Sunday Observations 1.20

The NHL returned from its extended hiatus yesterday as the Penguins defeated the Flyers 3-1 in the first game for both teams. It wasn't quite as bad as the score indicates as the Flyers didn't start their season until the second period so we shall see how the Flyers look today in Buffalo. It will be their second of seven games in eleven days.

In one of those funny quirks of sports there are times that Philadelphia is truly the capitol of North American hockey. I'm not saying that because I'm a Flyers fan or because they played in front of a sold out crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, it's always sold out. I say that because after the Flyers game Penn State played Vermont in college hockey in front of another sold out WFC crowd, Penn State won 4-2. That means in a span of six hours about 40,000 people watched ice hockey in south Philly. I don't have to remind you what big field hockey fans Pennsylvanians are.

I could write a whole post about this next item but I don't feel like writing another gun post right now and I really don't want to take seriously at all. I'm only mentioning it because I once again want to show you what total nutjobs some of these gun people are. There are some out there who honestly believe the Newtown slaughter was orchestrated by the government to make the climate better for gun control legislation. One of the things they say proves this is that the parents of the dead children weren't suitably grief stricken.

Now conspiracy theories are nothing new to America. A few of the lasting ones are that Kennedy was killed by Johnson or the CIA, that there are aliens at Area 51, or that the moon landings never happened. Lately though the conspiracy theories are bordering on the macabre. This Newtown one is right there with Israel being behind the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 to draw the U.S. into war with Islam. Nutjobs.

So while I'm on guns I should also mention that yesterday was the first annual Gun Appreciation Day. During the celebration of this grand day five people were injured, shot, at three separate gun shows.

I've found I'm turning into my grandfather of all people. I blame my kindle because at breakfast and dinner I've started to read out loud items of profound importance just as grandfather always sat and read the paper to everybody. As usually happened with him everybody in turn just ignores me. I find it irritating when they ignore me.

Finally, I was reading a magazine when I saw a pic of a model wearing some cool striped underwear, yes underwear. When I looked to see what they were I saw Marc Jacobs briefs $525 and that is today's sign of the apocalypse.

To Whom It May Concern

Now that the dreaded Nittany Lions have been declawed to everybody's satisfaction could we please put the same enthusiasm into taking assault rifles out of the hands of wackos or at least make it once again illegal for them to purchase them? Somehow I didn't think so ....

Observations on JoePa

I wasn't planning on writing more about the passing of Joe Paterno even though I know I could. I could write to try and help you understand why we Penn State alumni feel the way we do but at times it seems a totally hopeless proposition. Than I came across this column by Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer and it just made me think, from the first paragraph to the haunting question at its end, it made me think about Paterno's death in a way I hadn't done before. It really is worth reading the entire column but I'm just posting the beginning and end here because they are the two parts that I just can't get out of my head. The two parts that seem to sum it all up. (full column here)

"Once upon a time in the Valley called Happy, there lived a man with monarch powers. And with these powers he bestowed upon the Valley great wealth and fame and philanthropy and enviable reputation, and buildings for football warriors and diligent scholars....

....And here, finally, is the chilling question, the one that you dread giving voice to, the one that sits on your shoulder making you squirm, the one that will haunt you for a long, long time: Did Penn State kill Joe Paterno?"

Joe Paterno was laid to rest late Wednesday after two days of public viewings at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center which his donations had funded. An estimated 30,000 people stood in freezing temperatures to file through, lines so long the doors had been opened a half hour early. A private service followed than the funeral procession wound through State College, past the Paterno Library, and finally past Beaver Stadium, its parking lots once again full, and a lone blue and white tent representing Paternoville. A sign held outside the stadium read “We Are Because You Were.” Joe Paterno won 409 games as head coach of the Nittany Lions, 409 wins at one school, something that never will be repeated.

Over the past couple months I have tried to explain to numerous friends why I, why we, feel the way we do. I'm not sure I ever succeeded completely. Late today fellow Penn State graduate Becky Murdy put better than I ever have when she posted this on twitter, "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it."

