaps it will take some time for them to build up.
that's part of it. Enwere and Allensworth also hold grudges for being rightfully passed up on the depth chart. Both lost their jobs to eventual Sunday talent.
You can’t pull a DeSean Jackson on the biggest play of your career, v Texas no less, without there being some consequences...even at Cal.
Wilcox has definitely reached out to Oregon alums...
Go Bears!!!
Two Berkeley liberals caught on video committing war on Christmas. Hate crime, obvio.
https://twitter.com/CBSLA/status/1469168135395852289
Big one needs to get his ass up to Katmai. He could compete for the championship!
I saw a couple out walking when I was on a walk yesterday afternoon. The husband was wearing a Cal cap and I gave him a "Go Bears." His reply - "absolutely."
This is kinda rad. That dude probably obtained a relation to Cal later in life, like maybe one of his kids went there. Otherwise he'd know to return the Go Bears. But I still respect his awareness and effort, and the assuredness of his response. Nice job all around.
Absolutely. Our tent of fandom is plenty big and sparsely populated. I gladly welcome people who even obliquely wander in.
Maybe some day DCT will even wear a Cal hat and return a "Go Bears", not just say "absolutely".
✌
"Indubitably"
Got a Go Bears at Found coffee shop in Eagle Rock yesterday, unfortunately the coffee was only so so
*from the manager
there's some guy on twitter claiming to be a "Cal football insider" saying Wilcox is going to be Sonny's new DC at TCU. Also tweeted that defensive QA guy Michael Bruno will be the new DC at Nevada.
That makes zero sense.
twitter handle @wetbeefs
followers: 6
I think I saw some wetbeefs commentary, seems to not know anything about the real world.
anyone going live concerts again?
I went to two open air jazz concerts at my favorite local venue - Koka Booth. They roped off big squares and you could set up chairs inside their. They had packaged food (eg, Whole Foods) and wine/beer that wasn't too expensive. Very civilized. I'm not quite to the point of going to indoor venues and may never get there.
Going to see the Black Pumas and Thievery Corporation next week (separately). Those will be my first indoor shows. Saw Gary Clark Jr. (outdoors) in September.
Oh yeah, been to a lot of shows over the past couple months. Top performers were IDLES and Mannequin Pussy, unfortunate snoozer was Tech N9ne.
IDLES were great. Saw them at the Warfield last month. Really wanted to see Mannequin Pussy but I think their only "bay area" show was in Santa Cruz
IDLES was amazing, so much stage presence and A+++ crowd interaction. Not sure how they finished their show in the bay, but their guitarist solo'd throughout the entire crowd for a ~10min version of their love song.
I got video of both guitarists coming into the crowd on towards the end of the show.
Yeah, attended a few operas, saw Thee OSees at the Chapel, seeing Hells Belles next week.
Yep. I have been to several shows in the past few months; Deafheaven, Testament/Exodus, Mastodon/Opeth, Sleigh Bells, and am going to both of the Metallica 40th anniversary shows next weekend at Chase. Will also be seeing High on Fire for NYE, and have tiockets for about a dozen shows in Jan/Feb/Mar with plans to go to Roadburn fest in Tilburg, NL in April.
hopefully they'll have finished spiking / rioting by then ;)
The Dutch?
Yeah, they're having a lot of issues with people who are refusing both to be vaccinated and take any other precautionary actions, so cases were way up even before they panicked over Omicron. And there was a riot in Rotterdam a week or two ago that was basically a bunch of young guys who converged from multiple cities to cause trouble and found it (the police shot several people, and in a very Dutch mode the youths were setting racks of parked bikes on fire etc)
setting bikes on fire in NL could cripple the economy
If they don't get a handle on this, they might only have 1.2 bikes per person instead of 1.5
Went to an outdoors show in October. There are a bunch of bands coming through town starting in late March / early April that I'm looking forward to seeing.
I got No 3 and I tickets to see Trevor Noah at the Chase Center on Sat. Haven't thought about concerts though. One I would go see is Green Day.
