I came across an interesting article in the Connecticut Day about college football teams and their academic rankings. Assistant sports editor Mike DiMauro looked at the 2007-08 NCAA Bowl Academic Progress Rates and Graduation Success Rates Study produced by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
According to the study, of all the teams appearing in bowl games this season, the top ten (based on graduation rate formulas) are:
No. 1 Navy
No. 2 Boston College
No. 3 Air Force
No. 4 Rutgers
No. 5 Southern Mississippi
No. 6 Auburn
No. 7 Wake Forest
No. 8 California
No. 9 UConn
No. 10 Texas Christian
Anyone who follows Navy football could almost think that this is next year's schedule. In the past 5 years, Navy has played all these teams except Southern Mississippi, Auburn and California. We played Air Force, Rutgers and Wake Forest this year, and faced Boston College in last year's bowl game.
Here's how the schools in the major bowl games rank:
National championship: No. 42 Ohio State vs. No. 31 LSU.
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. No. 64 Hawaii.
Orange Bowl: No. 42 (tied with Ohio State) Virginia Tech vs. No. 57 Kansas.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 34 Oklahoma vs. No. 48 West Virginia.
Rose Bowl: No. 21 USC vs. No. 46 Illinois.
It's good to know that some schools still manage to put together quality football programs with guys who go to college expecting to graduate and pursue a real career.
Thanks to Mike DiMauro for picking up on this study, which the Baltimore Sun totally ignored.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Cine Award Update
The winners are posted. "Freedom Dance" won in the Independent Short Documentary category. Congratulations to Steven Fisher, Craig Herron and everyone who was involved in the production.
The statuette is pretty cool, too!
The statuette is pretty cool, too!
Lori's Party
Our friend Lori had a Christmas party last night and it was a really fun evening. One of the highlights of the evening was playing with their new Wii system.
I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the hype about Wii (which seems like a really stupid name). It seemed like another one of those staged shortages to drive up Christmas demand for a toy or game. And I was vaguely aware that the control uses some kind of motion sensing, rather than just a joystick and buttons.
Lori and Mike had the Sports Wii set up, and it was awesome. There's a great bowling game, with graphics of the alley. You can use arrow keys to position your virtual self, to adjust for your own swing. And then you raise your arm, do a real bowling swing, and release a trigger to send the ball down the alley. The play is pretty realistic, and the learning curve isn't at all steep. The kids (as young as 7) were playing the grown-ups (up to 60+) and we all won some and lost some.
The kids got upset, though, when the grown-ups started playing with the tennis game, and played a foursome right there in the living room. I didn't try that one, but it was fun to watch.
In both games, you actually have to move to play, so you can actually get some exercise. Lori said she broke a sweat playing tennis!
Lori also had lots of great food and drink (including my antipasto salad and ample non-alcoholic beverages), and there was a Chinese gift exchange. It was good fun all around -- and it somehow felt less guilty to have a few cookies after a game of bowling!
I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the hype about Wii (which seems like a really stupid name). It seemed like another one of those staged shortages to drive up Christmas demand for a toy or game. And I was vaguely aware that the control uses some kind of motion sensing, rather than just a joystick and buttons.
Lori and Mike had the Sports Wii set up, and it was awesome. There's a great bowling game, with graphics of the alley. You can use arrow keys to position your virtual self, to adjust for your own swing. And then you raise your arm, do a real bowling swing, and release a trigger to send the ball down the alley. The play is pretty realistic, and the learning curve isn't at all steep. The kids (as young as 7) were playing the grown-ups (up to 60+) and we all won some and lost some.
The kids got upset, though, when the grown-ups started playing with the tennis game, and played a foursome right there in the living room. I didn't try that one, but it was fun to watch.
In both games, you actually have to move to play, so you can actually get some exercise. Lori said she broke a sweat playing tennis!
Lori also had lots of great food and drink (including my antipasto salad and ample non-alcoholic beverages), and there was a Chinese gift exchange. It was good fun all around -- and it somehow felt less guilty to have a few cookies after a game of bowling!
Lori's Favorite Salad
I first threw this together about two years ago after a dash and run through the grocery store, picking up things that I thought would work together. Our friend Lori loved the finished salad, and always asks me to bring it to gatherings at her house. Last night's guests made short work of it. It's a basic antipasto salad. Here 'tis.
Romaine lettuce, torn into fork-sized pieces -- to fill about half the salad bowl
Chopped parsley -- a good handful
Pepperoni, cut into fork-sized pieces -- one blister pack
Hard salami, cut into fork-sized pieces -- ditto
Genoa salami, cut into fork-sized pieces -- ditto
Grape (or cherry) tomatoes, cut in half -- about 3/4 of a plastic container
Black olive pieces -- 1 small can
Several garlic cloves, finely chopped
Sliced mushrooms -- about half a container
Chives, chopped -- about half a bunch
Crumbled feta cheese (I used a flavored one) -- a whole container
Place all ingredients in salad bowl, add about 1 tsp. salt (not too much; there are lots of salty things in here) and toss.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss again. Repeat if necessary to ensure whole salad is coated, but not drenched. Let sit for a minute to let the balsamic soak in.
THEN, drizzle with good olive oil and toss. Repeat if necessary. There shouldn't be any dressing in the bottom of the bowl.
Garnish with another few snips of chives and grape tomatoes.
If you're taking this to a party, assemble the salad at home and add the balsamic and oil when you get there so the salad won't get soggy.
You could also add artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, etc. if it strikes your fancy.
Enjoy!
Romaine lettuce, torn into fork-sized pieces -- to fill about half the salad bowl
Chopped parsley -- a good handful
Pepperoni, cut into fork-sized pieces -- one blister pack
Hard salami, cut into fork-sized pieces -- ditto
Genoa salami, cut into fork-sized pieces -- ditto
Grape (or cherry) tomatoes, cut in half -- about 3/4 of a plastic container
Black olive pieces -- 1 small can
Several garlic cloves, finely chopped
Sliced mushrooms -- about half a container
Chives, chopped -- about half a bunch
Crumbled feta cheese (I used a flavored one) -- a whole container
Place all ingredients in salad bowl, add about 1 tsp. salt (not too much; there are lots of salty things in here) and toss.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss again. Repeat if necessary to ensure whole salad is coated, but not drenched. Let sit for a minute to let the balsamic soak in.
THEN, drizzle with good olive oil and toss. Repeat if necessary. There shouldn't be any dressing in the bottom of the bowl.
Garnish with another few snips of chives and grape tomatoes.
If you're taking this to a party, assemble the salad at home and add the balsamic and oil when you get there so the salad won't get soggy.
You could also add artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, etc. if it strikes your fancy.
Enjoy!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
How to Make A Round Tablecloth
The tablecloth was a success and I'll try to get a photo in the next few days.
I figured out how to do this as I went along. Here's what I did:
1. I did some research and learned that the basic round tablecloth is 70 inches in diameter, so that gave me a place to start.
