A wonderous day

There was record warm low temperature last night of 60 degrees in Moline, accoring to the National Weather Service. I'm sure there was a record high today, too. When I was downtown (getting some ice cream), the bank's display read 83 degrees, and according to the same National Weather Service, the record high for today was 77. It's still 70 degrees outside. Basically, it was an incredible day to be outside. I walked down to City Park and read my book, then came back home to get Daren and get our already mentioned ice cream at Whitey's. We had decided to sit in the Ped Mall while we ate, and as luck would have it, we ran into a few friends, carrying a boombox and some pizza! We all sat around, either on the planter or on the ground, eating ice cream and pizza, listening to KRS-One. Good times.

When we got back, Daren and I internetted it up for a while, both getting excited over his new buy, a cast-iron skillet. I dreamt of upside-down cakes and cornbread, he of his new obsession, chips (or home-style fries, as we like to call them on this side of the Atlantic). I guess trips overseas can change a man. So, as I'm typing now, he's preparing some potatoes, putting them in the oven, and getting harassed by yours truly. He's threatening to hold out on the fries, but I will not be denied.

Also today, I started reading The Economist Style Guide, something Daren had on his computer. I thought I could use some help in my writing, especially if I ever decide to do more than just blog. I've only read the first few pages, but I think it's helped so far. I'm already using some of the suggestions. It may not be noticeable, but I'd like to think my writing was already above average. That could be just my own thinking, though. Anyways, we'll see how this works out, maybe it'll have some useful information that will put me in the ranks of Keats or Salinger or Hemingway. (I'm not to the section on how to compare my new-found abilites yet. So these authors may change in the near future, depending on who, if anyone, is referenced. Really, if I could get to the Salinger-Vonnegut level, I'd be happy. [I just used something I've learned already! I had originally put that I'd be content, but this guide said to simplify, so I thought the simplification of content would be happy. I'm a quick learner.])

Thanks to Kansas and Memphis, I am finished in my bracket. It hurts to have the teams I expected to meet in the finals lose right before the Final Four. My brother, though, correctly chose all four teams. I wish I could say that he learned everything about college basketball from his big brother, but I'm afraid that'd be a lie. I haven't found out how well our dad is doing in the pool, but I imagine it's better than me in my pools. I will now cheer on Georgetown. Or Ohio State, which ever one advances to the finals. As long as this year's NCAA Basketball Champion is not named Florida or UCLA. And while we're at it, Iowa's new head coach better not be named Dana or Lon. Or Steve for that matter. (Quick update on my preferred choices for head coach. Bruce Pearl is still number one, followed by Billy Gillispie. I realize BJ Armstrong most likely won't be chosen for the top position, so I'm lobbying for his as an assistant. Anthony Bennett is bumped up to third, Chris Lowery of Southern Illinois moves onto the board in fourth, and Vanderbilt's coach Kevins Stallings also makes his appearance. If you're reading this Gary Barta, you better have these guys on speed-dial.)

Finally, I remembered today that NPR's program "This American Life" started their TV show on Showtime this past Thursday. Since I don't have Showtime, or TV of any kind, I missed out. Luckily, the first episode is available to be watched online. (You can find the online version by clicking on the picture to the left.) If you've never heard the show, last week's episode was hilarious, providing me with entertainment on my drive home from Minneapolis, so I'd suggest that as a starting point. You can find it here. Last week's show is about TV's affect on life, what it can teach us, and how it can hurt us. It even includes the music of Mates of State, providing a hilarious backdrop for Ira Glass's section in act 3. Listen to it, and love it as I did.

Well, I'm off to sit in the lovely, cooler air now. I hope everyone's day was as excellent as mine.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

It's supposed to be a wonderful day outside, so I'm going to enjoy it! There's another Iowa baseball game today, so I'll probably try to go to that. My dad may even be coming up for it, so that would be exciting times! There is a chance of some thunderstorms, but that's alright with me. I love thunderstorms. It'd be nice if we had some sort of porch here to sit upon during said storms, but sitting near an open window will have to do.

Temperatures are supposed to be right around 80 until Wednesday or Thursday, then it looks like a front is heading through, and it'll cool off and rain next weekend. (I know everyone comes here for the weather forecast in Iowa City) I love this time of the year, when it's warming up but not getting too warm, and rainy. 80's may be a little too warm, but I can manage. I'd prefer upper-60's to the lower-70's. With no humidity. That's the problem here, it's not the heat, it's the humidity. I especially like the summer days when it's near 100 degrees, with 75% humidity, and you can hardly breath. Something to look forward to in the coming months.

So I think I'll leave you with that. Everyone should go outside today and soak in the sun. Do some grilling, throw a ball around, or just read a book in a hammock. Anything is a little more enjoyable in lovely weather. Have fun!

Lazy Saturday

I'm going to take a little break on the music recommendations for the weekend, but they'll hopefully be back on Monday. No particular reason, just thought I'd take it easy this weekend, and just post whenever, whatever I felt like. I guess that's kind of what I've been doing anyways... So yeah.

It's been a lazy day for me so far. I went to bed around 10:45 last night, and got up a little before 10:30. Nothing like twelve hours of sleep to start my weekend. I didn't even end up taking any NyQuil, it was an all natural sleep. That means no grogginess this morning, no feeling like I was so out of it like yesterday. I still feel a little sick, but nothing I can't handle. And I do still feel a little out of it, but I think that's just the way I've been lately. Unfortunately, it seems like I missed some really excellent finishes to the NCAA games last night. And apparently there was a blatant travel in the Georgetown game that was not called, and resulted in the game-winning basket being scored. That's a shame. But, I had the Hoyas winning that game in my bracket, so yay for me!

Now for the rest of my day, I'll just be doing some grocery shopping, maybe finding some place to watch the basketball games, and that's about it. KP will be here later, so we'll probably get a drink somewhere. Exciting times on this dreary day in Iowa City.

Back from the baseball game!

And what a game it was! The weather was decent, but hovering right in between warm and chilly for most of the time. When the sun was out, it was nice and warm, but those moments were few. But it wasn't bad, a thin coat was plenty enough to keep the wind off and keep me warm. Had it been a little cooler, the free Hawkeye knit hat that I got for being one of the (first) 500 fans would've kept me warm. It really is a nice hat, I'm impressed. They're probably just left-overs from the Hawk Shop, but that's fine by me.

The Hawks got out to an early 4-1 lead in the 4th, with Caleb Curry getting a two-run double and Justin Toole knocking him in. But North Dakota State eventually tied it up. After some shoddy fielding on both sides resulted in a run for each team, the score was tied at 5, and the game was going to extra innings. Nothing spectacular really happened in the first few extra frames, neither team could get much going. Iowa's Jason White started off the bottom of the 11th with a single, then got moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He advanced to third on a ground out by Kevin Hoef. Then, with Dusty Napoleon at bat, White took off for home on the pitcher's first move, and won the game with the seldom-seen steal of home. It was exciting to say the least! One of the more unique happenings I've ever seen, I can't imagine a straight steal of home being called with two outs in extra innings all that often. So I'm glad I was there to witness the event, it ranks right up there with the no-hitter I saw Tim Sturdy throw for the Quad-City River Bandits, and last year when Travis Sweet hit his first collegiate home run, a three run shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game against Nebraska. Sure, the Hawks ended up losing by two in 13 innings, but it was a pretty incredible moment.

Jake Christensen was in the stands for a couple of innings, apparently meeting up with some people he knows on the women's soccer team, including Nate Kaeding's sister Jackie. Why do I know these things? Because I'm some weird Hawkeye fanatic. And she looked just like a female version of Nate.

Well, I think it's almost NyQuil time again for me. I started feeling a little crappy during the game, and got a headache, so I opted to not stay for the nightcap. And besides, how could the second game possibly top the ending to the first?

I'm not there...

If you see me wandering around town today, looking generally lost and confused, don't read anything into it. I'm just feeling totally out of it, as a result of taking some NyQuil last night and basically feeling rundown. For instance, I was standing on the corner of an intersection this morning, minding my own business. Of course, I didn't think to actually watch the signals to see when I could walk, so I stood there for probably about 3 cycles. There's a chance I'd still be standing there if a friend of mine hadn't come up and started talking to me, asking me why I was just standing there. Then, I was walking with him for about a block, totally in the wrong direction. That's just been my day.

I'm hoping I can get over this by this afternoon, the Iowa baseball team has a game starting at 3, which I've just found out is going to be a doubleheader, due to the rain in the forecast over the weekend. Which is exciting to me, the only thing better than one baseball game is two baseball games, but I'm kind of doubting my ability to make it through both of them. I guess I'll just play it by ear, and see how things work out. I'll try to post later tonight, to let everyone know my first impressions of the baseball team, because I'm sure everyone is dying to know. Also, I'll post later if I'm able to coherently function. That could be the interesting part.

continuing the music trend

I've noticed the last few recommendations by me have been female artists. Okay, just the last two, but it seemed like more when I was thinking of this. So I'll call it a trend. Wait, it's actually 3 out of the last 4, so there! Anyways, I thought I'd stick with it, and when Marin sent me the link to Melanie Horsnell's myspace page, my choice was made pretty easily. She's another singer/songwriter, and like Rosie Thomas, she does it well. Plus, she's from Australia, so that gives her bonus points, right? It does in my book. (remember, that's the Points Given by Flenker for Random Things, first mentioned here. Right now Feist and Melanie Horsnell are leading the way, with a score of 1 each.) Any country/continent that gives us Paul Hogan is alright in my book. So check out Melanie, I hope you'll like it!

Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack

To start, I want to say that I've decided to start using more photos in my blog, that is to say I'm going to start using some photos, as opposed to none. So look forward to a whole new era of TPoL.

I finally made it to Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack today, one of the newer barbecue restaurants in Iowa City. My dad was up in town, so he took my brother and his girlfriend and me out to eat. It's great having parents that come to town and take us out to eat, except on the rare occasions when they each come up, and each want to take us out. I like being stuffed silly, but there's something to be said about moderation, as well as spreading out the free meals.

Walking into the parking lot, I could tell I would like this place. The aromas were enough to get my mouth watering, and it just got better as we went inside. It was a nice place, a decent sized dining area and some good decorations on the wall. My dad and I each got the "supreme" sandwich, which had pork, turkey, and beef brisket on it, while Travis and Jonanne split a whole rack of ribs. Each of our meals came with coleslaw, baked beans, and cornbread. The food was out to us quickly, which was a nice surprise, and it all looked delicious. I've never really eaten much coleslaw in my life, but I was feeling adventurous, and decided to try some. It was very good, much to my pleasure. Kind of sweet, and crisp. I don't know if it's something that I'll eat on a regular basis, but definitely something that I'll consider as a side on occasion. The baked beans were also good, with onion and pieces of bacon mixed in. The sandwich itself was very good, I'm thinking that next time, though, I'll stick with just one kind of meat. Not that the mixture was bad, I just wasn't really able to differentiate the meats. I ate it too quickly!

They also have 4 sauces to use: regular, 4-alarm, cowboy, and a mustard-based sauce. I had to sample all four. Their regular sauce was good, but my favorite was between the cowboy and the mustard sauces. (I'm not the biggest fan of hot bbq sauce, although theirs was good) The cowboy sauce had a smoky flavor to it, then went extremely well with the rib that I stole from my brother's plate. And the mustard sauce was kind of unique, something I've never really tried. It went really well with the sandwich.

This is a place that I will be going to again, though I'm not sure how often. It's not within walking distance, but not far of a drive, and the prices were ok, but not the cheapest. I've come to expect that from a barbecue place, though. You have to pay a little more for the quality, but it's a price I'm willing to pay.

Big day around Iowa City

Well, so long Steve Alford. I hope Albuquerque appreciates you more than Iowa City did. I for one never had a problem with him, per se. I thought he could've handled some situations better (see: Pierre Pierce), but he did a heckuva job recruiting, had one of (if not the) best records of any head coach in the Big Ten tournament, and finished with a winning record in every season after his first. I think he just had some unrealistic expectations, and never lived up to the hype that surrounded him as he got the job. I'm not exactly deeply saddened to see him leave, but I'm not packing his bags, either. I'll cheer for the Lobos when I see their name. Unless it's as a visitor in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

My first reaction and worry to the news was "what will Tyler Smith do?" I've read he's feeling a little homesick lately, and this would give him the perfect excuse to transfer. I've heard he's thinking of transferring to Memphis. Now this is all message board talk, so it could be totally unfounded. But I could really see it happening, too. I like Memphis- I like the city, and I like the University. I picked them to win the NCAA Tournament. However, I don't wear their colors (any time I happen to be wearing blue and white it is for the Royals. Sorry Tigers), and I would really prefer that I was cheering on Mr. Smith in a black and gold jersey. I realize that any new coach has the possibility of coming in with transfers, but I don't know if I want to live in a world where Tyler's playing for a different NCAA team. So come on Tyler, I know it may be a tough decision, but stick around. Iowa City's not so bad, especially on beautiful days like today. This team is yours, I hope you realize that.

Naturally, I started thinking about replacement coaches next. And of course, I went to the message boards, where everyone knows someone who knows someone. Some names being mentioned were Bruce Pearl from Tennessee, Billy Gillispie from Texas A&M, Tony Bennett from Washington State, Dana Altman of Creighton, and Tubby Smith from Kentucky was mentioned, but he took a job at Minnesota. Out of those, I would be ecstatic if Iowa could bring Bruce Pearl back, and would be very happy with Billy Gillispie. My dark-horse candidate, though, is another former Hawkeye. I speak of none other than BJ Armstrong. What Iowa fan wouldn't want him to be on our bench? And what kid wouldn't want to play for a 3-time NBA champion, let alone someone who won with the Chicago Bulls?? BJ seems to know his stuff about basketball, he does a fine job as an analyst for espn. So give him some consideration!! And if not him, why not Kevin Gamble?? I'd be fine with that, too. Along with Reggie Theus of New Mexico State. Seems kind of symmetrical, right?

I've talked with my "sources," and most got a chuckle from the Armstrong suggestion. And, almost everyone said there's no way that Bruce Pearl comes to Iowa, he's got too much of a good thing right now. But we'll see what happens. I also talked with a member of the Iowa basketball team, who shall remain anonymous, but he didn't really have anything to say about the coaching situation. Seeing as how Coach Alford hadn't yet talked with them, that's basically what I was expecting. He just said "we'll see man, we'll see what happens." (that ends my Name Dropping section, without really dropping any names)

Here's my short list for new head coaches, as of right now:

1. Bruce Pearl
2. Billy Gillispie
3. BJ Armstrong
4. Tony Bennett (if he goes by Anthony)
5. Reggie Theus (with Kevin Gamble as an assistant)
   

The top 2 might be a little outlandish, they both have excellent jobs right now, with great teams. But who would've thought that Tubby Smith would become a stupid Gopher? That just goes to show that Iowa needs to step it up, get a good guy and make some waves in the Big Ten. And don't forget, Michigan still needs a coach, too, so the Hawks should hurry before the Wolverines nab someone who could be better suited in the Hawkeye State.

Music, anyone?

Regina Spektor is starting to get pretty big. Maybe it's been coming for a while, and I'm just living in a void, but on my trip to Minneapolis, I swear I heard her song "Fidelity" almost every time I was in the car on one of the more "indie" radio stations. Which is not an entirely bad thing. I'm all for some new, good music getting airtime. I just hope that people are listening to her entire repertoire, and don't get sick of the one song, no matter how catchy it is. I can't exactly remember where I heard of her first, it was probably through Marin a while ago. So if you've already heard of her, already love her, then I apologize. Let me know that I'm waaaay behind on the times. But if not, check out her new stuff, but also give Soviet Kitsch a listen. It's a little less poppy, but I like it a little more. Her music is mainly piano-driven, with some occasional different instruments sprinkled in here and there. She can control her voice incredibly well, which can add a lot of depth to her songs. Her latest album definitely seems more easily-accessible, so it makes sense that people are just starting to catch on to her. So start there, and then work your way back. You'll be glad you did.

late night ramblings

First, let me start this by saying that everyone should go out and get the Loney, Dear album, entitled Loney, Noir. I got it today, and cannot emphasize enough how good the entire album is. So far, there hasn't been a song that I've wanted to skip. They may be my favorite Swedish band since the Refused.

The weather tonight is really amazing, not too humid and pretty warm. I took one walk tonight, and I'm considering another. I should get to bed, since I'm still fighting this cold, but I'm really not tired right now, and I just stop myself from enjoying the weather! Earlier, I was walking to kind of blow some steam off after work, and now I want to go out just to relax a little more. It was a long night at work, at first everything went wrong that could, our one-hour photo machine went down, and it was just busy overall. Then, around 8:30, it got incredibly slow. So the last hour and a half just crept by. (For those of you that might not know, I work at the customer service department at a grocery store. I deal with returns, exchanges, one hour photo, and a host of other things. I haven't really talked about it much here, not because I hate my job, but just because it's not really that exciting, there are other stories to tell.) So to find the weather to be so agreeable helped my demeanor. I was still a little frazzled and a little grumpy, but it was while I was walking instead of while I shut myself in my room. Which is never a positive thing. I calmed down a little, got into a better mood, but still need a little unwinding before I can sleep, I think. Either that or I'll just take some Nyquil and be done with it. But then I'll just feel all discombobulated in the morning, groggy and whatnot, so I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. Besides, I'm not sick to the point where I need an aid in falling asleep anymore.

In Kansas City Royals news, Alex Gordon has been officially announced as the Opening Day starting third baseman. It doesn't really come as a surprise, but it's good to hear. It seems as he's doing alright in his spring training games, hitting .390 with 9 rbi in 16 games. Decent numbers. Let's hope he continues that into the regular season. I hope I am able to make it to his very first big league game, but right now it's looking less and less likely. My money is dwindling (taking a week off can do that), and it just is not working really well with my schedule. It'd be nice to be able to work it in, but I should have plenty of opportunities to see Mr. Gordon play. I hope this is the last time that I refer to him without using the word "stud."