Yes, been to a few...Wilco outdoors at the Santa Barbara Bowl, and a folk show indoors...masked up on the indoors...
we have tickets to Leo Kottke - a well regarded fingerstyle guitarist - tonight in Tarrytown, which is in NYC suburbs.
i saw him play once in Bloomington when i was in grad school there 20+ yrs ago.
https://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=2514
he's amazing. I saw him play a small show at Powell's in PDX
I saw him around that time (or maybe even a little longer ago) and remember him being very low key but playing great.
The Simpsons
Back in '94, I won a sweet Simpsons prize package from Live105. It was for the Simpsons 100th episode (which means they can syndicate), and it included a nice denim jacket and some itchy and scratchy underwear. The trivia question to win; "what is the name of Bart's nerdy friend?"
it's coming up milhouse! (prob quoting it incorrectly)
"everything's" coming up Milhouse? (my memory is now saying)
Through the 90s I could probably quote almost every episode verbatim as it was airing. The show isn't what it used to be, but those glory years were maybe the best TV comedy ever.
i will always love it and this season has been good
Mentals
I read a book about how email is messing us all up, mentally. We all get too many emails and we just can't keep up with them and that makes us feel like we're ignoring colleagues or letting them down, which violates social norms. All while making our work less thoughtful and meaningful. These dynamics weigh on our mentals.
Interesting. You all must be more responsible than I am, because I have no problem letting emails sit unanswered, and eventually just delete them. If it's important the sender will track me down. I've gotten pretty good at triage through the years and I just don't sweat the rest.
I sometimes leave the audio on my work computer on after a zoom and then I get that constant pinging sound of emails coming in that frays my nerves. I feel like Marky Mark in that scene in Boogie Nights with the firecrackers
You’ve been letting us all down for years and it’s definitely had an adverse affect. Thanks for finally coming clean, tho....means a lot. ;-)
don't forget y'all bodies and y'all chicken
the physical-mental connection is real.
my long bike rides are great for mentally unwinding. sometimes i ride slow, other times faster, but it is always a great break from everything.
i enjoy riding w/ others, but it is not the same mental break so i usually end up going alone.
I have a bunch of folks I've met while out running but almost always go out alone. If I happen across someone I know, I'll adjust my pace and run with them but start off alone almost all the time.
Does Marshawn have any official role with Cal? We need to make him an official ambassador and have him appear at events, kind of like Ernie Banks did for the Cubs. Assuming Marshawn is willing of course. He is so beloved and charismatic and genuine.
Otherwise stated, we can project a message of “lol to Oregon’s fancy facilities, we have sunshine, a world class university, and Beast Mode”
We get sunshine pumped in
trending positive in the last month or so ..
my measure for this is how much time i spend reading vs watching TV. generally when i am reading more it means i am engaged and interested in trying new things and using my brain harder and i feel better about myself.
there is a lot of great TV these days, so it is not that i think it is a bad thing. but it is certainly "easier" for me to watch TV than read.
it is also probably a personal psych thing that i equate harder with better.
I've def been in the TV > books mode, even tho I keep buying books and place them on my bedside table. just too easy to relax the brain at night (and there *is* a lot of good stuff to watch!)
Altho I read to my daughter at night, so maybe that counts for something!
that definitely counts. i have discovered a lot of great stuff that way. how old? i think i was reading to older one at least until she was 12-ish ..
she's just 6, so not a lot of great literature coming out of the process ;-)
sometimes (like with what we're reading now) it's I who pushes for the reading. The book series is kinda interesting.
and need to get more books that she can practice reading herself (which she rebels against, in spite of being ok at it).
I was reading the whole Percy Jackson series, along with the Egyptian gods ones. They loved it and mostly would wait for me to read it to them rather than ahead. And they were 12-14 ish at the time. I really liked the series. I need to finish up the last couple of books in the Percy Jackson series since I moved to Portland for a year in the middle of the 2nd to the last. They ended up finishing them up on their own before I got back.
I've learned that certain relatives (on both sides of the gene pool) are oblivious idiots. Further, the idiocy is not confined or defined by one's political leanings or religious persuasions/inclinations.
