Hawaii!

We're off for a 5 day trip to Kauai. It will be a very nice break as work and schoo (for Steph) have been crazy. No computers allowed so will post some pictures next week-end!

Meanwhile - How about those Hogs...2 wins over top 10 teams in a week. And GT baseball is 10-0.

World's Fastest Indian

I saw the new Anthony Hopkins movie "World's Fastest Indian". Hopkins is great as usual in the role of Burt Munro, a New Zealander who set a land speed record in the sixties on a 1920's Indian motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats. I thought it was really good. Inspiring. I think dad would like it because of the motorcycles.

Crunch Wrap Fever!!!

I have become mesmerized by the new Taco Bell Crunch Wrap! Last week I ate them 4 days in a row! It's a toastada covered in seasoned taco meat, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, nacho cheese sauce, wrapped in a soft shell tortilla and grilled to perfection. Reminds you of a floppy frisby or maybe the grill marks remind you of one of those ninja throwing stars. Either way it's delicious!!!

Snow in Cameron Park!

It is quite rare that Cameron Park gets any snow but that is just what happened last night. It even started to stick a bit in the grass and on the deck. It had melted by this morning though so it was short-lived. We tossed the dogs out in it as they hadn't been in snow since their Colorado days. Here's a snap as evidence:

Olympic Update

There has been no post from Arkansas of late, and
not because I have forgotten how. We in Jonesboro
are very excited about the upcoming halfpipe
semifinals (3:15 A.M. Saturday on MSNBC). The word
on the street here is that nobody will be able to
stop the Bulgarian jugernaught, but we are hopeful
that local athlete Benny Winkerson of Oil Trough,
Arkansas will yet make his mark.

Hawks win

Okie State was inspired to win one for the gipper. In this case, the gipper was booze-hound Eddie Sutton. Alas, like a drunkard at the end of a binge, the Cowboys went to sleep at the end allowing the Jayhawks to pull away.

Eddie Sutton

The Okie State coach boozes it up and gets wacked with a DUI after crashing his car. This bodes well for the Jayhawks who face Okie State tonight on ESPN's big monday game.
Hopefully the Cowboys will be rattled and lose big resulting in the 8th straight win the the Hawks!

Meanwhile, the Hawks finally bust into the top 25 taking #22 in both polls.
AP Top 25
1. Connecticut (67)
2. Duke (4)
3. Memphis
4. Villanova (1)
5. Gonzaga
6. Texas
7. Geo. Washington
8. Tennessee
9. Pittsburgh
10. Florida
11. West Virginia
12. Ohio St.
13. Boston Coll.
14. Illinois
15. UCLA
16. Michigan St.
17. Georgetown
18. Iowa
19. Oklahoma
20. Washington
21. N.C. State
22. Kansas
23. North Carolina
24. Bucknell
25. LSU

Course Description for Mathematics, Gender, and Culture

Dad may want to check this out. It is an offering at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Mathematics, Gender, and Culture
After taking this course the student will be able to:
* Critically evaluate eurocentrism in mathematics
* Give examples of the historical role of women and people of color in mathematics
* Critically evaluate research on the relationship of gender and culter to mathematics and mathematics education.

Jayhawks top Huskers by 20

And I was there! That's 6 straight wins for the Jayhawks!

Jayhawks knock off OU, secure NCAA Tourney spot

South teams go south when they hit Allen
BLAIR KERKHOFF

LAWRENCE — The first lesson Oklahoma needs to absorb after Sunday’s 59-58 loss to Kansas is to never again lodge at the Holiday Inn in Lawrence.

There’s nothing wrong with the fine establishment just off the Kansas Turnpike, except that’s where the Sooners have always stayed the night before the Kansas game under coach Kelvin Sampson, and Oklahoma is now 0-7 in those matchups.

If the way the final 8 minutes unfolded doesn’t prompt a change in itinerary — meals, habits, anything to find some fortune — nothing will. The Jayhawks’ 21-5 exit strategy was the team’s best stretch and Oklahoma’s worst of the season.

It was incredible, really. With Oklahoma leading 53-38, a demoralized Kansas team looked as if it had accepted defeat.

For Kansas, there would have been little shame in a loss. For 32 minutes, Oklahoma had executed an ideal game plan, using its rugged defense to hound KU shooters all afternoon, winning the boards and having big guard Terrell Everett beat defenders with his size and speed. Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout were their usual powerful selves near the basket.

Plus, the Sooners have been just as sizzling as the Jayhawks lately. They knocked off Texas last week, and even KU coach Bill Self recently wondered aloud whether the Sooners weren’t the league’s second-best team behind the Longhorns.

What Oklahoma had working against it Sunday was location. The Sooners just don’t win here. No team from the Big 12 South does.