Goodbye JoePa, You will be, are, missed.

Observations

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."

Joseph Vincent Paterno,
JoePa

December 21, 1926,
January 22, 2012

Observations on JoePa

Speedy, near instantaneous, information is a blessing of the age we live in. It makes possible something like Wednesday's SOPA blackout or the organization of protests worldwide. Tonight I saw how it also can be a curse.

All day I had been hearing rumors about Joe Paterno's declining health. How the family had been called to his side and the Penn State Catholic chaplain had visited him. When I got home tonight I checked and at 8:45 PM Onward State, a Penn State news organization, reported Paterno. had passed away. Seconds later the phone began to ring, texts flew, and emails were sent back and forth as the Penn State diaspora began to grieve the passing of our legendary JoePa. Minutes later the report was picked up by CBS Sports and quickly spread everywhere.

The problem was the initial report was wrong. Devon Edwards, managing editor of Onward State, wrote in an apology, "I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been." I have no idea what happened but as always I have a pet theory. Twenty minutes before that initial report an email had been sent to Penn State football players probably explaining coach Paterno's condition. Now even at Penn State football players aren't always the smartest chicken in the coop so maybe one of them read it wrong and told somebody who told somebody who ran with it.

Sadly, whatever it was, it happened. Enough said.

But I also have another reason for writing this, call it a study in human nature. I have somebody I currently follow on twitter, currently being the key word, who endlessly tweets about liberal causes. Equal rights, economic equality, an end to the death penalty, health care for all, and on and on. Tonight this person reveled in the reported death of an 85 year old man whose only failing was that when needed most he was all too human. And that is what I'll always remember her for.

Again, enough said.

update - Joe Paterno died at 9:25 am Sunday, following complications related to his lung cancer, according to a press release from Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Observations on Penn State and JoePa

Just a small post here to put to rest for now this Penn State chapter of my writing. It really has consumed me for the past week, creating a roller coaster of emotions I need to get a grip on. I tend to take things personally and to see cable pundits and newspaper columnists suddenly discover Penn State for all the wrong reasons totally depressed me. For now I figure if the asshats can't see past this total tragedy to what is good about my school I shouldn't let it get to me. Their total loss.

I wanted to pass along a column Sean sent me yesterday. Titled "Joe Paterno's Code - Reckoning with the Penn State betrayal" it was written for Esquire by Chris Raymond who is a former editor of The Daily Collegian, the Penn State student published newspaper. It is the one thing I have read that sounded somewhat how i feel, how a lot of us alumni feel. Really the final line says it all....

"In the meantime, we will rebuild on the scorched earth of Happy Valley, and I will abide by this simple truth: If the Paterno way is discarded along with Paterno, then this tragedy will have been miserably, terribly compounded."

Observations on Penn State and JoePa

After a long emotional day I was sitting at what was always one of my favorite spots in State College. From Court's kitchen table you can look out over the deck to the Penn State campus and past it to Nittany Mountain where tonight a bright moon was rising. I was thinking about the day and the moment that bought a tear of pride to my eye. Just before the game between Penn State and Nebraska began both teams gathered in a group in the middle of the field. As the teams listened to a prayer by a Nebraska coach 110,000 people stood and looked on in utter silence. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

The low point of the day came early when I received a school alert text advising a bomb threat had been received but Beaver Stadium had been checked and was clear. Than we arrived for some subdued tailgating only to find state troopers patrolling the edges of the parking area on horseback. As with OWS it always seems to be the sight of the horses that elicits a feeling of dred.

As we entered the stadium an organization formed this week by a group of students and alumni, Proud to Be a Penn Stater, was accepting donations for charity at all the gates and most people I saw donated something. The group is partnered with RAINN, the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, and has a goal of raising $500,000 for the charity. In three days of existence it has raised $297,000 which includes over $20,000 at todays game.