Speaking of Kansas City, I was emailing with Haley, as we usually do during the day, and I had mentioned something about how I was in a predicament about deciding where I want to go in life, more specifically where I wanted to live in the next year. I told her I was thinking of going to Austin, Kansas City, or Minneapolis right now, with others in consideration. Immediately after I sent the email to her, I received a new message in my inbox from KansasCity.com, with the subject line "See what fun awaits you in Kansas City this spring!" It seemed like a sign. Then, when I was having a similar conversation with my mom, she mentioned that she had heard from her brother that my cousin Kim (from California) had a job interview in KC. Just kind of some strange coincidences. And the Royals are there, so it's already got a strong draw for me. Plus, the grocery store that I work at has a lot of locations there, so if worst comes to worst, I could probably get a job there until I can find an actual career. Other cities, you have some catching up to do.

Well, I reckon I should try to get some sleep. Sorry outside, I can't enjoy you any more tonight. It's time for Loney, Dear to tuck me in. Goodnight!

It's the most wonderful time of the year. . .

It's getting to be that time of year. The time of year when temperatures climb, birds start chirping a little louder and more often, everything thaws, rivers swell, thunderstorms roll in (one's starting right now, as I type!), and the grass gets greener. And, most importantly to me, the two most welcome words are heard: "Play ball."

The first time that I walk into a stadium and catch a glimpse of the freshly-mowed grass, my eyes tear up a little (mainly due to allergies, but due a little bit to the sheer beauty of a baseball diamond. I really wish my allergies shared the same feelings on freshly-cut grass as I do. I love the smell, love seeing it, but my allergies do not so much) and I start to feel like spring has really started. Even if it's only a college game, or a minor league game, or just a pick-up game with some friends, baseball brings out some of the best memories and emotions for me. I remember playing T-Ball when I was younger, having a line drive hit to me when I was playing second base. I stuck my glove into the air and my face towards the ground, and somehow made the catch. I remember playing catch with my dad, and then going to watch him play for the Moose Lodge softball team, picking up the basic rules of the game and watching the enjoyment of the older guys playing. I remember my dad pitching the whiffle ball to me, and me smacking it right back, literally knocking the glasses off his face. I remember playing with my dad and brother, having "ghost runners" and laughing while I stole bases. I remember hitting the home runs later in life, and my favorite defensive plays I've made (my personal favorite came from a charity 100-inning softball game I played in, when my team only had about 6 players on it at the time. We had a pitcher, catcher, I played the right side of the infield, another guy the left, and two outfielders. With a runner on second, the ball was hit to me, I tagged first base and made a perfect throw to third, right at the bag so the guy covering didn't even have to move his glove to tag out the sliding runner. I was proud of that throw), and also the pain in my shoulder that kept me from playing a lot and playing catch for too long. That's pretty much all better now, but at the time, it was kind of scary.

This time of year is also when the grills start getting dusted off, moved outside, and fired up. Hot dogs, burgers, brats, chops, ears of corn, even pizzas are delicious when flame-kissed and with some grill marks on them. One of these days, when I have a little better porch/patio area, I'll get one of those nice grills. But for now, I have a little charcoal guy that gets the job done, plus he was only $5. Not a bad deal.

So anytime that anyone is in the Iowa City area in the following months, let me know, I'll get the grill going, I'll break out the gloves and a ball, and we'll have ourselves a good old time. We could probably even catch a band coming through town, or just listen to some good tunes while we're cooking and eating and catching. Good times, all around.

Musician for the day

My nod today goes to Madeleine Peyroux, from New York. One of my old roommates heard an interview of her on NPR one day a few years ago, so we looked up some of her songs, and I gotta say I was impressed. She sounds kind of like a white Billy Holiday, a bluesy/jazzy sound, which I dig. Sure, she's on a big label, and has had a song in a commercial, so it's not like she's some underground recording artist, or someone that few people know about. But I'm feeling like listening to her today, and I thought that maybe I could have other people join me in my enjoyment. She's got a nice, relaxing sound, perfect for listening to while doing the morning crossword or having lunch, or just hanging around, listening to music. So enjoy, have a great day.

some links, some books, and some other stuff

First off, I want to suggest to everyone to check out the AM Music Blog. I found this through Jad's Blog, Three Pints and a Towel, when the writer of the AM blog posted a comment. Since I'm always looking for some good online reading, I glanced it over, and started to enjoy it right away. Both of the blogs listed above are music-related, and both have some excellent reviews and recommended bands, so give some new bands a listen. Go ahead, you can leave my blog for a little while. As long as you come back. Ok, now that you're back, I put a link up on the right to the AM Music Blog, so you can check it whenever you like. And of course, I always recommend checking out Haley's blog, Random Mindless Ramblings.

I finished up Housekeeping vs. The Dirt today while sitting at the Java House, enjoying a mug of hot steamed milk (a delicious, light mixture of cinnamon, honey, and of course hot steamed milk) and a wonderful peanut butter cookie. When peanut butter cookies are done well, they may be the perfect cookie, and the Java House bakery does them well. I liked the collection of columns presented in this book, but I am a little biased. Nick Hornby is one of my favorite contemporary authors, I find him humorous and can relate to his appreciation of music and sports. You know, because I'm funny, musically inclined, and knowledgeable about sports, he's the perfect author for me, right? Anyways, this book made interested in a number of other books, all of which I hopefully will read in the near future. It was very easy to read, the humor made it all rather enjoyable. Passages from a few of Hornby's favorite books were included, which helped tie everything together nicely. I would definitely recommend this book to any Nick Hornby fan, or any literary critique fan (if such a genre exists). For just the average reader, I'd probably pick up a different book. Try High Fidelity.

Now, I've started on A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, as I had previously stated I would. Then after that, I'll start in on some books from my trip to Minneapolis. Then, after those, I'll start in on the books I've learned about by reading this Hornby one.

I'm very excited for this weekend, Friday marks the first home game for the Hawkeye baseball team, and it's a "Knit Hat Giveaway" day, so I'm hoping for a free knit hat. I've got the weekend off, and should be able to make it to all of the games against North Dakota State. And, I just found out my friend KP will be in town, so we'll be able to hang out for the first time in a while. Should be a good weekend. As long as Memphis beats Kansas in the NCAA finals, my bracket should be ok. Damn Wisky and Texas messed up the rest of my Final Four. (Note to Kevin Durant: Please stay in college, at least for one more year. I'd like to be able to watch you play, but I watch a lot more college games than NBA games, so it'd just be more convenient for me. Plus, you might have a shot at a national title and consensus number one overall pick status. It'll give you a chance to put on a little muscle-weight, and build up some endurance. I hope that your coach figures out how to use you better, maybe even run plays to get you the ball late in the game. You and DJ Augustin could own the Big 12 next year. So please, think about it)

oh college.

I generally avoid such stories, but everyone's got one, some are humorous, so I may as well share mine. Of course, I'm talking about the Drunkest I've Ever Been.

The story starts about 3 years ago, in the spring of the year 2004. Now I was a novice drinker, having not imbibed until I was 23, so I was still trying on my drinking shoes at this point. This was coming on the heels of an excellent night out had by me, Bill, and Adam (which I can recall taking place during March Madness, so this had to have been almost exactly 3 years ago), during which a girl had told me that she liked me. I wasn't so sure of what I thought of her, she was nice and all, but I didn't know if I wanted to be in a relationship with her, so I side-stepped the issue that night, and kind of forgot about it. I only mention this because it set up the theme for the Drunkest Ever night, I had been kind of a jerk and felt bad, and decided to drink away the guilt.

My friend Travis and I started off going to the liquor department and getting a bottle of Jim Beam and Southern Host (not Southern Comfort, but the 100-proof knockoff of it) and some mixers, then went to get a Falbo Bros. pizza. We headed over to our friends' place (I think Travis was dating one of the girls at the time, but we were all friends) and started the night off innocently enough, just a few people mixing drinks and eating pizza. More and more people started showing up, and so I decided to keep up with the drinking. (I'm not usually super comfortable around a bunch of people I don't know, and so I either get really quiet and sit off on my own, or, in this case, I'll drink until I don't know the difference.) It turns out the people in the apartment across the hall were having a party, so both places started combining into one party. After losing any sort of inhibitions, I went over to the other apartment to mingle, and ended up going to a totally different apartment building next door to the original party. I don't know how exactly I ended up going there, but two other people I knew were there, so It was ok, I guess.

At this other building, since people didn't really know me, they just called me Conan. This isn't that unusual for me, due to my red hair I get that often. (Once, someone said that I reminded her of Conan O'Brien, to which I replied, "yeah, I get that a lot with my hair," to which she said, "oh yeah, I guess your hair color is similar, too." I took it as a compliment, assuming she meant I was funny like Mr. O'Brien.) What was unusual for me was that, after some prodding, I climbed up onto a table and started doing Conan O'Brien's "string dance," and deemed one other party-goer Max Weinberg, and another Jimmy Vivino. After my dance, I decided I needed to call Bill and describe the scene to him. While I was on the phone, the power went out, and to paraphrase Bill, I reacted like I had just watched the 9/11 attacks. I left to go back to the original party location, I guess to leave the traumatic scene. Many people left with me, probably invited by yours truly, much to the chagrin of the hosts on both ends. Also at this point, I started to take pulls straight from the Jim Beam and Southern Host bottles (I ended up having nearly half of each bottle on my own.) Not coincidentally, this is where things get a little hazy for me.