For myself - take care of yourself. DO NOT get sucked in by oblivious idiots, no matter how tempting it may be to slap 'em upside the head using email.
TL;DR - Marshawn is a treasure, a sage.
constantly dealing with crippling imposter syndrome and anxiety. so yeah.
One time when I was a baby attorney this senior associate asked me to cover a hearing. When I got back I joked to him that it went well, I got to pretend to be a lawyer. He said to me: “we are all just pretending here”. So true!
I am very introverted and social interaction gives me so much anxiety, so I definitely picked the right profession!
DBD Not Official Financial Advice
Fail fast. When you're younger, take a lot of risks - or at least go into ventures that are worth a high amount of risk. But if something doesn't go well, DO NOT GET STUCK WITH SUNK COST FALLACY. Get over your embarrassment/disappointment, look at what your options are going forward, and then act accordingly. Often, that means selling your losers as fast as possible, reversing behavior, and even walking away from something completely.
https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy/
year end donations .. this is the first year that we used our "donor advised fund" to give $$ to Cal and others.
the idea is that you gift highly appreciated stocks at face value, but since they are going to charitable cause you dont have to sell the stocks and pay the capital gains and you still get the tax deduction for the donation amount.
interesting...will have to talk to accountant about that. sold some AAPL in 2020 and got crushed with cap gains (which is fine...I didn't "earn" the money, so it's all gravy).
DBD Test Kitchen
Daughter made white bean soup the night before that was very tasty and filling. First time, too.
First time making, or first time it was tasty and filling?
Haha, first time making.
DBD AV Club
anyone watch Invasion on ATV+? S1 ended last night. Maybe 10/19? Some good eps, some slow ones. And overall, a slow burner.
I read some IMDB reviews, and it's 75% shit, 25% "don't listen to them; they're just a bunch of Independence Day knuckle-draggers".
A friend of mine sent a Reddit thread that has some interesting theories, but with those, it means another 10 hours to start getting more resolution/understanding. And I'm not sure I'm willing to give them that time...
hey, give it up, there's too much great TV to watch so-so TV - you watched the Expanse yet?
I got thru E1 a couple of years ago – shit, at this point way more than that, since I watched it in an LAX restaurant #CovidTime – and it didn't float my boat. My my sci-fi friend likes it, so will prob try again at some point.
I started Altered Carbon a couple of times, but never stuck with it. Despite Joel Kinnaman. (Who I completely didn't recognize 3.5 years ago as the same guy from The Killing, which was great!)
I didn't think Altered Carbon was all that good, not bad, but not worth the 2nd season.
I really liked The Killing & enjoyed S1 of AC more than season S2, tho I do love me some Renee Elise Goldsberry!
S1 and S2 of the Killing were great. S3 was ok. And S3.5 (half final season) wasn't really interesting.
the missus and I watched E1 of Breaking Bad and E1 of The Killing one night (like 7 years ago?) and never stopped with The Killing. And never went back to BB.
Watched The Conformist, Bertolucci, 1970 by myself since I thought (no doubt correctly) that I would be the only person who liked it. Really drew me into the story, great performances, but I had some moments marveling at the cinematography that kinda made me stop to notice how cool the shot was - that sort of broke the 4th wall a bit.
Like the very art-houseness of it made it seem less natural. Odd feeling.
My 16 y.o. has, to her disappointment, finished the UK segment of her AP Comparative politics class and they've now moved on to Russia. They spent yesterday watching some fairly bonkers (by her description) documentary about Putin with all sorts of weird translation issues - which she knows because her bestie is in the same class and speaks Russian. Aaaaaanyway long story long, I've sold her on watching Death of Stalin & apparently the missus wants to see it too, so for once I can participate in family movie night without risk of censure if I don't enjoy the film.
that's the comedy with Buscemi, Tambor, etc.? I *really* wanted to like it. But found it meh
I thought it was hilarious, but I've also read biographies of Stalin for "fun." Any film that starts with him dying is going to catch my fancy.