The stadium itself was an amazing and surreal sight. Blue is the color associated with child abuse prevention and today Beaver Stadium was a sea so blue it almost seemed like a night game. The blue S in the normally white stands was now inverted to white and sported a blue ribbon, even the band's flags were now blue. The blue out was a success beyond anybody's wildest dreams, organizers had hoped for maybe a quarter of the fans, it was nearly total.

"I can't tell you how proud and pleased I am, especially with the students and athletes and the character and class they displayed," interim Penn State president Robert Ericson told reporters. That may be the only statement by university official I heard this week that I fully agree with.

It was a long sad week with possibly every negative emotion you can imagine swirling around. But a week filled with anger, sadness, and disgust ended with renewed pride and hope, touched with exhaustion.

"When we stood at childhood's gate,
Shapeless in the hands of fate
Thou didst mold us, Dear old State"

From the Penn State alma mater, rather fitting given the week.

Observations on Penn State and JoePa

One of the great days in Penn State football history will be just that but for reasons none of us could have imagined until a perfect storm of misery swept through Happy Valley earlier this week. I just sent a friend an email in which I described today as a homecoming from hell and I can't think of any better way to put it here. Ash and I arrived late last night, Sean early this morning, and it seems like nobody can stay away. In the end we still are Penn State and nobody is going to take that away from us no matter how hard they try.

I have no idea how this game is going to play out, honestly nothing will surprise me. The prevailing opinion is that the player's heads aren't going to be in it so it's going to be ugly but I'm not so sure. I won't even try to comprehend what these players must be going through. I do know from experience that, no matter how depressed I was, when the game started habit and training took over and I just played.

The 'blue out' is born. During today's game donations will be accepted throughout Beaver Stadium with the proceeds going to two Pennsylvania organizations, Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. So far at other events, including the women's soccer game yesterday and a candle light vigil last night,  over $200,000 has been raised for these charities.

To put this day in perspective a person would have to be close to 70 years old to remember Penn State without Joe Paterno. That being the case I doubt they would remember it anyway.

To state the obvious this is going to suck.

Observations on Penn State and JoePa

The cover of my hometown newspaper this morning with the three words that say it all. After 61 years JoePa is gone.

Observations on Penn State and JoePa

Tears

morning update - Yes tears, tears for my school, for the kids abused, for the alumni, students, everybody involved, and tears for JoePa because I'm just so sad it had to end this way. But no tears foe Sandusky, if there is a hell hopefully there is a very special place there for him and his kind.

Stay by the phone Urban Meyer.

Observations on Penn State and JoePa

This just hurts. Ever since the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal broke I have been avoiding the subject like the plague. I didn't want to talk about it and failed, I didn't want to read about and failed, and totally didn't want to write about it but I can't help myself. Penn State has been my anchor for years, it really has helped me to survive more than anything other than my family and friends so it does hurt like hell to see it all end this way. No matter how it plays out the name Joe Paterno will never sound quite the same again and that's just sad.

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is alleged to have sexually abused eight boys over more than a ten years, both before and after his retirement from the team in 1999. One incident in 2002 was witnessed by an assistant coach and reported to Joe Paterno who reported it to other athletic department officials including Athletic Director Tim Curley who was charged Monday for failing to report the information to the police, a crime in Pennsylvania. He was also charged with perjury in testimony to a grand jury and he resigned later in the day. Paterno, who was not charged or investigated, has been criticized for not calling the police himself or simply following up on what he had been told. Pennsylvania state police Commissioner Frank Noonan said Monday that Paterno fulfilled his legal requirement when he told his superior of the 2002 assault but he also questioned whether Paterno had a moral responsibility to do more. He did.

One of the blessings of Penn State is that it is situated in the mountains of central Pennsylvania with the nearest major media outlet an hour to the south in Harrisburg, literally down the mountain. That blessing is turning into a curse now with everybody from the BBC to Al Jazerra swooping into Happy Valley with seemingly one thing on their mind, Joe must go. I read one article in which the writer went so far as to call Beaver Stadium an “empty cavernous monument to JoePa's failed program.” Tarnished yes but to call a program with the highest graduation rate in the NCAA history failed is just shear stupidity. As long as I have been associated with Penn State there have been people both inside and outside the University who just wanted to bring Paterno down. I'll call it the Lance Armstrong effect, you can't possibly be that good with out cheating so there must be something hiding somewhere and if they just dig deep enough they'll find it. They failed every time but now it seems they have been handed a nuclear option with the timer winding down to zero.