Kansas now stands 29-0 in Allen against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor in the Big 12 decade. The Jayhawks can make an even 30 when the Bears visit in two weeks.

Sampson has never won here. Neither have Rick Barnes or Bob Knight. Eddie Sutton has never won a conference game in Lawrence.

And some excellent teams from Oklahoma and Texas have dribbled into Kansas, nationally ranked teams such as the Sooners on Sunday. Final Four teams like Oklahoma in 2002. Teams with the national player of the year like Texas and T.J. Ford in 2003.

All get turned back. How does this happen time and again? Certainly, Kansas is always good. Sunday’s triumph should confirmthat this will be the program’s 17th straight NCAA Tournament team.

But in the Big 12 era, Iowa State has won three times at Allen. Missouri and Nebraska own victories here, and Kansas State took down Kansas earlier this season.

The difference is those teams from the North visit Kansas every year. The South teams are here once every two seasons, and nobody on the Oklahoma roster had ever played in an atmosphere quite like Sunday.

“Terrell and Taj have never been in an environment quite like this,” said Bookout, a senior who didn’t play in Lawrence two years ago because of a shoulder injury. “I thought in those last 7 or 8 minutes, (the home floor) really helped them out. Their younger guys got energized by it and got rolling.”

Especially center C.J. Giles, who had his best moments in a Kansas uniform. His defense was magnificent, and a save he made under the Oklahoma basket fed the Kansas tsunami.

Giles was getting minutes because Sasha Kaun, who also played well, had weary legs. In as physical a game as Kansas will play all season, the center position accounted for nine points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. That contribution was huge.

Giles was one of several Jayhawks saving their best for the last 8 minutes. Brandon Rush’s scoring, defense by Julian Wright, Jeff Hawkins and Russell Robinson, and Mario Chalmers’ gliding drive that proved to be the game-winner with 19.1 seconds remaining left Oklahoma dumbfounded.

“This one is hard to handle because we outplayed them for a long time,” Sampson said.

Self agreed.

“For 32 minutes, they were a lot better than us,” he said.

But for almost 10 years now, when a South team comes to Kansas, it hasn’t mattered who was better. The Jayhawks come out on top.

Superbowl Snack Menu (serves three people)

Dijorno Pizza (whole wheat variety)
Rotel/Velveta cheese dip (pound of velveta, two cans rotel)
Family size bag of Tostitos "scoops" chips
M&Ms (one pound) mixed with
Reeses Pieces (one pound)
Two bags of pepridge farms "gold fish"
one large bag"Totinos Pizza Rolls"
24 bottles assorted beer
one gallon of jose cuervo margrita mix
two large bags of ice
one pound of walmart chicken strips
one half pound barbque sauce basted chicken bits
one box of six giant sized super pretzel soft pretzels
one box chocolate eclairs
one box of cinnabon brand sandwich style coookies
one large Mrs. Smith's Cinnabon flavored apple pie
one box frozen TGI Friday's southwest chicken rolls
one box TGI Friday's oriental chicken bites
one box TGI Friday's hot wing

Bring out the Rotel!

She's Super Bowl Sunday! The Seahawks vs. the Steelers. Prediction - Seahawks pull a minor upset and come away with a 31-27 victory.

We are headed to two different parties to watch the bowl this year so it isn't apparent we'll be able to watch that much of it :( Last year we just made our own nachos and stayed home and that was a nice way to do it.

Baseball just around the corner...

Yes, it seems a bit early but in a rebuilding year for Georgia Tech in basketball it is something to note.

The pre-season top 25 is out and both Georgia Tech and Nebraska look to be strong.

1. Texas 56-16
2. Florida 48-23
3. Tulane 56-12
4. Baylor 46-24
5. Nebraska 57-15
6. Arizona State 42-25
7. Oregon State 46-12
8. Tennessee 46-21
9. Cal State Fullerton 46-18
10. Mississippi 48-20
11. Georgia Tech 45-19

The Revolution Will Be Televised!!!

So will bad hoops. That's where I come in! I'm going to the Nebraska v. Missouri basketball game tomorrow. It's on ESPN U at 3:00PM. The Huskers are down and the Tigers are down, so the crowd won't be too crazy. I figure to make national TV as the goofy fan guy with the props. I'll have a tiger on a noose, a crazy corn head hat, and these two wacky props that I made tonight.

One prop I made is a "Hypnodisc" in Husker colors. The idea is to get in the field of vision of the opponent when he's shooting free throws and spin the disc mesmerizing him in to shooting a brick.


The other is a sign featuring the ESPN U logo so they'll aim their cameras at me.


You may not get ESPN U (I don't) but I've got a friend recording the game. If I'm on TV, I'll put the footage up on the web for all to view!!!