2. Since the fabric I chose was only 44-45 inches wide, I bought 4 yards. I cut the length in half, making two lengths of two yards (72 inches) each.
3. I folded one length in half with selvedge edges together and cut a strip 15 inches wide, measured from the selvedge edges. This left a wide strip in the middle to use for placemats, napkins, or whatever.
4. I joined each narrow strip to the wide piece of fabric along the selvedge edges, so that there would be finished edges on the wrong side of the cloth. I ended up with a large piece of fabric about 72 inches by 72 inches.
5. I carefully folded the large square in quarters, ending up with a square about 36 inches by 36 inches.
6. I used a yardstick as a makeshift compass. Carefully holding one end of the yardstick at the folded point of the fabric, I made marks 35 inches from the center point, carefully sliding the yardstick around the center point just an inch or two at a time. (Note: If you have short arms, you might ask a taller friend for help doing this.)
7. When I had worked my way from one side of the square to the other, I joined the markings, smoothing out the curves and remeasuring and remarking anything that didn't look quite right.
8. When I was happy with the curve, I carefully cut through all four layers. Et voila -- when I unfolded the cloth, I had a circle.
9. I made a row of machine stitching around the edge of the circle, keeping the edge of my presser foot aligned with the edge of my fabric. This will leave finished edge beneath the braid. (This was just about 3/8 of an inch, and my braid was 3/8 of an inch wide.) The main thing at this stage is to take it slow and pay attention to handling all that fabric, so that you don't end up stitching something together by mistake.
10. To apply the braid, I turned up and finger-pressed the "hem" along the stitching line, so that the right sides of the fabric would be together. I laid the braid on top of the folded fabric and held everything together with my fingers. I placed the row of stitching close to the top edge of the braid. I was sewing the braid over the wrong side/raw edge of the "hem."
11. At this stage it was necessary to go slowly, and work just a few inches at a time. Since you're sewing around a curve, you have to reposition the fabric every few inches so that the fabric will feed properly. You also have to keep all the fabric except the few inches you're working on out of the way (to the left). And I found it helpful to drape the braid around my neck from left to right so that I could feed it with my right hand.
12. When I was within a couple of inches of where I started applying the braid, I cut the remaining end so that there would be about 2 or 3 inches of overlap. I folded the raw end under, and made a nice finish where the braid joined.
13. I made another row of stitching close to the bottom edge of the braid/cloth. Since the braid was already in place, this went MUCH faster.
14. There were two or three places where the raw edges of the "hem" showed above the edge of the braid. With my little scissors, I VERY carefully trimmed as much as I could. You don't want to cut a hole in the cloth at the stage of the game!
If I had bought the right amount of braid (remember: 6 1/2 to 7 yards for a 70 inch cloth), I could have knocked this out in an afternoon or evening.
Go for it!
I figured out how to do this as I went along. Here's what I did:
1. I did some research and learned that the basic round tablecloth is 70 inches in diameter, so that gave me a place to start.
2. Since the fabric I chose was only 44-45 inches wide, I bought 4 yards. I cut the length in half, making two lengths of two yards (72 inches) each.
3. I folded one length in half with selvedge edges together and cut a strip 15 inches wide, measured from the selvedge edges. This left a wide strip in the middle to use for placemats, napkins, or whatever.
4. I joined each narrow strip to the wide piece of fabric along the selvedge edges, so that there would be finished edges on the wrong side of the cloth. I ended up with a large piece of fabric about 72 inches by 72 inches.
5. I carefully folded the large square in quarters, ending up with a square about 36 inches by 36 inches.
6. I used a yardstick as a makeshift compass. Carefully holding one end of the yardstick at the folded point of the fabric, I made marks 35 inches from the center point, carefully sliding the yardstick around the center point just an inch or two at a time. (Note: If you have short arms, you might ask a taller friend for help doing this.)
7. When I had worked my way from one side of the square to the other, I joined the markings, smoothing out the curves and remeasuring and remarking anything that didn't look quite right.
8. When I was happy with the curve, I carefully cut through all four layers. Et voila -- when I unfolded the cloth, I had a circle.
9. I made a row of machine stitching around the edge of the circle, keeping the edge of my presser foot aligned with the edge of my fabric. This will leave finished edge beneath the braid. (This was just about 3/8 of an inch, and my braid was 3/8 of an inch wide.) The main thing at this stage is to take it slow and pay attention to handling all that fabric, so that you don't end up stitching something together by mistake.
10. To apply the braid, I turned up and finger-pressed the "hem" along the stitching line, so that the right sides of the fabric would be together. I laid the braid on top of the folded fabric and held everything together with my fingers. I placed the row of stitching close to the top edge of the braid. I was sewing the braid over the wrong side/raw edge of the "hem."
11. At this stage it was necessary to go slowly, and work just a few inches at a time. Since you're sewing around a curve, you have to reposition the fabric every few inches so that the fabric will feed properly. You also have to keep all the fabric except the few inches you're working on out of the way (to the left). And I found it helpful to drape the braid around my neck from left to right so that I could feed it with my right hand.
12. When I was within a couple of inches of where I started applying the braid, I cut the remaining end so that there would be about 2 or 3 inches of overlap. I folded the raw end under, and made a nice finish where the braid joined.
13. I made another row of stitching close to the bottom edge of the braid/cloth. Since the braid was already in place, this went MUCH faster.
14. There were two or three places where the raw edges of the "hem" showed above the edge of the braid. With my little scissors, I VERY carefully trimmed as much as I could. You don't want to cut a hole in the cloth at the stage of the game!
If I had bought the right amount of braid (remember: 6 1/2 to 7 yards for a 70 inch cloth), I could have knocked this out in an afternoon or evening.
Go for it!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas Love to You All
Thanks to my friend Jan for sharing this.
------------
CANINE CHRISTMAS
My dear canine friends, I've a story for you.
I beg you to listen: what I say is all true.
Your Humans are human and can't help their behavior,
They get all confused 'bout the birth of their Savior.
See, it's that time of the year, when the humans are hopping.
"No time for our walk today, gotta go shopping.
No time for your Frisbee, no time to throw balls.
Got to wrap all the boxes and deck all the halls.
"I'm sorry," they say as you're back in your crate,
"Office party tonight, we won't get home til late."
So you sit in your crate for a very long time.
You're warm and you're safe and they know you'll be fine.
But you're bored and you're worried and you don't understand
Why this time of the year things get all out of hand.
As if rushing around like a nut's not enough,
They keep filling the house up with all kinds of stuff.
There's holly and candles for all to see,
Then to prove they've gone starkers THEY BRING IN A TREE!!!
Yep, fellow dogs, they bring a pine tree right in
They put glass things on the branches and plug the lights in.
You think "Hey! Indoor plumbing!" But they say, "Get away!!"
"This is Our Special Tree for Our Special Day."
And don't think for a moment those tree balls are for you.