I was told that I went into someones room and started playing their guitar, using a quarter for a pick. When Travis entered the room, I took off and threw my shoes at him, knocking over a box of powder laundry detergent in the process. I then apparently went to the living room and joined in a game of Twister with a few people I had never met. They didn't like this, and eventually I was playing Twister by myself. When I realized that everyone else stopped playing, I plopped down on the couch, and started yelling for Max Weinberg to do inappropriate things, involving the words "toss" and "salad." Also I was saying something about wanting to "roast someones pig," but I don't recall that at all, so it must not have happened.

Travis found me a little later in the bathroom, after I had somehow thrown up on the wall opposite the toilet, about four feet off the ground. What can I say, I have talent. I think a majority of my mess was made on the wall and myself, minimal damage was done to the actual toilet. Since my clothes were pretty much disgusting, one of the girls let me borrow some clothes that she had that she thought would fit me. So I went to bed wearing the bottom of some scrubs that were probably about 4 sizes too small, and a t-shirt that was only a little tight. And I guess I would not pass out, I just kept talking to anyone who would listen.

The next morning Travis gave me a ride home, with my clothes stuffed into a grocery bag, me still wearing the donated clothes, leaving little to the imagination. Travis kept saying (and still says to this day) that I was the drunkest he had ever seen anyone, which means a lot coming from him. He is an experience drinker. Over the next couple of days, things about that night kept coming out, things that I didn't remember or wasn't around for. It took me a long time to have a drink again after that, I still won't have Jim Beam or Southern Host. And I don't ever want to have a night where I drink to the extent of getting sick like that again, and don't really want to have a night that I don't remember chunks at a time. So I guess this was a learning experience for me. I've calmed down quite a bit since then, haven't gotten nearly as out of control, so I'd like to think I've matured since then and whatnot. But that night, I was a wild man. Or so I've heard.

Band of the Day!!

Today's band (like a number of bands I've already recommended) comes to us from the Pacific Northwest, Seattle to be specific. They are the Fruit Bats! I saw the lead singer a couple of years ago, opening for Iron & Wine. And while I was a little more impressed with Band of Horses (may be a future recommendation, I haven't decided yet...) and a little disappointed with Iron & Wine (they were good, but I wished that it was only the main guy, not a full band), Eric Johnson's songs grew on me. Marin liked him and the band right from the start, so that helped, and I listened more. Now, they're my band of the day! So give them a listen. They're upbeat, happy, and have a couple of love songs, and a couple of songs about unicorns. You'll love them. I promise.

Fare thee well, Atlantic Books in the Mall of America. . .

. . . and thanks for the deals! I felt kind of guilty (or I would have, had I not given up feeling guilty for Lent) purchasing a large amount of books from a store whose closing was imminent, like the only reason I was buying books was that they were having a "going out of business sale." That may be true, actually, but, it just happened to coincide with my visit to the MoA. I may have purchased some books there otherwise, had I ever been there while they were in non-closing mode. (A similar thing happened when I was living in Ames, and a local record store was going out of business. Peeple's Music was the store's name. I would do any cd buying there, but definitely got more stuff there when they were having their store-closing sale. I don't think I could've single-handedly saved the store by buying more stuff before that time period, but I still felt somewhat responsible.)

Anyways, I thought I would use this blog as a chronicle and perhaps review some of the books that I bought at Atlantic Books. Here are the books that I bought

• You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers
• Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
• The Infinite Book by John D. Barrow
• Boogers are My Beat by Dave Barry
• The Baseball Geek's Bible by Douglas B Lyons
• Fair Ball - A Fan's Case for Baseball by Bob Costas
• Baseball and Philosophy edited by Eric Bronson
• Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
• Sushi by Lulu Grimes
• Stargazing by Tom Van Holt

Sushi is a general book about sushi, with some photos and recipes, and Stargazing is a book with constellations and other information about astronomy. So those most likely won't be read straight through, but will be used as a reference or just some idle reading material. But the others all looked like books I would be interested in, some I had heard of, some I hadn't. I got the Nietzsche mainly because of the references in Little Miss Sunshine, and the baseball books because I love baseball. I had read another of Dave Eggers' books (A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius, which is excellent, I'd recommend it to everyone) and wanted to read this other one, so I was pleased to find it, especially since it was out of order and kind of a random find. And Nick Hornby is one of my favorite authors, so I picked up his book. And that book is basically giving me the idea of writing the reviews. Housekeeping vs. The Dirt is a collection of columns Hornby wrote for a magazine called Believer, in which he critiques the books he reads each month. He does so in a humorous way, relating it to life or football (soccer) or whatever. I've been compiling a list of books to read from it, so it looks like I'll be busy for a while now (however I'm still open for suggestions!!) The next book that I'm going to be reading is one that Haley let me borrow, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Hopefully I'll have some time to be reading in the next few weeks, and I'll try to get through maybe a book every week or two. We'll see how that goes. . .

A quick music recommendation

My music recommendation for the day is Rosie Thomas. I found out about her though Jad's blog, and thought that I'd second his endorsement. She's basically a singer/songwriter, but I feel like that's a good genre, one that I can wholly support. It's one that if done well, I usually like a lot, and if done poorly, is easily ignored. Rosie does it well. She even covers an REM song. While my feelings on REM may not always be ones of general pleasure, her version of "The One I Love" is pretty good. So check her out!!!

Home again, home again

I made it back to Iowa City last night in the early evening. Not a bad drive at all, aside from the fact that I felt like crap and had to stave off the strong desire to fall asleep. Minneapolis was a good time, Haley and Jim made me feel welcome, and were very gracious in letting stay at their places. The Mall of America was a huge mall with a little theme park inside of it, pretty much exactly what I was expecting. But, I did love the cheese store and the book store, and I wish I had more money to spend at the peanut butter place. I also kind wish that I hadn't spent $70 on books. I'm not upset that I bought the books, but that money could have probably been better spent. Oh well.

The day I spent in downtown Minneapolis was a nearly perfect day, the temperature was in the mid- to upper-60's, people were out walking around, and there was just a lot of stuff to check out. I got the tickets for Of Montreal after a little searching (you'd think that the venue would have some sort of box office right there, instead of a couple of blocks away), and spent the rest of the day just wandering around. I'm fairly certain that I saw the lead singer of TV on the Radio, which made me want to go to their show even more. However, the week was already pretty packed-full of plans for me, so I figured I'd save the money and do the other stuff with my friends. Sorry TVotR. Come to Iowa City soon, and I'll go, I promise.

I really enjoyed the Of Montreal show. Loney, Dear impressed me, I think it helped that I kind of knew some of their songs before I saw them. They were pretty much what I expected, which wasn't a bad thing. I really liked the lead singer's accent, especially when he'd talk in between songs. My favorite thing he said was "I wish I knew English better so I knew what you were saying to me." to a fan who apparently was saying something.

Of Montreal put on a show that was similar to their Iowa City show I saw in August, but they played more from their latest album and a couple of new songs, but not much older stuff, which was a little disappointing to me. They played almost all of Hissing Fauna, are you the Destroyer, and about 3 or 4 from Sunlandic Twins, but not my favorite song, "So Begins our Alabee." Oh well. They did have a lot of energy, and some interesting images/videos playing on screens behind them. The crowd, in my opinion, sucked. It was made up mostly of what appeared to be high schoolers, who all decided it's cool to have loud conversations during a concert. I hate that. (I think I was spoiled with the Jeff Tweedy show here last year, it was an incredibly quiet crowd during the songs and while Mr. Tweedy was talking, and loud and cheering at the appropriate parts.) Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure the last show I saw at First Ave was similar. I'm not sure if that's the norm for concerts these days or what. I wish they would've had a 21+ show, but based on this crowd, there may have been only 15 people going in that case. It was alright, though, the crowd didn't make me dislike the show. It was just kind of an annoyance. The floor was pretty packed, I felt like I should've bought the guy in front of me dinner afterwards, and maybe had a cigarette.

St. Patrick's Day was fun, or as fun as it can be to go out when I feel pretty terrible and want to go to bed. We went to a couple of bars, I had a decent time people-watching. I feel kind of bad for not really getting into the whole spirit of the day, but I did what I could. Plus, by not drinking, I was able to drive everyone home and avoid any taxi fares. Everyone wins!

All in all, it was a good trip. I wish I hadn't gotten a cold for the last few days, and wish I didn't spend so much money right away on books, but I managed. I'll probably post more about my trip later, but this is a good overview of it, I feel. Oh, I should mention that we played a lot of Settlers of Catan and the card game "Oh Hell," so that was pretty awesome. I think Jim and I pretty much split the games of Settlers, but I never did very well at cards. It was still super fun, though.