I'm just terribly torn because I know how I would feel under any other circumstances and I know how I feel now. I just can't bring myself to turn on a man who has meant so much to my school. I do believe Paterno, how can I not, but I also know he is terribly wrong. At the bare minimum he should have pushed his superiors for some kind of public investigation and he should have condemned Sandusky's actions, friendship only goes so far. Another cop-out is for anybody to say it was out of his hands because of one thing I am certain, whatever Joe wants in Happy Valley Joe gets.

Should Joe go? As hard as this is to write it probably is time because there will be no moving on for the school until he does step down. But there is no need to fire the man who has made Penn State his life for 61 years, his contract is up at the end of this season. Just don't renew it.

As my dad reminded me yesterday the last time the the voices calling for Paterno's ouster were this loud in the valley I was a freshmen and Paterno was in the middle of his worst season ever. One of the men these people would have replaced him with?

Jerry Sandusky.

evening update - This statement was released by Joe Paterno today:

"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.
That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.
My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University."

notes:

On November 4th Sandusky was arrested for 40 counts related to allegations of sexual abuse of young boys over a 15 year period. Sandusky is currently free on $100,000 bail pending trial and could face life in prison if convicted.

Saturday #12 Penn State faces #19 Nebraska in what is in all probability Joe Paterno's final home game as head coach of the Nittany Lions. It is also senior day which is a tear jerker in the best of times. I haven't made up my mind if I'll be making my planed trip to the game but I can't see myself not. If it is JoePa's last game in Happy Valley I'm going to have to be there.

Memories

On the morning of September 11, 2001 I was on my way to a class at Penn State when I first heard news of the attack. I heard a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and I just naturally thought it has to have been a small prop plane. When I heard the first tower had fallen I didn't believe it, it wasn't possible. I had been there so many times, stood on the top, looked out over the world, and I just couldn't believe bringing it down was humanly possible. I never got to class but sat in the HUB for hours watching the news with hundreds of other students and teachers, for the most part all silent, stunned. Finally I just wandered off to the hockey complex.

I never played field hockey in college but this was my sophomore year and I still helped out with the team because it was a way to keep a stick in my hand and get a good workout. All the days activities had been canceled but the team still seemed to gravitate to Bigler Field as if we we had no where else to go or just belonged there. We sat on the field talking some but mostly thinking and here is where I noticed something that, other than the news itself, is my main memory of the day. It was just a stunningly beautiful day in the mountains. Cool early fall air, a cloudless blue sky, and not a sound to be heard because of the grounding of any aircraft. It was just gorgeous and didn't seem fair, there is no way it should have been such a beautiful day.

A month later in October a friend and I drove up to New York because I wanted to see it myself. As I have a habit of doing I snuck around some barricades and wandered around the area taking photos until I was caught by the National Guard and escorted out. I will never, ever, forget the things I saw that day. I've tried writing about it a few times but words just can't describe what I saw, smelled, or how I felt. I took hundreds of photos while I was there but pretty much have kept them to myself ever since. I decided I wanted to show some as my little memorial to that day and those that died. I picked out some of my favorites, maybe not the best of the lot and far from the best work I have ever done but still my favorites. I think taken together they give the best idea of what I saw.