Though they bounce on the branches and call you, they do!
You haven't been chasing your own ball for weeks,
Or played tug o' war with your toy that goes "squeak."
As their Big Day approaches, their tempers grow short.
They're tired and stressed out and all out of sorts.
They've spent way too much money, whatever that is.
On gifts, decorations, and on something called
"status."
See, they're only humans, and they always forget
It's not about presents or getting in debt.
The Birthday they're celebrating is all about Love
About gifts of the Spirit, sent from up above.
And that same great Father who sent them his Son
To teach all the humans to love every one,
Sends us to remind them, my good fellow hounds:
We exemplify love with positively no bounds.
So when their Big Day is ending, their presents unwrapped,
And they've eaten their feast and settled down for a nap,
That's the time when we dogs can show by example
That it's just about love, and can give them a sample.
They will feel something's lacking, will see something's missing.
This is the time you can teach with your kissing.
They've ignored you for weeks with their rushing around,
Still you shower them with Love - the True Love of a Hound.
Whisper quiet, Dear Dogs, "It is not about Things!"
"It's not about buying new cars or rings."
The True Gift of Christmas is Love, sweet and pure.
And at Love, none can out do a dog, that's for sure.
copyright 2006 Patience C Renzulli
------------
CANINE CHRISTMAS
My dear canine friends, I've a story for you.
I beg you to listen: what I say is all true.
Your Humans are human and can't help their behavior,
They get all confused 'bout the birth of their Savior.
See, it's that time of the year, when the humans are hopping.
"No time for our walk today, gotta go shopping.
No time for your Frisbee, no time to throw balls.
Got to wrap all the boxes and deck all the halls.
"I'm sorry," they say as you're back in your crate,
"Office party tonight, we won't get home til late."
So you sit in your crate for a very long time.
You're warm and you're safe and they know you'll be fine.
But you're bored and you're worried and you don't understand
Why this time of the year things get all out of hand.
As if rushing around like a nut's not enough,
They keep filling the house up with all kinds of stuff.
There's holly and candles for all to see,
Then to prove they've gone starkers THEY BRING IN A TREE!!!
Yep, fellow dogs, they bring a pine tree right in
They put glass things on the branches and plug the lights in.
You think "Hey! Indoor plumbing!" But they say, "Get away!!"
"This is Our Special Tree for Our Special Day."
And don't think for a moment those tree balls are for you.
Though they bounce on the branches and call you, they do!
You haven't been chasing your own ball for weeks,
Or played tug o' war with your toy that goes "squeak."
As their Big Day approaches, their tempers grow short.
They're tired and stressed out and all out of sorts.
They've spent way too much money, whatever that is.
On gifts, decorations, and on something called
"status."
See, they're only humans, and they always forget
It's not about presents or getting in debt.
The Birthday they're celebrating is all about Love
About gifts of the Spirit, sent from up above.
And that same great Father who sent them his Son
To teach all the humans to love every one,
Sends us to remind them, my good fellow hounds:
We exemplify love with positively no bounds.
So when their Big Day is ending, their presents unwrapped,
And they've eaten their feast and settled down for a nap,
That's the time when we dogs can show by example
That it's just about love, and can give them a sample.
They will feel something's lacking, will see something's missing.
This is the time you can teach with your kissing.
They've ignored you for weeks with their rushing around,
Still you shower them with Love - the True Love of a Hound.
Whisper quiet, Dear Dogs, "It is not about Things!"
"It's not about buying new cars or rings."
The True Gift of Christmas is Love, sweet and pure.
And at Love, none can out do a dog, that's for sure.
copyright 2006 Patience C Renzulli
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
This just in: Freedom Dance wins Cine Golden Eagle Award
FREEDOM DANCE WINS AT CINE GOLDEN EAGLE AWARDS
Washington DC (Dec 2007) Freedom Dance, the animated documentary by producer Steven Fischer and animator Craig Herron, re-telling the inspiring escape story of two newly weds from Communist Hungary to the US in 1956, has won a CINE Golden Eagle Award.
Freedom Dance re-counts the adventurous escape of artist Edward Hilbert and his wife Judy to the United States and freedom during the deadly 1956 Hungarian Revolution. During his four months as a refugee, Hilbert kept a journal of cartoons depicting an adventurous, tumultuous, and often dangerous escape by foot, by bus, by train and by boat. The journal is brought to life in the movie through animation.
The movie premiered at the Maryland Film Festival in May 2007, has screened at the Frozen Moon Showdown, Utopia Film Festival, and has won a Peer Award in the Documentary Under 30 Minutes category.
Other key personnel include Associate Producer Diane Leigh Davison, Director of Photography Gregg Landry, Sound Designer Kevin Hill, and composer Phil Rosensteel.
The CINE Golden Eagle Award acknowledges high quality professional production in a variety of content categories as well as in student and independent works. CINE will celebrate its first half-century in 2007.
ED. NOTE: The fall 2007 winners aren't up on the Cine web site yet, but you can read more about the organization and the Golden Eagle.
Washington DC (Dec 2007) Freedom Dance, the animated documentary by producer Steven Fischer and animator Craig Herron, re-telling the inspiring escape story of two newly weds from Communist Hungary to the US in 1956, has won a CINE Golden Eagle Award.
Freedom Dance re-counts the adventurous escape of artist Edward Hilbert and his wife Judy to the United States and freedom during the deadly 1956 Hungarian Revolution. During his four months as a refugee, Hilbert kept a journal of cartoons depicting an adventurous, tumultuous, and often dangerous escape by foot, by bus, by train and by boat. The journal is brought to life in the movie through animation.
The movie premiered at the Maryland Film Festival in May 2007, has screened at the Frozen Moon Showdown, Utopia Film Festival, and has won a Peer Award in the Documentary Under 30 Minutes category.
Other key personnel include Associate Producer Diane Leigh Davison, Director of Photography Gregg Landry, Sound Designer Kevin Hill, and composer Phil Rosensteel.
The CINE Golden Eagle Award acknowledges high quality professional production in a variety of content categories as well as in student and independent works. CINE will celebrate its first half-century in 2007.
ED. NOTE: The fall 2007 winners aren't up on the Cine web site yet, but you can read more about the organization and the Golden Eagle.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Last Night's Movie: "The Duellists"
"The Duellists" was Ridley Scott's first feature film, released in 1977. Scott's first career was as in commercial art, which got him into commercials and TV production, initially as a production designer. He got the bug and decided he wanted to make a movie. He found a Joseph Conrad story in the common domain, had it adapted for the screen, and was able to get $900,000 to go ahead.
The cast features Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel in the title roles, and includes Edward Fox, Albert Finney and Tom Conti. If you have sharp eyes, you can even spot a young Pete Postlethwaite.