Quick notes re:Tate Vs Haluska

Just a few things about some comments that have been posted about the Tate Vs. Haluska thing I did a couple of days ago. A good point is made up, Tate took the team to the post season every year, including his "disappointing" senior year, while Haluska didn't take the teams to ANY post-season tournament. So add another point to Tate's.

And as for Haley's comment about Tate, I'd like to set some things straight... He missed one half due to dehydration, against Kent State, a game that the Hawkeyes won 39-7, a game that Tate had 2 td's before he left. The game that was his very first collegiate start. In around 85 degree heat, with it being much hotter on the field. (I was at the game, I got smoked by a sunburn and felt like crap most of the time.) The other 2 games he missed in his career were due to an abdominal strain against Syracuse and when he had hand surgery the week before the Northern Illinois game. Neither game was expected to really be close, so he didn't miss any important games in his career. The abdomen strain affected him for most of the regular season, he wasn't really 100% until the bowl game. Plus, he played most of this past Michigan game with a torn ligament in his hand. Sure it was the left hand, but that's the hand that takes the impact of the snaps, so it's still important. I really don't know where people got the idea of Drew Tate being a wimp. A week after missing 2 quarters because of dehydration, he was fine for the whole game in dismantling Iowa State, taking every offensive snap.

Now, I'm off to shower and then explore the town!

Music recommendation from the North

In honor of being in the Minneapolis area, I figure I'd pick a Minneapolis-based band. Here's Tapes 'n Tapes! They sound a little like Pavement with a little Pixies. Basically they sound like an indie rock band. Unfortunately they're not playing up here while I'm in Minnesota. But, everyone should check them out, they're pretty darn good. And they'll probably be getting bigger eventually. So you can say that you heard them before they were big. Sweet.

Chillin in Cottage Grove

Had a nice, relaxing day today in Cottage Grove, MN. Got out to a pizza lunch buffet, which was delicious, then headed back to Jimbo's for some college basketball. I've decided that Kevin Durant is my favorite non-Hawkeye player. I'm hoping he stays in college, so I'm able to watch him more... I don't get to watch as many NBA games, and would really like to see him dominate the Big 12 for another year. I'd really love to see a Tyler Smith/Kevin Durant match-up someday. Preferably in the Final Four next year or something. Seeing as how there's no chance for any match-up this season. I expected the Hawks to miss the NCAA tournament. But I had hopes for the NIT. Little did I know that there were about 120 teams in D-I basketball with a better record. Poor Adam Haluska. Well, Adam, thanks for the past few years. But, it's time to hand the keys over Tyler Smith. Tyler, take care of the team, and try to stick around for a few years.

I'm excited for the Tyler Smith Era, as long as Tony Freeman grows into a point guard that can help lead a team, and if Seth Gorney decides to put on some muscle and figures out how to play the center position. It'd be nice if Greg Oden leaves for the NBA, too.

Tomorrow should be an exciting day for me. I'll be out and about on my own, probably heading to the Mall of America to kill some time while I wait for Haley to get off of work. Then I'll meet her at her place, meet up with everyone else, and then go see 300 at the IMax theater. Good stuff!

Well, I'll be back sometime to post.

New Wilco!

Much thanks to Jad for posting this on his blog, but I thought I'd put it up here too, so I can maybe bring this to the attention of two more people. My current favortie band, Wilco, is previewing their forthcoming album in its entirerty on their website, wilcoworld.net. Go listen to it. It's good.

Hello from the North!

Well, I made it to the Minneapolis area without a problem yesterday. I am at the Casa del Jimbo, posting from his laptop. Good times last night, played some NCAA football and some Settlers of Cataan. Yours truly won the second game of Settlers pretty handily. I think I'm going to enjoy myself up here.

I'll post when I can from here, but it probably won't be to often.... Sorry. I'll check my e-mail every now and then, so if anyone comments I'll be able to tell, and if anyone wants to e-mail me, I'll get back to them if I can.

later people

Next band!! and notes on the next week

My recommendation today is for everyone to listen to Menomena. I haven't exactly been able to maneuver their homepage very well, but their myspace is good enough.

These guys are from Portland, just like The Thermals, and another performer that I will be suggesting in the near future. (I'm glad to hear that the Pacific Northwest has more stuff than just grunge coming out of there now!) They have a rather unusual kind of sound, kind of quirky, always shifting from song to song.. It's hard to pinpoint their exact style, it's almost an electronic sounds at times, then some drum-driven songs, and then some just rock-based songs. Definitely a different sounding band, something to check out and let sink in. So enjoy!

This may be my last post for a while, or I might post again tomorrow night! I'm leaving for the Minneapolis area tomorrow morning, and don't really know what sort of access I'll have to this here internet. So when I have the ability and the desire to, I'll post here. Until then, I hope everyone enjoys themselves and keeps reading and commenting. I like comments. It lets me think I'm important or something. Yeaaaaaah.

Haluska vs Tate

I don't know when the last time we've had two high profile, skill position athletes start for three years for the Hawkeyes at the same time, or if it's ever happened before. But this year, we have two seniors leaving, one in basketball, one in football, each carried the burden of the Hawkeye faithful's hopes on their shoulders. For football, it was quarterback Drew Tate; basketball had Adam Haluska. I've been wondering the past few days about which student-athlete had the bigger impact, meant more to the Hawkeye Nation. So, I've decided to use my blog to break it down and come up with a winner.

Freshman Season

Drew Tate saw limited action his freshman year, going 6-11 passing for 55 yards and 1 td, no ints, along with 46 rushing yards. He was the future, and everyone knew it. Poor Nate Chandler had to deal with the pressure of being the starting QB in front of the QB that everyone wanted to be playing. (I often picture Nate Chandler sitting in a class during his senior year, and when his name is called for roll, everyone starts chanting Tate's name.)

Adam Haluska played for the Cyclones his freshman season, starting all 31 games he played in, averaging 9.2 points a game on nearly 40% shooting. But, it was for the Cyclones

Edge: Tate

Sophomore Season

Drew Tate takes over the starting job and has the season that everyone had dreams of: Big Ten Player of the Year, the Hawkeyes beat Iowa State, Ohio State, and threw the game-winning pass in the miracle ending of the Capital One Bowl vs LSU. Guided the Hawkeyes to their third straight 8th-ranking in the end of season polls, and their third straight 10-win season.

Adam Haluska started all 33 games of the season (after transferring and red-shirting one season), averaging 14.7 points per game and almost 81% from the free-throw line. He helped the Hawks win over Texas, Louisville, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Michigan (twice), Michigan State. (Louisville and Michigan State both made the Final Four this season) Lost in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to Cincinnati.

Edge: Tate (If only for the Capital One Bowl)

Junior Season

Drew Tate passed for more yards, more td's, and less int's than the previous season, but the Hawks slipped a little in the win department, compiling a 7-5 record, and a loss in the (terribly officiated) Outback Bowl vs. Florida. Didn't have any real "signature wins" over the season, as the Hawks ended the season unranked.

Adam Haluska averaged just under 14 points per game and nearly 5 rebounds per game, to go with 84.8% shooting from the charity stripe, starting in 34 games. Had wins against Ohio State (2 times), NC State, Illinois, Michigan State (twice). Scored 15 points and had 8 rebounds in the win over Ohio State for the Big Ten Tournament championship. Scored 20 points in first-round NCAA game against Northwestern State... also was guarding the player who hit the game-winning 3 for NW State.

Edge: Haluska

Senior Season

Drew Tate missed two games due to injury as the Hawkeyes struggled to their first sub-.500 season since 2000. Again, no real signature victories, except possibly Iowa State. Threw for fewer yards and tds than the season before. Lost last 4 games of the season, including a 26-24 loss to 11-point favorite Texas in the Alamo Bowl.

Adam Haluska led the Big Ten in scoring in his first year as the "premiere" player for the Hawkeyes, averaging 20.8 points a game. Had 5 games of 30+ points, and another 3 in which he scored 29. Shot 87.6% from the free-throw line as he led the team to wins against Iowa State, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan. Helped the Hawkeyes finish 4th in the Big Ten in a season they were expected to finish near the bottom of the league. (season still in progress)

Edge: Haluska

Defining Moments of Career

Drew Tate threw the game-winning pass in the Capital One Bowl, slammed the ball down in frustration against Ohio State, gave himself a concussion making a tackle after he threw an interception at Iowa State, played with a torn ligament in his non-throwing hand against Michigan.

Adam Haluska started every game of his Hawkeye career, currently somewhere near 130 games straight, scored 30 points in back-to-back games, scored over 1000 points as a Hawkeye, guarded the player who won the Northwestern State game, made thousands of Iowa State Cyclone fans furious when he transfered.