I think I also started watching too late in the evening and was tired. I had to split into two (three?) viewing, so also lost continuity.
it certainly isn't going to get funnier split up like that.
tru dat!
Pro
WR Demarius Thomas dead at the age of 33 due to a "medical issue"
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/us/demaryius-thomas-nfl-wide-receiver-dies/index.html
So young and sad news
Devastating news. So sad.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr to be next men's national team coach for USA Basketball
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32838068/golden-state-warriors-coach-steve-kerr-next-men-national-team-coach-usa-basketball
Steve Kerr, a three-time NBA championship coach with the Golden State Warriors, has been selected as the next coach for Team USA, sources told ESPN.
Kerr will replace Gregg Popovich and lead a reshaped USA coaching staff into the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kerr's coaching staff will include Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga coach Mark Few, sources said.
Other Universities
UConn's 239 game win streak against unranked opponents ends as the Huskies go ICE COLD, scoring only 5 points in Q4. Didn't help that they were without Buekers
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401369457
Pac-12 and Big Ten can start their cooperation by scheduling games as early as 2023
https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/Article/Big-Ten-Pac-12-football-challenge-games-schedule-2023-177863374/
Who becomes our Big X rival? Michigan for being the Blue and Gold public school with good academics that has Harbaugh? Northwestern for being the lone private school? Maryland for giving us that previous humidity game?
Michigan or Wisconsin.
We’ll probably get Rutgers, an homage to the great Holmoe Bowl of 2001....
Puke.
Lots of people have raved about this, thinking of the iconic teams and stadiums. The reality is trading games against regional rivals, who are close enough to go to for road games, and will sell tickets when they come for a game people care about, for games with Illinois and Rutgers (and when the ACC kicks in, Syracuse & Boston College or Virginia, which no one living anywhere neat their Pac-12 school of interest can afford the time and money to go to, and will bring zero fans to the game when they visit, and therefore depress both the gate and the local economy.
I'm going to disagree - I've been to SC games at the old Meadowlands and Metlife field, as well as at UVA, and there were good showouts from SC alums - and we're not a fanbase that is known for traveling. I think if the games are near hub airports, you'll see people travel from the west coast for them.
Your right; there will be some interest in games near hubs, which is not where most schools are located. And a trip to 1 game in the Meadowlands will still cost me more than the sum total for a trip to Washington/WSU. a trip to the Bay Area (Berkeley area ridiculous price goughing not withstanding), and a trip to Salt Lake City added together. Once the novelty wears off, neutral site games quickly lose a lot of their luster.
Illinois and Syracuse are shit out of luck though.
I hear ya, AP...I guess it all depends on who you draw....Cal plays Davis in Sept. ‘22 - do we really think that’s gonna pump up the Berkeley economy? No...but hosting Wisconsin will, tho.
Wisconsin will, but this notion that all 12 Pac schools will get Wis/tOSU/Mich/Penn St with ANY regularity is delusional. When they do come out, it will be for a good USC team, or to play UofO in Vegas. Also, the Davis game isn't one you will be losing; it will be a conference game (the Pac wants to drop to 8 if this goes through).
Piscataway and New Brunswick aren't that bad. They're just not Ann Arbor, Madison, or Evanston.
said no one ever
That seems unnecessarily harsh.
full disclosure...I've never been to those cities, but they are in New Jersey...
I've heard Madison be compared to Berkeley. I'd take that.
You would be lucky to get Iowa City.
Iowa City is not bad. Has a very nice walkable college feel to it.
I go to Madison few times every year, and it's a nice little town. Main streets have some resemblance of Telegraph and the campus is beautiful. They wear red, so perfect to be our rival. Michigan would be my #1 choice but I would take Wisconsin too.
Bucky would manhandle us.
That article mentioned discussions of neutral sites? Ugggh. No thank you. Playing on campus and the gameday traditions is what makes college football what it is.
Hell yeah. I want a trip to the Big House
this.
I stood at the gates of the Big House on a weekday when moving back West in ‘17, looking down into the cavernous bowl. Massive.
you can hear the band practicing in the Big House from my father in law's back yard, and yet I've never bestirred myself to get out there for a game, I should do something about that.