Scott not only directed this film, but acted as his own director of photography. The film was shot entirely on locations. No sets were constructed, because there was no budget. Instead, Scott walked and walked through the landscapes and buildings that were available to him, figured out his shots and story-boarded the entire movie. The lighting and camera work are exquisite. Scott did put money into the costumes, a must because the story is set in France between 1801 and 1820, and the principals are French army officers.
Visually, this movie is a gem. The story keeps the viewer engaged until the end. Critics have faulted the British (and American) accents of actors cast as Frenchmen, but after the first couple of minutes, you're so engaged in the story that you don't really notice.
The DVD (released in 2002) includes some nice extras, including a 2002 interview with Ridley Scott, which is a little master class in film-making. If you love movies, this is a must-see.
The cast features Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel in the title roles, and includes Edward Fox, Albert Finney and Tom Conti. If you have sharp eyes, you can even spot a young Pete Postlethwaite.
Scott not only directed this film, but acted as his own director of photography. The film was shot entirely on locations. No sets were constructed, because there was no budget. Instead, Scott walked and walked through the landscapes and buildings that were available to him, figured out his shots and story-boarded the entire movie. The lighting and camera work are exquisite. Scott did put money into the costumes, a must because the story is set in France between 1801 and 1820, and the principals are French army officers.
Visually, this movie is a gem. The story keeps the viewer engaged until the end. Critics have faulted the British (and American) accents of actors cast as Frenchmen, but after the first couple of minutes, you're so engaged in the story that you don't really notice.
The DVD (released in 2002) includes some nice extras, including a 2002 interview with Ridley Scott, which is a little master class in film-making. If you love movies, this is a must-see.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
You do the math
So, this year I'm making several Christmas presents, one of which is a round tablecloth for our niece, in a fabric that goes with the cherries that Uncle Craig painted on her white kitchen cabinets. To finish off the edges nicely, I found some pretty red braid.
Right there in the fabric store I started doing the calculations -- in my head. The tablecloth is going to be 70 inches across, so the diameter is 70 inches. The braid goes around the edge, which is the circumference. And so all I had to do was multiply the diameter by pi (3.14) to figure out how much braid I'd need.
Are you with me so far? Ballpark, I figured about 220 inches would do the trick, but to be on the safe side and allow for misfortunes, I'd make it 240 inches.
And then I was faced with figuring out how many yards I'd need to have cut. Instead of telling the clerk at the cutting table that I needed 240 inches, and letting her write it down and figure it out, I kept figuring in my head. And somehow came up with 4 yards. The clerk threw in another 6 inches, and I figured I was good to go.
So, last night I got the cloth cut out and put together (joining a strip on each side of a two-yard length to get the width I needed), and proceeded to lay a row of straight stitching around the edge to help me make a clean finish underneath the braid.
I kept stitching...and stitching...and stitching...and it seemed like I had a whole lot more tablecloth than I did braid. I went back to my work table, measured the braid (4 yards and about 6 inches), scratched my head, and finally grabbed a pencil and did the math on the back of a pattern envelope.
How stupid am I? Well, if you've been paying attention, you'll remember that I figured I'd need 240 inches, and then made the leap to 4 yards -- which is 12 feet, times 12 inches, or 144 inches, with an extra 6 inches for good measure. I'm about 90 inches short of what I need.
So, today I have to brave the weekend-before-Christmas rush and hit the fabric store, in hopes that they still have 6 1/2 yards of that lovely red braid.
And I end up with 4 yards of lovely red braid in search of a project. Sheesh!
Right there in the fabric store I started doing the calculations -- in my head. The tablecloth is going to be 70 inches across, so the diameter is 70 inches. The braid goes around the edge, which is the circumference. And so all I had to do was multiply the diameter by pi (3.14) to figure out how much braid I'd need.
Are you with me so far? Ballpark, I figured about 220 inches would do the trick, but to be on the safe side and allow for misfortunes, I'd make it 240 inches.
And then I was faced with figuring out how many yards I'd need to have cut. Instead of telling the clerk at the cutting table that I needed 240 inches, and letting her write it down and figure it out, I kept figuring in my head. And somehow came up with 4 yards. The clerk threw in another 6 inches, and I figured I was good to go.
So, last night I got the cloth cut out and put together (joining a strip on each side of a two-yard length to get the width I needed), and proceeded to lay a row of straight stitching around the edge to help me make a clean finish underneath the braid.
I kept stitching...and stitching...and stitching...and it seemed like I had a whole lot more tablecloth than I did braid. I went back to my work table, measured the braid (4 yards and about 6 inches), scratched my head, and finally grabbed a pencil and did the math on the back of a pattern envelope.
How stupid am I? Well, if you've been paying attention, you'll remember that I figured I'd need 240 inches, and then made the leap to 4 yards -- which is 12 feet, times 12 inches, or 144 inches, with an extra 6 inches for good measure. I'm about 90 inches short of what I need.
So, today I have to brave the weekend-before-Christmas rush and hit the fabric store, in hopes that they still have 6 1/2 yards of that lovely red braid.
And I end up with 4 yards of lovely red braid in search of a project. Sheesh!
And The Next Great American Band is...
The Clark Brothers! Sixwire finished second and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra came in third. They're all winners in our book.
The finale show was a lot of fun, with performances by the final three and lots more. Quite a few of the other bands were there, too, and they did a terrific Christmas medley, which featured each group, but included everybody playing together. All the musicians were having a great time, and it carried over into the audience. This would make for a great tour.
Check out video of past performances by all the groups. If nothing else, watch the Clark Brothers performances of "Gimme Shelter" and "You're in My Heart." They'll blow you away.
The finale show was a lot of fun, with performances by the final three and lots more. Quite a few of the other bands were there, too, and they did a terrific Christmas medley, which featured each group, but included everybody playing together. All the musicians were having a great time, and it carried over into the audience. This would make for a great tour.
Check out video of past performances by all the groups. If nothing else, watch the Clark Brothers performances of "Gimme Shelter" and "You're in My Heart." They'll blow you away.
Friday, December 21, 2007
About last night
Here are a few more post-Poinsettia Bowl thoughts, in no particular order.
THE GOOD
Joey Bullen's perfectly placed onside kick. What a great play to end his career on.
Zerbin Singleton's recovery of same. And ditto!
Eric Kettani.
And the guys on the O-line who opened up some nice holes for him.
Shun White.
The defense, for the most part.
Fighting back at the end of the game to have a shot at tying or winning it.
Coach Niumatalolo.
Utah overall. They were a good opponent.
THE BAD
Most of the first quarter.
Turnovers.
The offense seeming to have trouble finding and staying in its rhythm.
Missed tackles on defense.
Some problems on special teams.
THE UGLY
That botched call by the refs that denied Navy a touchback at the 20. The replay guy later admitted that he didn't know the rule and blew the call. Could it have changed the game? Maybe. But, as Coach said, Navy had other chances.
THE RIDICULOUS
ESPN.
When ESPN had to stay with the basketball game that went into OT, we had to scramble to find the ESPN Classic station (which showed up on our Comcast menu as showing boxing) and missed the first couple of minutes of the game.