Edge: Push (too close to call, Capital One Bowl vs. pissing off Cyclone fans)

Record versus Iowa State

Drew Tate: 2-1

Adam Haluska: 2-1

Edge: Push (would have given Haluska another victory over ISU for leaving them, but since he was on the Cyclone team that beat Iowa in 2002, he loses out on that point. But, that same ISU team lost to the Hawkeyes in the NIT. Still, it'll stay as a push)

Post-season records

Drew Tate: 1-2

Adam Haluska: 0-2 in NCAA tournament as a Hawkeye, 5-2 in Big Ten Tournament, including winning the championship in 2005-2006. Current post-season still in progress

Edge: Haluska

Professional Prospects

Drew Tate is too undersized to really have a shot as a QB in the NFL. He may get picked up by a team, or make in the CFL. Has great elusiveness, throws a pretty ball, and is an intense competitor.

Adam Haluska has the best shot of any recent Hawkeye to make it in the NBA. Has an awkward but effective shot, can drive the lane on occasion, isn't a defensive liability, and is very athletic.

Edge: Haluska

Girlfriends
(having seen both of them with their girlfriends
on consecutive nights, I feel qualified to judge this)

Drew Tate - cute girl, blond. About the same height as he is. Don't know any cute story of how they met, or anything about her, really.

Adam Haluska - very cute girl, brunette. Much shorter than him. Sweethearts since elementary school, got engaged on the same playground where they met. Did I mention she's brunette?

Edge: Haluska

Legacy

Drew Tate never quite lived up to his sophomore year, but will always been known as a fiery competitor who threw "The Pass" in the Capital One Bowl (I feel I cannot mention that game enough. It really does mean something personal to me, but that's a different story for a different day.)

Adam Haluska took a young Iowa team on his shoulders his senior year, led the Big Ten in scoring, and beat pre-season expectations. He'll be remembered for his three-point and free-throw accuracy, and for screwing over the Cyclones (I also can't mention this enough. I think it's hilarious!)

Edge: Haluska

So there it is, Adam Haluska wins 6-2, with 2 pushes. Sorry Drew. Both have been great Hawkeyes, and I'm saddened to see either of them leave. Hopefully I can write something similar three years from now, about Tyler Smith and whomever takes over the starting QB job, be it Jake Christensen or Arvell Nelson. Assuming Tyler Smith stays for his entire collegiate career. And assuming I'm still doing this in 3 years.

Sleep dialing??

Yeah, I didn't really post anything yesterday. I didn't have that much of an inspiration to blog, or blogspiraton if you will. Nothing really happened during the day, and I didn't feel like rambling on about nothing.

Last night, however, was a little different story. I'm a member of the Old Chicago beer tour, this thing where you sign up and each time you have a different beer, you get it put on your beer tour card. You get prizes at certain intervals, and after 110 beers, you've finished the tour. I finished my first tour a couple of months ago, got my name on the "Wall of Foam" or whatever they call it, and got my sweatshirt. So now I just go for the mini-tours they do, which are tours made up of anywhere from 8-12 beers, usually revolving around a holiday theme. There's a St. Patrick's Day tour right now, consisting of Guiness, Harp, and some other Irish beers. Good stuff. Anyways, you can only get 4 beers put on your card in one day, so in order to finish the mini-tour today with my mom (yes, my mom's finished the tour, too, she's the reason I'm in it in the first place), I needed to have 3 last night.

Now, I didn't really feel like drinking on my own, so I called around, and talked a couple of friends to meet up with me. It was a good time, but I was stuffed full, so I didn't really finish all 3 beers (you don't really need to drink them to count, just purchase them). I had all of the first one, about 3/4 of the second, and not even half of the third, so I wasn't drunk at all, not even really feeling anything. But when I got home, I immediately got into bed and fell asleep, pretty hard. Hard enough that I apparently started calling people while I was sleeping. I probably wouldn't have realized that I had done such an act, had some of the people not been out and called me when they left the bars around 1:30 in the morning, and I can barely recall that. I don't know what brought about such a sudden sleepiness, but whatever it was got me pretty good.

I have had a history of calling in my sleep, once I guess I said something about fighting a tank on my own. Much like dreams, I guess it can be pretty random, and just overall strange.

I woke up this morning about an hour before I usually do, which was kind of nice, it let me leisurely get ready and arrange some stuff. I still need to do some cleaning around my room, and pack for my trip up north, but that shouldn't take too much time at all.

Maybe later I'll post something that's actually interesting!!

Band of the day!

Congratulations Loney, Dear, you're my music recommendation for the day!! They'll be playing with Of Montreal when I see them in a week, so I found their myspace page to get an idea of what they sound like. They're Swedish, and you can kind of hear the accent (which seems a little unusual to me, why is that when I hear bands from England or Australia and even some from non-English based languages, I never really notice an accent?) throughout their songs. I kind of hate describing the sound of a band, I feel that I don't do that great of a job. But if I had to, I'd say they're kind of alt-folksy, with a good use of a variety of instruments. I'm looking forward very much to seeing them!

Quote of the Day

Courtesy of Buddy Bell, manager of the Kansas City Royals. Buddy's talking about Mark Grudzielanek, Kansas City's Gold-Glove secondbaseman, after he just had knee surgery.

"Only time will tell how much time he is going to need."

thanks Buddy. Did you ask Yogi Berra for help on coming up with a statement?

My daily music recommendation

So I'll keep this going daily for as long as I can, I've got about a week's worth of bands lined up, and probably more that I'll think of. But there's also spring break, which means that I'll probably have limited abilities to post. (All the better, I imagine, I've been going a little overboard on this recently, posting multiple times in a day...)

Anyways, today's band, The Thermals, hails from Portland, Oregon. I heard of them through my roommate Daren, who either knows one of the members of the band or knows someone who knows someone. They'll be in Iowa City on March 19th, and if I'm recovered from my week in the Cities up north, I'll be heading to the Picador. They're kind of an indie-pop-punk band, and they seem to have fun in their performances, based on some of the videos from their myspace page. I really enjoy their song "A Pillar of Salt," which seems to be their "big song" right now. They've performed it on Last Call with that one dude, and have a video for it that I highly suggest you watch.

Well that's it for now, I'm calling it a night. But you can be sure that I'll return during the day for some more of my wild and crazy antics!

addendum to Gotta find a way...

I screwed up. I don't know how I let it slip my mind, but it happened. I would be remiss if I left Washington DC off of my list of where friends live. Because that's where my best friend lives. So I've edited the post and added on there, I'm truly very sorry for leaving it off, Marin. Please forgive me.

Dear Senator Obama

First off, thanks for stopping by Iowa City this past November. I don't know if you remember me, I was the guy in the crowd with red hair, standing about 20 feet away from you. You also shook my hand after the rally, so maybe you'd remember me from that. If it helps, my name is Chris. But a lot of people just call me Flenker. You can call me whatever you're comfortable with.

Now I notice that you're going to be coming to my hometown of Muscatine, IA, in the next week. I'm very excited that you'll be in my old stomping grounds (except for the fact you're going to West Middle School, come one, everyone knows Central is the place to go), but disappointed that you'll be there when I'm in another state. Could you do me a favor and maybe push your appearance back a week? Or maybe stop in Minneapolis while I'm there? You don't have to have any speech prepared, we could just hang out, share impressions of Muscatine, get some coffee, or if you'd like, we could find a bar and trade music suggestions over a beer. I'm going to see Of Montreal while I'm up there, on the 16th, so if you're free, I can grab a ticket for you. It's on me. (If that's ok for you to accept a gift from me. You can just get me back some other time.)

You know, Samuel Clemens lived there (Muscatine) for a while. He worked at the local newspaper, and said that the sunsets over the Mississippi River were the most beautiful he'd ever seen (I'm paraphrasing). Sure, he said similar things about other cities, so I guess you'll have to judge for yourself. Also, you should get a pizza from Salvatore's while you're there. I'd recommend a cheese pizza with the white sauce.

I'm going to try to convince my family to go see you while you're in town. I'll tell them to mention my name to you, so you'll know who they are. Tell them I say hi. I've been espousing you and your oratorical skills for a while, so I'm really hoping they can see first hand what I'm talking about. (Boy, I really hope I used the word espousing correctly there. I'm sure you know how to properly use it, maybe you could let me know.)

Well, I'm sure you're a busy man, so I'll let you go. Give my regards to your family (although they might not know me, I didn't see them in Iowa City. Unless you've talked to them about me, in which case they may feel as if they've met me.) Good luck with everything in the future. You've got my vote. And we'll get together sometime soon, if we miss each other in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Chris J Flenker

Music recommendation for the day

I'm going to try to do this one a semi-regular basis, to share some music that I like with everyone. It may be a band that I've loved for years, or a new one that I just found. If there's any story behind the band that I can provide, I will try to do so, whether it be how I found out about them, a concert that I've seen them play, or just some random tidbit. And I'll do my best to at least link to some songs, most likely a myspace page and maybe a band's official site. This is the official first post in this new line, but really it started yesterday with my mention of Feist. If you haven't done so yet, you should check her out.

Today, I'm suggesting that everyone look up Rock Plaza Central. A friend from work had said that she was listening to them recently, and since we have a similar taste in music (which I learned tonight!), I thought I should give them a listen. I had kind of forgotten about them until I was in bed, falling asleep. I bolted up, remembering that I had written down their name, and began searching for the scrap of paper. And naturally it fell out of my pocket in my car. So I put on some pants, my sandals, and my new coat and stocking cap, and run outside to frantically search my car, of course it had fallen in between my seat and the console, it couldn't have been right on top of anything. Luckily I found it without any frostbite setting in, and scurried back inside.