Don't Give Up

One of the more recent Improv event. Check it out...Quicktime Required.

http://www.vimeo.com/clip=27810

Yuki likes Wendy's frosty

I let Yuki lick my frosty cup. He went crazy for bad softserve!!!!!!!

Seattle Trip

Seattle trip was fun! Highlights included Seahawks playoff game vs. Redskins and Space Needle!

Le Petit Corpse: The Final Episode

So there’s your background. Except for one thing. Jacques Rameau hated my guts with a passion. He believed I was responsible for his sister’s death. Here’s how that came down. Julianne Rameau was a beautiful brunette, five years her brother’s junior, and married to one Carlos Gossett, a trapper who had migrated in from Texas. Carlos was kind of a loser, and I became acquainted with Julianne when we were both working at the Times-Picayune. We did a few coffee breaks together, and, well, one thing led to another. After a few months, though, Julianne kind of went off the deep end. She ended up committing suicide. An ugly thing, with poison and notes and such. My name showed up in one of the notes. That was two years ago.

Carlos seemed to be little affected, and just kept on living his rowdy life. But last weekend he got at the wrong end of a thirty-eight, and today is his funeral. There is a lot of dying in this story, and I see no way to make it pretty.

Of course we are at Jacques’ place, with the full mini-casket treatment. Carlos has no money, but Jacques is picking up the tab for this one. Attendance is light. Jacques is there, along with the priest who is doing the service. Carlos’ brother is in the third row, drunk as usual. On the far right of the first row is a grizzled old man holding a houndstooth hat, like the one Bear Bryant used to wear. The guy looks familiar, but I can’t place him.

After the service, I walk up and take a look into the mini-casket. I get the surprise of my life. The doll is not Carlos. It is a perfect replica of me! Something tells me I should make a bid on this fine piece of art. I think I’ll start it off at fifty grand. I wouldn’t want to offend the artist, would I?

Le Petit Corpse: Part 3 of 4

But like many light-hearted tales of joy and success, this one has a dark side. The Rameau mini-corpses worked as voodoo dolls. Nobody quite knows why, and there is no hard science behind voodoo anyhow.

Ordinarily, this would not be a problem. The doll prototype is dead and cremated anyhow. But the case of the Fratinni twins was different, and you can guess why. The Fratinni boys were forty or so, identical twins, and were what you would call dandies. Pretty more than handsome. Isaac was single and openly gay, but his twin brother Olaf, even though he wore white shoes a lot, was married. When Isaac went down with AIDS, Olaf went to Rameau’s for the full treatment. The Isaac-doll was beautiful. Olaf bought it, casket and all, and took it home after the services.

But soon afterwards, Olaf’s health began to fail. One day he would have to leave work with shooting pains in his side, and the next he might show up with an ugly scratch on his neck. In a week, these things would clear up but he would be walking with a limp. He suspected what his wife was doing, but she denied everything and claimed the mini-Isaac had been stolen for the art market. Olaf went to the police, but they just laughed at his twisted tale. Within three months, it didn’t matter anyhow. Olaf was dead.

Le Petite Corpse: Part Deux

Jacques’ business operation, the Rameau Mortuary, is in the old French quarter, only three or four blocks from Bourbon Street. He sometimes walks down to the old Al Hirt place for an afternoon libation. I don’t think Al is around anymore.

Jacques had a weird idea several years ago, but by all accounts he has made a bundle from it. New Orleans is old, it is wet, and it is growth-constrained by lakes, rivers, swamps, levees, and such. Thus it is no surprise that cemetery plots are expensive. It is almost impossible to get buried underground in the New Orleans area now.

Cremation seems like a logical alternative, and a lot of it gets done. But cremation clashes with some aspects of the French-Catholic culture, and some folks still find comfort in our Elizabethan-based funeral traditions. Visitation, lying in state, and so on. Edgar Allen Poe with his tales of premature burial had a lot to do with all that.

Jacques’ idea was simple. For twelve grand or so, he can sell you a typical New Orleans funeral: casket, sealed vault, and above-ground burial in a low-rent cemetery north of town. This includes some flowers, as well as the usual hearse-rides between church, funeral home, and gravesite. But here’s the deal: for six grand, he can do almost the same thing with a fake body.

You get a miniature corpse, crafted by Jacques himself but one-third size. A six-footer becomes two feet long and is an amazing replica of the larger original. He buys heads, suits, and so on from a ventriloquist supply house. He then applies his embalming skills to produce a lovely doll of your aunt Bertha, resting in peace in a beautiful three-foot casket. The original is cremated and sprinkled where you like. When it’s over, the parts get reused in the next funeral, or the bereaved can buy the doll, casket and all, for five hundred bucks or so. Some of these mini-corpses have even shown up for sale in the off-Bourbon souvenir stores. If the bereaved have no interest, sometimes Jacques actually takes bids from collectors, stores, or whoever.