Ten years later one thing does trouble me. The idea that even though most of the masterminds of the attack are dead the terrorists may have won in the end. I'm 29 and I still remember this country before 9/11, before it was bled by ten years of war, before police carried sub-machine guns, before we began to resemble Orwell's Oceania. Somebody my sister's age has no memory of the time before and and to them it is a completely natural way of living. That may be the saddest thing of all.

the photos - (flickr set) (Picassa album)

Obervations from the Mountains 9.10

What a god awful crazy year it has been in so far. The snowpocalypse, heatpocalypse, an earthquake, a hurricane, and than the rains came. I was beginning to think this is what Bombay feels like during the monsoon season which is not something I need to do with my life. More than 4”of rain fell in the Village over the past few days and that is added to the over 18” we (Central Park) officially received in August. The summer of 2011 is now the wettest in New York City history.

Back home in central Pennsylvania some places received well over a foot of rain. While all that rain fell around him my Earth science geek brother sent a constant stream of giddy texts talking about a fifty year storm whatever that is. Near Harrisburg the Susquehanna River reached levels never seen before and closed the main highway north to State College just as I was planning to head into the mountains for my first Penn State game of the year. This forced a drive up the two lane road on the left side of the river and a four hour drive from New York became six but I'm here. I'm in my mountains, a place I've been away from for too long.

Alabama traveled 900 miles to reach Happy Valley and play Penn State later today, #3 vs. #23, in one of the biggest early season games Beaver Stadium has seen in years. For now it's time to tailgate, have some of Sean's 'world famous' chili, and than maybe a few beverages. But first I have to find myself a white sweatshirt to wear because it's White House day and like a dumb ass I didn't bring anything white to so I'll have to wander downtown on my way to the stadium and pick something up.

A little trivia, Penn State has played Alabama 15 times and ten of those times both teams were nationally ranked. Only twice was neither team ranked.

Skylar Grey - Invisible

Observations from the Bar 5.26

So why am I writing from the bar on a Thursday afternoon? I took a rare two days off where I decided not to do anything work related so I'm at the bar watching an afternoon Phillies - Reds game. If the Reds should win this, they are losing 1-0 as I write, they will have earned it. The Reds lost to the Phillies earlier today in a 6 hour 12 minute 19 inning marathon which ended at 1 in the morning. Today's game started at 1 so they got little sleep, the game time temp was 85°, and Cliff Lee is pitching for the Phillies. Not going to happen.

Yesterday, well yesterday I did a whole lot of nothing. I wandered lowest Manhattan checking in at one Starbucks after another as I chased the barista badge on foursquare. I should have gotten it but evidently the foursquare computers didn't think what I did was possible. Along the way I also checked out some used bookstores I have wanted to get into but never did. I found some sweet deals on photography and art books but I refrained because I need more art books stacked in the apartment about as much as I need, well, more art mags stacked around the apartment.

I did make one very important discovery during my wanders. I was sitting at a marina next to the World Trade Center, just sipping my coffee, and wondering why so many people were out and about on a Wednesday. As I watched a police helicopter circle overhead I began to get more than a little worried when it suddenly dawned on me. Yesterday was the start of Fleet Week in New York and my art obsessed mind didn't even know it. Why was I not told? That also explains all the sailors I saw walking around and why Ash wanted me to be at the gallery all weekend. Sneaky bish knew and didn't tell.

As predicted the Phillies won rather easily by a 10-4 score. While I was watching the game a guy on twitter asked me to name my 5 greatest sports dynasties of all time. After some thought I threw him my own kind of fastball:

"k im going to make you think, 4 women's teams :) (@KcNightfire Give me your top 5 sports dynasties of all time...) in no particular order the current UConn womens basketball (6 champs since 00), 92-01 Maryland womens lacrosse (7 champs), 82-00 North Carolina womens soccer (16 champs), than my #1 is 07-10 Penn State womens volleyball (4 straight champs and a 107 match winning streak). honorable mention to Lance Armstrong, as far as i know he never did test positive for anything."

Now Philly moves on to play the dysfunctional Mets in New York this weekend. Fleet Week and the Phils in New York, going to be another weird one.