After explaining to Dan why I had run outside in the middle of the night, I looked them up and listened to a few of their songs, and checked out their bio. Megan, the girl who had mentioned them earlier, had said that their album was a sort of concept album, but the concept was too ridiculous to not read it for myself. She was right. Apparently, Are We Not Horses is an album about robotic horses thinking that they're actual horses. I dig that. And I dig the songs, my favorite being "My Children Be Joyful." They kind of have a Neutral Milk Hotel meets Modest Mouse with they tiniest hint of They Might Be Giants sound, but it's hard to describe. Just listen to them. Love them. And come to Iowa City on March 31 to watch them in concert with me.

Gotta find a way to get away... or gotta find something that makes me wanna stay?

(sorry about the Zebrahead quote. I feel like it fit. And screw off, I kind of like some of their songs)

So I wrote all of this last night, but the "internet" stopped working, so it's getting posted now.



One more day of work and a couple of tests are all that stand before me and Spring Break 2007. And it cannot get here fast enough. I love Iowa City, I really do. But I'm starting to feel ready to be done with it. I'm starting to feel like I don't really have much holding me here anymore, except family in the general Eastern Iowa area. I have friends in Washington DC, Austin, Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Baltimore, and family in St. Louis, Arizona, Northern California, Oregon, and Maine. All of those places sound very appealing to me, all for different reasons. I don't know if I can really go somewhere that doesn't have some sort of a winter without feeling a little strange. Even this year here in Iowa it felt odd to me, with temperatures near 50 in December, and no real snow until the middle of January. I'm sure I'd adjust, and I could always visit the snow-laden climes. (This is where Haley will say "you're nuts, winter SUCKS.") I've always been drawn to the Pacific Northwest, I like the idea of constant rain and being near a coast. And I've enoyed every visit I've made to California, even with Bill vomiting in the bathroom at the In and Out Burger. (Note: this was not related to the food at said In and Out. The burger I had there was the second best burger I had on my trip, only behind Bob's Big Boy. I don't know if that Big Boy burger can ever be topped, it may have been the best burger of my life.)

I think any place that I move to would have to have a baseball team of some sorts, preferably MLB, but I'd be fine with a minor league team. Just as long as I can have the option to go to many games over the summer. And they'd have to have a good music scene, or at least some good venues that get a lot of acts coming through. Public transit would be a huge plus. As would a major airport nearby to be able to travel through for a relatively cheap price.

Will I be moving any time soon? Probably not. My lease isn't up until August, and I've been talking with Daren about finding places to live around here. But, it's always something that's in the back of my mind, something that I'd like to just up and do. Maybe I've just been waiting for some kind of push, something to get my up and going. That may have happened, and that may be why I've had such thoughts recently. I kind of feel like this will be my last year in Iowa City, possibly Iowa, and I don't really know how to feel about that. I'd miss the Hawkeyes, being able to go to the football games. But that's where the airport comes in, I'd have to travel to see at least one game with my dad.

Sorry if this has been kind of disjointed and random, but these are things running through my head. And my life has kind of felt random and unfocused lately. And it's 2:21 in the am. I think I'm well within my bounds. (I'm not really that bitter and jaded. I just like to act like it.)

Quote of the Day?!?

(I don't know why I call this the Quote of the Day, it's not like I make a new one every day, or even every week. It just seems to be the only thing that I can think of right now. So until I can be clever, it'll stay QotD.)

This one is from my roommate Daren, when I told him the name of my new blog.

"Why don't you just call it 'High Fidelity' and get it over with."

A new blog friend?!?

First off, I want to thank Jad for indirectly introducing me to Feist. He had commented on my oatmeal post (which has apparently been the most popular post of yet, it's gotten a whopping 4 comments!), so I decided to check out his blog. It's a music blog, with some really good stuff on there, some links to some excellent music, so everyone (all 3 of you readers) should check it out. And he's from Canada, which makes it even better!! (PS - I'm kind of curious as to how he found my little slice of the internet... I guess tpol is going international!) Anyways, he had a post about a musician known as Feist, I listened to one of her songs, and liked it very much! I did a little research, and found she was from the band Broken Social Scene, so that earns her more points (that I arbitrarily assign to things, they all go down in the book Points Given by Flenker for Random Things, which has yet to be published. Or written. But who ever the winner ends up being will receive a free slice of cake, a copy of Wonder Boys on VHS, and a fruitcup.)

I was planning on doing a list tonight, my All-Smiles Song list, which would consist of songs that can always make me smile. It's getting late, though, so I'll only do a sneak preview of the list...

• Mr. E's Beautiful Blues by the Eels
• Aside by The Weakerthans
• Sleeping Lessons by the Shins
• New York City by They Might Be Giants
• Death Dance of Omipapas and Sons by Of Montreal
• Fly Around by Built to Spill

Just six to get you started, more to come in the following days. As will some more in-depth reviews of movies I've recently seen. Until then, have a wonderful time at whatever you're doing. Oh, and suggest some books that I should read. I'm looking for some good ones, not crappy ones.

I'm nothing if not awkward

Today, whilst walking to and fro my daily obligations, I came across a girl from my high school, someone who had graduated a couple of years before I did, but was in band so we were friends. (That's how I was in high school, the cool guy in the band, but just some normal to slightly nerdy guy outside of the music wing.) As we approached each other, I was preparing for the usual idle conversation of two passing acquaintances, made eye contact, and I started to speak. This person, however, didn't notice me and just kept walking. So there I was, standing with my mouth slightly ajar with words on my tongue, left wondering if said girl noticed me or recognized me at all. Sure, it had been a few years since we had last talked, and I was wearing a coat and stocking cap, so there is a good chance that she didn't know who I was upon first glance. But still, I can't help but feel a little slighted over the whole incident.

Later, I was walking through the Ped-Mall, when I noticed some dude in a suit make eye contact with me and nodded a said hello. I did the courteous thing and nodded back and said hello, while frantically searching my mind to see if there was any recognition there. I came up empty, so I'm just assuming that he was a kind gentleman, and that perked me up a little bit. Not that I was down to begin with, it's been another Good Day, but I like nice people, and it made up a little bit for my earlier debacle. So thank you Dude in a Suit.

Also contributing to my Good Day was stopping by Oasis for a falafel. As always, it was delicious, and the guy at the counter said "thanks for coming by man, have a good one" as I left. Now it wasn't like he was running the register or anything, so he was a little ways down the counter, and (I thought) wasn't really paying attention, but when he said that as I was walking out the door, it made my day a little bit. I answered with "thanks man, see you later," because I am a regular there, and I'm sure I'll see him later. That's what cool people do, they call each other "man" and say stuff like "have a good one" or "see you later."

Draft Status

Today was a wonderful day: I caught a matinee of Reno 911!: Miami (funny, if you like the show, you should like the movie. It's like an hour and a half long episode, with the swearing and nudity.), had some delicious sushi at Oyama, talked to a few people that I really enjoy talking with, and had my first fantasy baseball draft of the season!! Things went pretty well, considering I wasn't there for the first five rounds or so, and the computer that I eventually used kept crapping the bed. Luckily, it was never at a moment that really hurt me, so things turned out just fine. I had the first 100 or so players I wanted pre-arranged so if I were to miss some of the draft, I'd at least have some sort of list made up of who I wanted. I lucked out with the 2nd overall pick, and had to take one of my favorite non-(current) Royals player, Carlos Beltran. I may be a homer, but I think Beltran is one of the best all-around players in the league. My other auto-drafted players turned out ok. The only iffy player selections it made were Matt Holiday in the 3rd round and Felipe Lopez in the 5th. But I have confidence in them, they will get the job done.

I was rather proud of my patience in not selecting a Royals player until the 16th round with Ryan Shealy (who I'm thinking is going to be a steal that late), but then I took 3 Royals in rounds 16-20. Each of them could be a solid contributor, the only real risk I feel I'm taking is with Zach Greinke, but I'm predicting stud status for him. Of course, I'm predicting that for all of the Royals players, I should probably take off my blue-tinted glasses.

I had two disappointments during the draft. The first was not getting Alex Gordon, but he ended up going in the 13th round, I was going to grab him in the 15th if he was still there. The other frustrating moment was in the 20th round, I was primed to take Anibal Sanchez, the kid who threw the only no-hitter last year, and I was pumped that he had slipped through the cracks for so long. But of course, the guy with the pick immediately before mine took him, much to my chagrin. I panicked, and ended up getting Greinke the round before I was planning. No worries, though. I like my team very much, I just need to look for some more pitchers, I'm kind of thin there.

My Official Steal of the Draft: Kevin "Greek God of Walks" Youkilis in the 19th round.
My Official Stretch of the Draft: Joel Zumaya in the 11th round... he's good, but he's a set-up man, which usually means no W's or Saves.