Too many times during the game, ESPN was throwing up graphics of upcoming games between plays, which really made it hard to keep track of what was going on in the game we tuned in to watch.
And too many times the guys in the booth got so caught up in happy talk that they lost track of what was happening on the field.
Also, I basically like Lou Holz, and he mentioned that he's watched lots of Navy game film, but there are things that he obviously hasn't picked up on that those of us who have watched Navy all year just KNOW. Yes, Navy can, and often does, score quickly when the heat is on.
THE PUZZLING
Reggie Campbell, who had a difficult night. I hope he's okay.
THE GOOD
Joey Bullen's perfectly placed onside kick. What a great play to end his career on.
Zerbin Singleton's recovery of same. And ditto!
Eric Kettani.
And the guys on the O-line who opened up some nice holes for him.
Shun White.
The defense, for the most part.
Fighting back at the end of the game to have a shot at tying or winning it.
Coach Niumatalolo.
Utah overall. They were a good opponent.
THE BAD
Most of the first quarter.
Turnovers.
The offense seeming to have trouble finding and staying in its rhythm.
Missed tackles on defense.
Some problems on special teams.
THE UGLY
That botched call by the refs that denied Navy a touchback at the 20. The replay guy later admitted that he didn't know the rule and blew the call. Could it have changed the game? Maybe. But, as Coach said, Navy had other chances.
THE RIDICULOUS
ESPN.
When ESPN had to stay with the basketball game that went into OT, we had to scramble to find the ESPN Classic station (which showed up on our Comcast menu as showing boxing) and missed the first couple of minutes of the game.
Too many times during the game, ESPN was throwing up graphics of upcoming games between plays, which really made it hard to keep track of what was going on in the game we tuned in to watch.
And too many times the guys in the booth got so caught up in happy talk that they lost track of what was happening on the field.
Also, I basically like Lou Holz, and he mentioned that he's watched lots of Navy game film, but there are things that he obviously hasn't picked up on that those of us who have watched Navy all year just KNOW. Yes, Navy can, and often does, score quickly when the heat is on.
THE PUZZLING
Reggie Campbell, who had a difficult night. I hope he's okay.
Final score: Utah 35 - Navy 32
It was an exciting game. It was a promising game. The defense looked good for most of the game. The offense tried hard to do what it needed to do. But in the end...
It was a tough one to lose. I do think Utah got an early Christmas present on that late play which everyone in the booth thought was a fumble that hit the pylon, which should have given Navy the ball on the 20. That might have made just enough difference, but...
Anyhow, congratulations to Coach Niumatalolo and the entire Navy team for a good game and fighting until the very end.
Next season should be another good one.
One last thought -- Reggie Campbell seemed to be off his usual game, and I saw the trainers taping his ankle. I hope he's okay.
Go Navy!
It was a tough one to lose. I do think Utah got an early Christmas present on that late play which everyone in the booth thought was a fumble that hit the pylon, which should have given Navy the ball on the 20. That might have made just enough difference, but...
Anyhow, congratulations to Coach Niumatalolo and the entire Navy team for a good game and fighting until the very end.
Next season should be another good one.
One last thought -- Reggie Campbell seemed to be off his usual game, and I saw the trainers taping his ankle. I hope he's okay.
Go Navy!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
For your Solstice viewing pleasure
According to spaceweather.com, there's a chance we may get to see a meteor shower on Saturday evening.
The Ursids may appear between 4 and 5 p.m. (eastern time) on Saturday, emerging from Polaris, aka the North Star, and should be visible for about another 4 hours.
Polaris is easy to spot. Look for it in the northern sky, at an angle above the horizon equal to your latitude.
Confused? Don't be. For example, Baltimore is located at about 39 degrees north, so Polaris appears in the northern sky a little more than a third of the distance between the horizon and a point directly overhead. The farther north you are, the higher in the sky Polaris appears.
Another trick is to use the two stars at the edge of the cup of the Big Dipper as pointers to lead you to the Little Dipper. Polaris is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper.
Polaris is also the point around which all the other stars appear to revolve in the night sky. Pretty neat.
Anyhow, since the sky should be pretty dark by about 4:30 or so, this is a nice opportunity to do some meteor watching without having to stay up half the night or crawl out of bed at some horrific hour of the morning.
Good luck. Leave a comment if you spot some meteors.
The Ursids may appear between 4 and 5 p.m. (eastern time) on Saturday, emerging from Polaris, aka the North Star, and should be visible for about another 4 hours.
Polaris is easy to spot. Look for it in the northern sky, at an angle above the horizon equal to your latitude.
Confused? Don't be. For example, Baltimore is located at about 39 degrees north, so Polaris appears in the northern sky a little more than a third of the distance between the horizon and a point directly overhead. The farther north you are, the higher in the sky Polaris appears.
Another trick is to use the two stars at the edge of the cup of the Big Dipper as pointers to lead you to the Little Dipper. Polaris is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper.
Polaris is also the point around which all the other stars appear to revolve in the night sky. Pretty neat.
Anyhow, since the sky should be pretty dark by about 4:30 or so, this is a nice opportunity to do some meteor watching without having to stay up half the night or crawl out of bed at some horrific hour of the morning.
Good luck. Leave a comment if you spot some meteors.
Poinsettia Bowl predictions
Here's a link to some predictions about the Poinsettia Bowl. Utah is favored by 7 1/2 points, and most of the experts are picking Utah to win. But, as Coach Johnson said many times, you have to play the game.
Go Navy!
Go Navy!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Coming to a TV station near you
Here are a couple of things to watch for over the next two days.
Thursday night Navy meets Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. Catch the action on ESPN at 9 eastern time/6 on the other coast.
I think this is going to be an interesting match-up, and I'm eager to see how the Mids do with Coach Niumatalolo at the helm.
If you're home on Friday night at 9 (eastern), check out the finale of "The Next Great American Band" on Fox. Okay, it has some cheesy elements a la "American Idol," but the three remaining bands are REALLY good. I'm not quite sure how the finale is going to work, since audience voting has been a factor to date, but all three of these groups are winners who should go on to do good things.
First there's Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, a sort of big band meets Blood, Sweat and Tears, fronted by a singer/trumpet player named Denver (I'm not making this up; his kids are named Boston and London). The group includes several trumpets, trombones, a couple of saxes, drums, etc.
Then there's Sixwire, which is actually five guys who trace their roots to the Eagles, Little River Band, etc.
Finally, there are the Clark Brothers, sons of a preacher man who can reach deep into your heart and soul with their music. The usual complement is acoustic guitar, mandolin and dobro, and these guys can really cook.
You could even TIVO this and just watch these bands' performances. You won't be disappointed.
That's it for tonight.
Go Navy!
Thursday night Navy meets Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. Catch the action on ESPN at 9 eastern time/6 on the other coast.