Sick Puppies - Riptide

Observations from the Window 3.21

After a late start Saturday I made it to Nittany Valley for the Lady Lions game against Dayton with plenty of time to spare. With plenty of time to spare to drink that beer that my brother had waiting for me in the parking lot because he had faith in my arrival time even if I was skeptical about it. PSU won its opening round game 75-66 in what was the start of a big day in Penn State sports. It was also the opening day of spring football practice which next month culminates in the annual Blue & White game. The Blue & White game is probably the only football scrimmage played that draws 100,000 spectators. You might call us weird but we like our football team up here in the Valley. The day ended with Penn State wrestlers winning the NCAA team title in Philadelphia where among others they defeated three time defending champion Iowa.

Sean and I were long gone from the mountains before any wrestling championship celebrations began. Part of the basketball ticket deal was that I give him a ride home after the game but he was also kind enough to offer to drive so that I could take a nap. That was the plan anyway but you know how the best laid plans go, I never did get my nap. The problem is the two of us like to talk politics which is a habit we probably picked up from my dad and developed over years of fishing in a lake that seemed to contain no fish.

What you get here is the scientist and the artist trying to solve all the geo-political problems of the world as we speed down the interstate. Things seem to go much smoother when we are in separate cars because we are too busy playing interstate tag to worry about the rest of the world except the part of the world that has a flashing light on its roof. But that’s another story for another time.

We ended up dwelling on two totally separate things. The first was related to the events in the Middle East. After Saudi Arabia blatantly thumbed its nose at the United States by sending troops into neighboring Bahrain to help subdue protests what happens when it becomes the Saudi's turn? Another autocratic family run regime that not only happens to sit on the world's largest oil reserves but also rules a country that contains the holiest city in Islam. We figure this is one the West can't touch, just stay the hell away from it no matter what, and start producing those electric cars soon.

The second was a little closer to home; almost a philosophical sports question if that is possible. With today’s sad economy it's sickening to watch the NFL and the NFL Players Association fight over a $9 billion a year. The owners take a billion off the top before the players get any and now they want another billion because they all want a stadium like the NFL version of Versailles that Dallas owner Jerry Jones has built. Thing is it seems the taxpayers end up footing the bill for the stadiums anyway, ask NJ Governor Chris Christie about that. He wants to cut education to cut the states budget deficit yet the state still owes $300,000 on the original Meadowlands which no longer exists. What we think is that the owners should take that billion dollars and give it to the NCAA to help make up for state budget cuts to colleges and universities. After all the NFL uses the NCAA as its minor league anyway, maybe it’s time they started paying for it.

Here is to the all the little peeps, from the parking lot attendants to the peanut vendors, that are all forgotten when billionaires argue with millionaires. Welcome to America ....

The Raveonettes - Recharge & Revolt

13:00 update - keeping with the PSU sports, I saw this on the Penn State Athletics website. "The Big Ten Conference today announced the intention to recommend the establishment of men's ice hockey as an official conference sport, with The Pennsylvania State University one of the six institutions that would compete for the 2013-14 academic year." Good stuff ....

Observations from the Bar 3.17, March Madness

Yes you read the header correctly, from the bar on a Thursday afternoon. So don't ask, just enjoy the green beer.

See my own version of 'March Madness' began today to coincide with the normal version. Penn State is playing Temple in Tucson, Arizona in what is the PSU men's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2001. Why two Pennsylvania teams aren't just playing in the East regional in DC is beyond me but I’m sure there has to be a good reason, airline lobbyist’s maybe. My only problem with this game is how far do I take PSU in my bracket picks? As I write this things are looking good, I'll update with a final score later.

Than Saturday morning the Penn State Lady Lions will make their first NCAA tournament appearance in six years when they play Dayton at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park. Penn State is hosting the first two rounds of the East Regional with the final rounds in Philadelphia. The added beauty of this is that I just found out last night that thanks to my brother I will be at the game.

I should add here that I'm more than a little pissed at Basketball Fan in Chief Barrack Obama who picked brackets for both the NCAA men's and women's tournaments. Two PSU teams to pick from and he only picks one total win. One? And they say the man knows basketball.