Here's the complete draft for my team, The Red Scare Royals

Round (overall) Name Position

1.	(2)	Carlos Beltran	OF
2.	(27)	Justin Morneau	1B
3.	(30)	Matt Holliday	OF
4.	(55)	Dan Uggla	2B
5.	(58)	Felipe Lopez	SS
6.	(83)	Jered Weaver	SP
7.	(86)	Justin Verlander	SP
8.	(111)	Eric Chavez	3B
9.	(114)	Stephen Drew	SS
10.	(139)	Rich Harden	SP
11.	(142)	Joel Zumaya	RP
12.	(167)	Paul Lo Duca	C
13.	(170)	Johnny Estrada	C
14.	(195)	Jorge Cantu	2B
15.	(198)	Akinori Otsuka	RP
16.	(223)	Ryan Shealy	1B
17.	(226)	Mark Teahen	3B
18.	(251)	Zach Duke	SP
19.	(254)	Kevin Youkilis	1B,3B,OF
20.	(279)	Zack Greinke	RP
21.	(282)	Jeremy Hermida	OF

My Night at the Movies

I went to see Black Snake Moan tonight with my friends Travis (not to be confused with my brother Travis) and Erin. With it not being my first choice of movies that I wanted to see this weekend (Reno 911!: Miami would probably take that distinction) and me not knowing a whole lot about it, besides it staring Christina Ricci's boobs, I had little to no expectations. I am pleased to say that I enjoyed it very much! Everything was well done, the only piece maybe dragging it down was Justin Timberlake's character. Not so much the character, I guess, but the actor. Now JT didn't do a bad job, he was fine, but it was hard to take him seriously some of the times. I kept expecting him to say "you other brothers don't know how to act (YEAH!)." So that was a little distracting at times, but not enough to really take too much away from the movie. Besides, Samuel L Jackson made up for that. Sam Jackson was Sam Jackson. And that's a good thing. Christina Ricci was sexy at times, and cute and vulnerable at others, and her breasts were tremendous in their roles. Unfortunately, was once or twice when all I thought about her as Wednesday in The Addams Family. Awkward.

There were a few scenes that were rather intense, my favorite being one involving a thunderstorm. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just leave it at that. This movie also had some funny moments, a few that were kind of touching, and some of SLJ doing his thing. While I may not share Travis' enthusiasm about it ("I loved it, I'm going to buy that movie,") I liked it enough to recommend to anyone looking to be entertained for a few hours. I think Kurt Looby would do the same. (He was sitting a row behind us, and I really wanted to ask him what he thought afterwards, but instead I decided to use the restroom. That's why I'd never make it as a journalist. I'd pass up an interview to pee. To be fair, I did drink approximately a gallon of Diet Coke over the course of the film.)

The Shamrock Shake

There are only 3 reasons why I would willing go out of my way to McDonalds: the McRib sandwich, their Monopoly game, and the Shamrock Shake. Occasionally, they will have two of those at once, usually the McRib and Monopoly promotion, but I'm here to say that in order to save me mulitple trips throughout the year, they should do all three at the same time. I mean, who doesn't want to have a meal that consists of a McRib sandwich, some fries, all washed down with a minty-delicious Shamrock shake, with a few Monopoly game pieces attached to each item? I think it's McDonald's duty to offer all three at once. Honestly, I'd be fine with just the McRib and the shake. No need to kid myself into thinking I'm going to find the "Broadway" piece, and it would save the company a lot of money, not needing to print up all of those tiny stickers (which I occasionally still find in my car from years ago.) I don't feel that I am asking for too much. Besides, then I wouldn't have to feel like I need to get two of some other sandwich, and then I would feel less crappy afterwards. I'd still feel a little crappy, because hey, it's still McDonalds. But it would be a delicious crappy.

mmmm oatmeal

I always forget how much I really love oatmeal, until I have a bowl of it on a cold winter day. It's really amazing, the maple and brown sugar. As is the apples and cinnamon, and the occasional raisins and spice. Those are my staples, sometimes I'll venture off and try some of the new-fangled flavors, but they don't really compare to the originals.

That's basically all I wanted to say right now. I need to go prepare for work, shower, change clothes, etc. But I wanted everyone to know how I felt about oatmeal this morning. Thank you.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

The wind's howling outside, but I'm nice and cozy inside. I'd probably be nice and cozy outside too, thanks to my new coat! It's not exactly the one I wanted, but this is very comfortable, very warm, and has very very soft pockets. Now I just need to get some gloves, and I'll be set for whatever winter has left to offer. I am heading north in a week, so I'll be prepared.

I couldn't have had better timing on my purchase today, as soon as I left the mall, the snow started falling, and the wind started blowing. I thought we were going to be getting what everyone out west was getting, but it died down eventually, only leaving a little less than an inch of snow, from what I can see. But apparently that didn't stop Gov. Culver from declaring the whole state, all 99 counties, a disaster area. And I guess that there are still over 30,000 people without power across the state. It's just been a wacky week of weather, starting with the 60 degree temps last week, then the ice storms, now blizzards across the state. Oh, Iowa, your unpredictability makes me love you. When it's 104 degrees with 80% humidity in a few months, I'll be pining for these days. I'll take cold over suffocating heat any day.

In other news, Zach Braff is out to make my life miserable, I'm convinced. The last few episodes of Scrubs I've seen, along with the movie he stars in, The Last Kiss, all have just gotten me down. What a jerk. Now that I think of it, the first time I saw Garden State I had a similar reaction. It's like he's watching me, and coming up with ways to torment me. Not cool man, not cool. Luckily Will Ferrell can bring me back with Stranger Than Fiction, and Steve Carell with Little Miss Sunshine. Thanks guys.

The Royals lost their first Spring Training game today. After scoring 4 runs in the top of the 9th to take a 6-4 lead, they allow 3 in the bottom to blow it. I'm not going to put too much into this very early game, but it's a trend that better not continue. That's a part of their game that I'm hoping they can improve upon and gain a few more wins. Last year they lead the Bigs with something like 24 blown saves. If they can cut that in half, there's my predicted 10-15 win improvement right there!

Also in sports, it was brought to my attention that Steve Alford should be the coach of my All-Ugly team. After the way the team has been playing under him, I would tend to agree, there's no word better than ugly to describe some of the losses this team has endured. So welcome aboard, Coach. Sure, your dad can be on the staff. Be sure to wear the warm-ups you had on during the last Wisconsin game. (I like how they kept showing Alford in an Iowa "rugby" shirt and warm-up pants, while they showed Bo Ryan in his decently nice suit with white tennis shoes. Yet they never said that it was all for the "Coaches vs. Cancer" day, on which coaches wear white tennis shoes, and due to that, the Iowa staff didn't wear suits. They didn't mention this once in the telecast that I noticed. Instead, it left people wondering if Alford was heading to Denny's afterwards.) Haley has put up her All-Hottie selections. I'm convinced that my team would handle the three-guard look and the wear down the thin bench without a problem.

Welcome March!

My experiences so far in March of 2007 have been pretty great. I rang the month in by watching Stranger Than Fiction last night, which I loved. (I'd write more about it, but I feel I should devote an entire post to it, so I'll save that for later.) Then, there was a nice little thunderstorm that came through, so I decided to sit outside on my stoop for about 45 minutes, just listening and watching the rain, and getting some writing done. Cold and rainy might not be adjectives many people use to describe their ideal weather, but last night just felt so comfortable and soothing to me, it was almost perfect. Sleep was came easily when I went to bed, the sound of the rain always helps.

This morning was more or less the same, a steady rain with some thunder. After class, I stopped by Active Endeavors to see if they would have the coat I was looking for at a decent price. Unfortunately, they had neither the coat that I wanted, nor a coat at a decent price. You may think I'm cheap, but I really don't feel like spending upwards of $100 for a coat. I'll be heading to the mall to see if there are any sales, otherwise I've found something that I like online, so that may be the way I go about getting my new coat. It's exciting.

After that ordeal, I decided to hit a new place for lunch, Baldy's. After eating there today, I'm rather upset that I haven't gone there sooner, it was delicious, and a pretty good atmosphere. They specialize in wraps, you can get a hamburger wrap, chicken wraps, and a few others, like a tuna melt or jambalaya (which has andouille sausage, chicken, and rice). I opted for the bbq cheeseburger, but was so close to the jambalaya wrap. Next time. I was able to find a seat at the counter they have, and as luck would have it, there was a New York Times newspaper sitting right there! So what little wait time I had was spent reading about digital cameras. Good times. My wrap was very impressive, this will definitely be a place that I will try to frequent from now on.

I apologize for anyone reading this in Minnesota or central Iowa, it sounds like you guys are getting much worse weather than we are here in eastern Iowa. Rumor has it that Iowa State University canceled classes this afternoon, and up around Minneapolis, parts of I35 were being closed. I cannot really fathom that right now, it's hovering around 40 degrees in the IC (sorry, I should stop calling it that.) with some clouds and wind, but no snow. We are, however, in a winter weather advisory from 6pm this evening to noon tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. I guess that means I should get going now, so I can have my new coat all ready to be used!!!