I think this is going to be an interesting match-up, and I'm eager to see how the Mids do with Coach Niumatalolo at the helm.
If you're home on Friday night at 9 (eastern), check out the finale of "The Next Great American Band" on Fox. Okay, it has some cheesy elements a la "American Idol," but the three remaining bands are REALLY good. I'm not quite sure how the finale is going to work, since audience voting has been a factor to date, but all three of these groups are winners who should go on to do good things.
First there's Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, a sort of big band meets Blood, Sweat and Tears, fronted by a singer/trumpet player named Denver (I'm not making this up; his kids are named Boston and London). The group includes several trumpets, trombones, a couple of saxes, drums, etc.
Then there's Sixwire, which is actually five guys who trace their roots to the Eagles, Little River Band, etc.
Finally, there are the Clark Brothers, sons of a preacher man who can reach deep into your heart and soul with their music. The usual complement is acoustic guitar, mandolin and dobro, and these guys can really cook.
You could even TIVO this and just watch these bands' performances. You won't be disappointed.
That's it for tonight.
Go Navy!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Longest night of the year
Someone did ask, so here's the answer.
This year's winter solstice will occur at 1:08 a.m. (EST) on Saturday morning, December 22. So the night of the 21st-22nd will be the longest night of the year.
AND -- that means that the days will start getting longer again.
NOTE: In the Western calendar that we all follow, four big events mark the change in seasons. Winter begins with the winter solstice; spring begins with the vernal equinox (late March); summer begins with the summer solstice (longest day of the year); and fall begins with the autumnal equinox (late September).
In the old Celtic calendar, the seasons began halfway between those events. So, winter began on November 1, spring will begin on February 1, summer begins on May 1, and fall begins on August 1. As I get older, that way of reckoning makes more and more sense.
Anyhow, now you've been warned, so you can plan your solstice activities accordingly.
This year's winter solstice will occur at 1:08 a.m. (EST) on Saturday morning, December 22. So the night of the 21st-22nd will be the longest night of the year.
AND -- that means that the days will start getting longer again.
NOTE: In the Western calendar that we all follow, four big events mark the change in seasons. Winter begins with the winter solstice; spring begins with the vernal equinox (late March); summer begins with the summer solstice (longest day of the year); and fall begins with the autumnal equinox (late September).
In the old Celtic calendar, the seasons began halfway between those events. So, winter began on November 1, spring will begin on February 1, summer begins on May 1, and fall begins on August 1. As I get older, that way of reckoning makes more and more sense.
Anyhow, now you've been warned, so you can plan your solstice activities accordingly.
Are you ready? Are you sure?
Baltimore didn't get the snow and ice that other parts of the country have been getting, but we are in the midst of a fairly hefty wind storm.
Craig and I got home at about 8:40 this evening and were just settling in when the power went out at 9. We knew where our flashlights were, and decided to come on upstairs, climb under the covers and watch a DVD on the laptop. Alas, we hadn't recharged the laptop after the last use, so we only got to watch about half of a movie, then dug out our 20-year-old Sony watchman and caught the end of the Redskins game and enough news to get a better handle on the storm and power outages, and then called it a night.
By midnight we were both just asleep, and at 12:15 the power came back on -- which is why I'm blogging at 1 a.m.
Anyhow, I'm writing to remind you all about the importance of household preparedness. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries as well as a battery-operated radio. A little TV is even better. Emergency planners also suggest having a supply of water on hand -- at least one gallon per person per day for at least three days. Learn more at www.readysetgood.org.
Craig and I got home at about 8:40 this evening and were just settling in when the power went out at 9. We knew where our flashlights were, and decided to come on upstairs, climb under the covers and watch a DVD on the laptop. Alas, we hadn't recharged the laptop after the last use, so we only got to watch about half of a movie, then dug out our 20-year-old Sony watchman and caught the end of the Redskins game and enough news to get a better handle on the storm and power outages, and then called it a night.
By midnight we were both just asleep, and at 12:15 the power came back on -- which is why I'm blogging at 1 a.m.
Anyhow, I'm writing to remind you all about the importance of household preparedness. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries as well as a battery-operated radio. A little TV is even better. Emergency planners also suggest having a supply of water on hand -- at least one gallon per person per day for at least three days. Learn more at www.readysetgood.org.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
This just in: "Freedom Dance" in SOYS Film Festival in LA
We just got word that "Freedom Dance," the short animated documentary that Craig animated, co-produced, co-directed and co-edited, has been accepted in the Show Off Your Shorts (SOYS) Film Festival, the weekend of February 15th in Los Angeles. No word yet on when or where the screening will take place, so stay tuned.
"Freedom Dance" tells the story of our friends Edward and Judy Hilbert, who escaped from Hungary to the United States in 1956, fulfilling one of young Edward's dreams. The story is told through Edward's drawings, which were digitally colored (I did some of that) and then animated. Emmy-winner Mariska Hargitay, whose father escaped from Hungary in 1947, narrates the story.
"Freedom Dance" has already appeared in the Maryland Film Festival and Utopia Film Festival (Greenbelt, MD), and won the ITVA (DC Chapter) Peer Award for Best Short Documentary.
"Freedom Dance" tells the story of our friends Edward and Judy Hilbert, who escaped from Hungary to the United States in 1956, fulfilling one of young Edward's dreams. The story is told through Edward's drawings, which were digitally colored (I did some of that) and then animated. Emmy-winner Mariska Hargitay, whose father escaped from Hungary in 1947, narrates the story.
"Freedom Dance" has already appeared in the Maryland Film Festival and Utopia Film Festival (Greenbelt, MD), and won the ITVA (DC Chapter) Peer Award for Best Short Documentary.
Submarine movies
Yesterday at the Women's Welsh Club of Baltimore's Christmas luncheon, the conversation at our end of the table (Diane, Mary, my mom, Craig, Ilse and me) turned to movies. When Ilse and I discovered that both our dads had worked on noise reduction in submarines back in the Cold War years, we got started on submarine movies, which led Mary to remark that she had no idea there were that many movies about submarines.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Crash Dive (1943) with Tyrone Power, Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter
There's a scene where Anne Baxter watches the boat move down the river that was filmed on a hillside in a residential area just above the sub base in Groton. One of our friends had the same view from her backyard. Beyond that, it's a good story with characters we can care about, which is what I want in a movie.
Das Boot (1981) German film
This is a gripping depiction of life on a German u-boat, which was no picnic. Again, a good story and we care about these guys.
Destination Tokyo (1943) with Cary Grant and John Garfield
This one is about a sub on a secret mission to support the Doolittle Raid.
The Enemy Below (1957) with Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens
Mitchum and Jurgens play the captains of an American destroyer and German u-boat who find themselves lone enemies in the South Atlantic during WWII. The ensuing game of cat and mouse is fascinating to watch, and ultimately says a lot about the human spirit. This is my personal favorite. It's based on a novel of the same title, although the destroyer in the novel was British. The movie also won the 1958 Oscar for best special effects.