Next up are my Phillies. With a lineup of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels the Phillies have arguably the best starting rotation in the history of baseball. They open their season April 1st at home against Houston and no I don't have a ticket, not yet. Honestly I'm not sure I like the idea of the most promising Phillies season ever opening on April Fools' Day.

Finally there are the Flyers. At one point they had the best record in the NHL but now they are in a fight just to finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Every year they go into a funk at some point and I’m more than a little worried that they picked the wrong time this year. The Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 13th.

So my March Madness began today at 2PM with green beer and basketball to be followed by the big road trip to Penn State Saturday. Than it's home after the game for Foxy's soft top and all will be right with the world, for now.

Happy State Patty's Day everybody! I love this time of year ....

AC/DC - Thunderstruck

17:50 update - So maybe President Obama knows more about basketball than I was willing to admit. Penn State fell to Temple 66-64 on a desperation shot with 0.4 seconds left in the game. Talor Battle finishes his carrer as Penn State's all time leading scorer and only the third NCAA Division I player ever to total 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists.
Been trying to drown my sorrows in green beer but I'm finding it very hard with a damn giant leprechaun in the bar. I'm going to see if a big juicy bacon cheeseburger helps, one smothered in onions, and maybe some peppers too.

From GoPSUSports.com - Battle Tested Lions Leave Everything on the Floor at NCAA Tournament

Let The Madness Begin

Penn State vs. Temple, tip-off 2:10PM Thursday, Tuscon Arizona ....

Observations from the Window 11.7, the Sis

I made a run down to my dad's yesterday to see my sister's big field hockey game. I never got to play in a district championship game myself but I can easily imagine how nervous she was. I should say if my dad and I were any indication I could imagine it. I was so nervous I left my camera in my apartment and had to make due with an old one I keep in Foxy.

They played the defending district and state champions to a regulation time draw at a score of 2-2. Than once again they won the game with just minutes left in the OT period. After the game we followed the team bus back to school in a caravan, horns honking all the way, the last five miles with a siren blaring fire engine and police escort.

Later we celebrated by watching as Joe Paterno got his 400th win as head coach as Penn State defeated Northwestern in the biggest come from behind win in Penn State history. At the risk of annoying my sister I just had to mention Joe Paterno here. One man, one school, and 400 wins, it's just something that will never happen again. But earlier today I got a text from my her and she was a little annoyed that JoePa's achievement had knocked her big win off the front of the local sports page.

I have said before how much I enjoyed playing field hockey and how much I admire my sister but I am going to mention it again. The girl is so much better than I ever was, and I like to think I was pretty damn good. She doesn't have my height or reach, she isn't a big goal scorer either, but she plays with a never ending tenacity that just seems to wear opposing players down. Now my mini-me is just four wins away from a state championship and I couldn't be any prouder of her. I guess it is time I stop calling her my mini-me.

My dad told me that in a last minute morning decision she opted to wear a single pearl on a gold chain instead of her usual peace sign necklace. The pearl was our mom's and our grandmother's before that. Now I'm not sure which will be around her the longest, the pearl or the gold medal.

My sister the champion, I like the sound of that.

Green Day - We Are The Champions

11/9/2010 update - My sister's team won their first state playoff game by a 2-1 score.

Observations from the Road 10.31

And so Saturday comes to an end and Halloween begins. I always liked Halloween, a day you can be whatever it is you want to be and get candy to boot. So if a tall girl dressed in black leather shows up at your door today don’t ask if you know her, it’s not important, just humor her and give her candy, preferably Kit Kats or Snickers. Girl can be a bitch and you don’t want to piss her off, a few candy bars is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Sorry if at times this seems to be turning into a sports blog but fall seems to be the best time of year for sports and today was a fun day. Made my planed road trip south to see my sis and her team play in the district field hockey playoff and damn they won again. Seems my mini me’s career still refuses to die. They play again on Tuesday and with a win will play for the district championship with a likely invitation to the state playoffs. It was sweet to see her play again, hell it was just nice to see her. I know the feeling I got when I was in her position. When something you love, something that has been a part of your life for a long time, is about to end but you just don’t know when. I’m sure the tears will flow at some point, I only wish I could be there for her at that moment but I don’t think it will be.