When Cal plays at the Big House, you'll have to come out to the WFC tailgate, wear your Cal hat, and respond "Absolutely".
I watched the Ohio State/Michigan game on TV and really don't know what the big deal is....the atmosphere seemed no different from Memorial Stadium when I was there on 10/2 for the Wazzu game.....;-)
Social media and boards are collectively losing their minds over who the next Oregon Coach will be. According to the Internet, anyone and everyone has been confirmed to be the next coach, although Chip Kelly seems to be the favorite, despite the $9m buy-out at UCLA.
I think Miami had to pay Oregon $8M for Cristobal's buyout, so my understanding is that they'd just use that to pay Kelly's buyout.
Wait until next month with a handshake and a wink in the meantime and Chip's buyout goes to $0. Spend it on a DC not named Jerry Azzinaro and a recruiter who won't draw sanctions for at least a couple of days.
Phil wants Chip but there is a lot of boosters pushing to hire Wilcox.
Hiring a guy bc he’ll stay won’t get you a berth in the CFP. Folks playing the “it’s hard to win at Cal” card are just trying to excuse away Wilcox’s mediocrity.
Still not convinced Wilcox will be able to make the philosophical change in his offensive approach to win enough for the Ducks. Would be a lot of 9-4 years, which won’t cut it in Oregon, unless you’re gonna give him 10 years.
The Wilcox crowd in Oregon is saying that because they have elite skill players they will have a good offense anyway, even if he kind of sucks on O.
Well, there is something to be said for that...when a game swings on 2-3 plays per night like Wilcox-coached teams seem to do, having elite players that actually make plays can be the difference.
With Wilcox, though, perhaps his conservative offensive approach that seeks to limit mistakes is responsible for constantly being involved in close games that turn on those 2-3 plays.
did they not watch their QB this season?
Oh, maybe Chase hasn't announced his intentions yet since he's waiting to see if he'll follow Wilcox to Oregon
Oregon pulls further ahead for the hearts and minds of 17 year old jocks
https://around.uoregon.edu/content/university-releases-plans-future-indoor-practice-facility
"Construction will be funded entirely with private philanthropy and will be managed through the UO Foundation." I need to quit buying those Nike shoes.
Yup. And to think, Cal was funding it’s rivals athletic department growth for years with the Nike deal.
how so? Nike paid Cal, not the other way around.
Well, maybe not funding...
Knowing Cal fans were funding it's rivals athletic department growth for years with the Nike deal, then.
advertisement? I'm sure there's more return for Nike. (except no one watches cal football)
[Old and busted] Winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for best upperclass QB
[New hotness] Having a new rule enacted for something you did last week.
https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1467305881515798538
I'd like this to also be updated for runners tiptoeing the sidelines and stepping out just as the defender moves to hit them.
That's on #45 WF for failing to force the QB to the ground by advancing on his position. #45 froze, allowing the QB to adjust and take off.
That's what happens with the Raiders. Holy Roller is the one I frequently think of.
Also I thought I remember reading that once you start the slide it needs to be ruled a slide. I guess they added intent? Since he obviously intended to start the slide but didn't touch the ground with his leg/knee. Kinda like the Tuck Rule.
How was this language NOT already in the rule is my question....this was an easily predicted outcome that should have been accounted for...if you can’t count on the NCAA to get things right, who can ya count on?
After leading Mississippi State in all receiving categories, former Cal WR Makai Polk finished 2nd in the nation in receptions with 98.
We could’ve used him.
98 catches! That's more than what Nikko had in his entire 4 years at Cal
but who would have thrown to him?
He doesn’t catch 98 balls here...but he does probably make some big contested catches that Nikko couldn’t make, like at Oregon in the EZ.
with the rotation like it was with high seniority guys getting the bulk of the reps, I would have transferred too.
Oh absolutely. Great move for him - more an indictment of Wilcox & Musgrave....this kid is a day 2 Draft pick...he’s not that with Garbers & this scheme.