Operation Pacific (1951) with John Wayne
This one incorporates some nice historical details, including technical problems with torpedoes and the heroism of some real sub officers.
Operation Petticoat (1959) with Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Dina Merril, directed by Blake Edwards
The name Blake Edwards is a dead giveaway that this is a comedy, although with serious moments. The plot involves taking aboard some nurses in distress and a shortage of red lead undercoat paint, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster
This one is based loosely on an Ed Beach novel of the same title, but also has some parallels with "Moby Dick."
Torpedo Run (1958) with Glenn Ford and Ernest Borgnine
Another story about a skipper obsessed with sinking a particular ship, in this case one of the carriers from the Pearl Harbor raid. I think this is the movie with a scene of the sub following a Japanese ship through the sub net and minefield into Tokyo Bay. It got an Oscar nomination for special effects.
Up Periscope (1959) with James Garner and Edmond O'Brien
James Garner is a frogman whose team is landed by sub. It's based on a novel by Robb White.
The Hunt for Red October (1990) with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin
Based on Tom Clancy's popular first novel, the movie lives up to the book. Won the 1991 Oscar for Sound Editing. Trivia: Tom Clancy grew up in Towson, and his family was in same parish as Johnny Unitas and family. Clancy made the Soviet skipper Lithuanian as a kind of tribute to Unitas, whose family was also Lithuanian.
Down Periscope (1996) with Kelsey Grammar
This one is another comedy with serious moments. There are some moments that spoof other sub movies. Overall, a good popcorn movie.
Now that I look at the list (admittedly incomplete; there are sci-fi sub movies that I didn't include, for example), it looks like just about every Hollywood leading man in the 1940s and '50s was in a submarine movie. I wonder if they were as much fun to make as they are to watch.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Crash Dive (1943) with Tyrone Power, Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter
There's a scene where Anne Baxter watches the boat move down the river that was filmed on a hillside in a residential area just above the sub base in Groton. One of our friends had the same view from her backyard. Beyond that, it's a good story with characters we can care about, which is what I want in a movie.
Das Boot (1981) German film
This is a gripping depiction of life on a German u-boat, which was no picnic. Again, a good story and we care about these guys.
Destination Tokyo (1943) with Cary Grant and John Garfield
This one is about a sub on a secret mission to support the Doolittle Raid.
The Enemy Below (1957) with Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens
Mitchum and Jurgens play the captains of an American destroyer and German u-boat who find themselves lone enemies in the South Atlantic during WWII. The ensuing game of cat and mouse is fascinating to watch, and ultimately says a lot about the human spirit. This is my personal favorite. It's based on a novel of the same title, although the destroyer in the novel was British. The movie also won the 1958 Oscar for best special effects.
Operation Pacific (1951) with John Wayne
This one incorporates some nice historical details, including technical problems with torpedoes and the heroism of some real sub officers.
Operation Petticoat (1959) with Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Dina Merril, directed by Blake Edwards
The name Blake Edwards is a dead giveaway that this is a comedy, although with serious moments. The plot involves taking aboard some nurses in distress and a shortage of red lead undercoat paint, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster
This one is based loosely on an Ed Beach novel of the same title, but also has some parallels with "Moby Dick."
Torpedo Run (1958) with Glenn Ford and Ernest Borgnine
Another story about a skipper obsessed with sinking a particular ship, in this case one of the carriers from the Pearl Harbor raid. I think this is the movie with a scene of the sub following a Japanese ship through the sub net and minefield into Tokyo Bay. It got an Oscar nomination for special effects.
Up Periscope (1959) with James Garner and Edmond O'Brien
James Garner is a frogman whose team is landed by sub. It's based on a novel by Robb White.
The Hunt for Red October (1990) with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin
Based on Tom Clancy's popular first novel, the movie lives up to the book. Won the 1991 Oscar for Sound Editing. Trivia: Tom Clancy grew up in Towson, and his family was in same parish as Johnny Unitas and family. Clancy made the Soviet skipper Lithuanian as a kind of tribute to Unitas, whose family was also Lithuanian.
Down Periscope (1996) with Kelsey Grammar
This one is another comedy with serious moments. There are some moments that spoof other sub movies. Overall, a good popcorn movie.
Now that I look at the list (admittedly incomplete; there are sci-fi sub movies that I didn't include, for example), it looks like just about every Hollywood leading man in the 1940s and '50s was in a submarine movie. I wonder if they were as much fun to make as they are to watch.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Poinsettia Bowl -- Coincidences?
Here's a link to a story in the Deseret Morning News about the Navy-Utah matchup in next Thursday's Poinsettia Bowl.
It should be a terrific match-up, but there are a couple of coincidences that would hint at some sort of cosmic convergence in the world of college football, if it weren't such a small world at that.
For instance --
Paul Johnson just left Navy to go to Georgia Tech. Utah beat Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl two years ago.
The Deseret Morning News didn't report that Navy beat New Mexico in the Emerald Bowl three years ago. And in that game they sustained a 94-yard drive for 26 plays, taking 14 minutes and 26 second off the clock. The number of plays and duration of the drive are both NCAA records.
Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo is an old friend of Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham recruited at Hawaii when Niumatalolo was coaching there.
Read the whole article for more.
It should be a terrific match-up, but there are a couple of coincidences that would hint at some sort of cosmic convergence in the world of college football, if it weren't such a small world at that.
For instance --
Paul Johnson just left Navy to go to Georgia Tech. Utah beat Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl two years ago.
The Deseret Morning News didn't report that Navy beat New Mexico in the Emerald Bowl three years ago. And in that game they sustained a 94-yard drive for 26 plays, taking 14 minutes and 26 second off the clock. The number of plays and duration of the drive are both NCAA records.
Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo is an old friend of Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham recruited at Hawaii when Niumatalolo was coaching there.
Read the whole article for more.
Two wild and crazy weeks in Navy football
Two weeks ago today, on Saturday, Dec. 1, Navy beat Army for the 6th year in a row. To put that in perspective, Navy was going for a 6th win in Roger Staubach's senior year and came up short. This was a big deal. Prior to the game, Head Coach Paul Johnson deflected rumors that he was about to leave Navy, saying, "It would take a special deal..." Meanwhile, Navy AD Chet Gladchuk, a smart cookie who saw offers come to Johnson last year, mentioned after the game to Offensive Coordinator Ken Niumatalolo that if anything happened, he wanted to talk.
And here's what happened.
Dec. 2 - 6
Coach Paul Johnson met with his agent, then visited SMU, Duke and Georgia Tech. One of the negotiating points may have been Johnson's ability to bring staff from Navy.
Friday, Dec. 7
That morning Coach Johnson met with Gladchuk, told him that he was going to accept an offer from Georgia Tech, and then went to meet with the team. Johnson's plan was to make a clean break and leave immediately, so he wouldn't coach Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20 in San Diego.