Than I spent the night with my dad watching Penn State’s football team take apart Michigan. It was a great game with Evan Royster becoming the leading rusher in PSU football history, and that is a very select group. It was a strange feeling though watching the game with my dad, watching a ‘white out night’ game I would always have been at, and knowing Sean was there at one of his last games in the student section. One of those moments when it’s as if the gods are telling you it’s just time to move on. As I figured we would my dad and I also spent much of the game discussing the Phillies demise.

So it was a good day for both sports and family. At the same time it was more than little sad.

Happy Halloween my friends, don’t forget the Kit Kats.

Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl

A funny breakfast footnote I wanted to add last night and forgot. On the drive from my sis' game to my dad's I stopped at a little Amish roadside stand to pick up a pumpkin and some pies to take to work today. Nothing exciting other than the look I got from the people at the stand. You would have thought I came from another world. I suppose they don't get many black clad artsie lesbian vq wannabes in Lancaster County but they took my money anyway, I loved it. Happy Halloween peeps :)

Observations from my Bed 10.27.1

An incredibly dreary day begins in the Village with a misty rain falling throughout a warm and humid Indian summer morning. I am all for Indian summer on a nice clear day but my body seems ready for cooler weather and I just don’t need the humidity. It makes my hair curl into a tangled mess with no hope of recovery, like I spent the whole morning in bed doing nothing of any substance beyond the pure pleasure of spending the whole morning in bed. Speaking of bed, I think this might be a good morning to work from bed for a bit, seriously if you can do it why not? I like my big bed and it’s a good thing I do because the damn thing fills my bedroom to the point that most of my stuffs are just piled around it. Light a few candles, find my comps, and start the mug of endless coffee flowing and I’m ready to go.

Yes my computers, I went a little computer ‘OOC’ last night. Logged into Second Life to chat with a friend and found myself on three computers at the same time. SL on my desktop, blogs on my laptop, and Twitter on my netbook which was balanced precariously on my knees with my feet propped up on the desk. You know you are out of control when you have two mice and keep grabbing the wrong one. I just had to shut the two laps down and concentrate on chatting.

With the big election less than a week away I find myself sick of most of it. So much to do and all we talk about tea part nut jobs and their wing nut followers. It all reached a new low last night when I saw a video (l) of a Rand Paul campaign worker stomping the head of a MoveOn.org activist as security and Rand Paul himself walked by. One of the Art History classes I had at Penn State included a section on German propaganda during the Nazi era and that’s all I could think of. It scares the hell out of me that I could think of that and my country in the same vein. Scares the hell out of me.

My sports world is in a pathetic mess too. It’s hard to decide who was worse last weekend, the Phillies just losing or the Eagles giving up twenty some unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lose. I can’t get the sight of Ryan Howard watching the final strike of the season cross the plate out of my mind. Not even a swing, it just seemed a fitting end to the series. Penn State is in a state of flux too with a very young team and seemingly floundering. At this point only a win over Ohio State in early November will salvage much of their season. There are a few bright spots. For one there will be no Yankees in the World Series and the Dallas Cowboys just totally suck. There is just no other word to describe the Cowboys. And finally my sis’ hockey career refuses to die after a big upset win in her teams’ first district playoff game yesterday. I have to wait and see when and where the next game is and than maybe plan a road trip. I so want to see her play one last time but it just doesn’t seem to be in the wind. Cross your fingers.

So, all thinks considered, I think I would find it very easy to slip into one of my moods today. But than I received an email containing the video I posted just before this. I laughed so hard and just thought there is no way in hell I am going to let this effed up world get to me today. Thanks for the email!

Well the end of the month is always such a busy time of the month for me yet I find it hard to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. So I’ll have to finish here and concentrate on the important thing, working from bed.

Linkin Park - Waiting For The End