Apparently while Johnson was meeting with the team (who had made their own pleas for Johnson to stay), Gladchuk phoned Niumatalolo, who was off on a recruiting trip, and asked him to come back to talk about the head coaching job.
Friday afternoon Navy announced that Johnson was leaving and then Georgia Tech held a press conference to introduce their new head coach. In Navy's announcement, Gladchuk said that his goal was to "keep things glued together." Hmmm...
Saturday, Dec. 8
Navy announced that the new head coach would be Ken Niumatalolo.
Monday, Dec. 10
The team had its first practice with the new head coach. Reaction from the team was overall positive.
Coach Ken, newly promoted Offensive Coordinator Ivin Jasper and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Greene, both of whom will stay on, also paid a quick visit to the Naval Academy Prep School and met with the guys up there.
Thursday, Dec. 13
Joe DuPaix, Offensive Coordinator at Cal Poly, told the San Luis Obispo "Tribune" that he was going to Navy as the running backs coach. He'll join the staff in January.
First of all, Chet Gladchuk should get an award not only for keeping things glued together, but for making moves that should advance the program at Navy.
Second of all, it's been interesting to piece together all the relationships among the cast of characters. But that's a topic for a whole 'nother entry.
Go Navy! Beat Utah!
And here's what happened.
Dec. 2 - 6
Coach Paul Johnson met with his agent, then visited SMU, Duke and Georgia Tech. One of the negotiating points may have been Johnson's ability to bring staff from Navy.
Friday, Dec. 7
That morning Coach Johnson met with Gladchuk, told him that he was going to accept an offer from Georgia Tech, and then went to meet with the team. Johnson's plan was to make a clean break and leave immediately, so he wouldn't coach Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20 in San Diego.
Apparently while Johnson was meeting with the team (who had made their own pleas for Johnson to stay), Gladchuk phoned Niumatalolo, who was off on a recruiting trip, and asked him to come back to talk about the head coaching job.
Friday afternoon Navy announced that Johnson was leaving and then Georgia Tech held a press conference to introduce their new head coach. In Navy's announcement, Gladchuk said that his goal was to "keep things glued together." Hmmm...
Saturday, Dec. 8
Navy announced that the new head coach would be Ken Niumatalolo.
Monday, Dec. 10
The team had its first practice with the new head coach. Reaction from the team was overall positive.
Coach Ken, newly promoted Offensive Coordinator Ivin Jasper and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Greene, both of whom will stay on, also paid a quick visit to the Naval Academy Prep School and met with the guys up there.
Thursday, Dec. 13
Joe DuPaix, Offensive Coordinator at Cal Poly, told the San Luis Obispo "Tribune" that he was going to Navy as the running backs coach. He'll join the staff in January.
First of all, Chet Gladchuk should get an award not only for keeping things glued together, but for making moves that should advance the program at Navy.
Second of all, it's been interesting to piece together all the relationships among the cast of characters. But that's a topic for a whole 'nother entry.
Go Navy! Beat Utah!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Christmas in "The Office"
Coming as I do from a good Scranton family, I have to admit that "The Office" is one of my guilty pleasures.
Tonight, as my office gears up for tbe annual Christmas party (featuring a round-robin gift-swap event), Michael and the gang will be going through the same drill at Dunder-Mifflin. I know it's a rerun, but I'm looking forward to it anyhow.
Meanwhile, Scranton is getting hit with snow. I ought to call my cousins in Moscow (a few miles south of Scranton), who belong to the Elmhurst County Club, where Michael was bound when he drove into Lake Scranton. The road around Lake Scranton is closed to vehicles these days, but it's still a nice place to walk, and there was a wedding there when I was visiting the area in October.
There is no Dunder-Mifflin paper company in Scranton, but there is a Mifflin Avenue, and I believe part of the opening sequence was filmed while driving along said street, with the camera looking across the river at houses on the hillside.
Here's a bonus for real trivia buffs -- to get from Lake Scranton into Scranton, you drive north on 307 and down the treacherously steep Moosic Street Hill, made famous by Harry Chapin in his song about the truck that lost its brakes thereabouts and spilled its load of 30,000 pounds of bananas. Yes, things like that really have happened on Moosic Street.
Tonight, as my office gears up for tbe annual Christmas party (featuring a round-robin gift-swap event), Michael and the gang will be going through the same drill at Dunder-Mifflin. I know it's a rerun, but I'm looking forward to it anyhow.
Meanwhile, Scranton is getting hit with snow. I ought to call my cousins in Moscow (a few miles south of Scranton), who belong to the Elmhurst County Club, where Michael was bound when he drove into Lake Scranton. The road around Lake Scranton is closed to vehicles these days, but it's still a nice place to walk, and there was a wedding there when I was visiting the area in October.
There is no Dunder-Mifflin paper company in Scranton, but there is a Mifflin Avenue, and I believe part of the opening sequence was filmed while driving along said street, with the camera looking across the river at houses on the hillside.
Here's a bonus for real trivia buffs -- to get from Lake Scranton into Scranton, you drive north on 307 and down the treacherously steep Moosic Street Hill, made famous by Harry Chapin in his song about the truck that lost its brakes thereabouts and spilled its load of 30,000 pounds of bananas. Yes, things like that really have happened on Moosic Street.
Tonight's Movie: Zulu
Tonight my husband had a hankering to watch our DVD of Zulu, the 1964 movie about the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift between a British regiment from South Wales and a vastly superior number of Zulu warriors. The film features a very young Michael Caine, Richard Burton as the narrator, a number of genuine Welsh actors as soldiers, and an uncredited Welsh male voice choir which provides a stirring performance of "Men of Harlech" (in English).
It's a real classic, and never fails to make this Welsh-American girl's heart go pitter-pat, even though Wikipedia claims that the singing never took place.
It's a real classic, and never fails to make this Welsh-American girl's heart go pitter-pat, even though Wikipedia claims that the singing never took place.
More on Lil's quilt
The pattern for Lil's quilt came from a book by Evelyn Sloppy called, "Make One and You're Done." I found it at one of the local crafts stores and bought it because it's a sort of sophisticated "quilting for idiots" book. Each of the dozen or so designs includes a large color photo, a list of required fabrics, detailed instructions for cutting, and then step-by-step illustrations for assembling the pieces into squares, and the squares into larger units. There are also excellent instructions for finishing a quilt, including binding the edges.
If you've ever thought about making a quilt, this book will get you started.
If you've ever thought about making a quilt, this book will get you started.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A Quilt for Lil
Here's a photo of a lap quilt I made as a wedding present for a co-worker. This was my first quilt project, but I had so much fun that it won't be my last!The fabric is from the Decadent Victorian collection by April Cornell for Moda. If you're interested and don't have your own source, I recommend the Fat Quarter Shop (http://www.fatquartershop.com/), which has a fantastic selection of fabrics at very competitive prices, and provides lightning-fast shipping.
I made the back pretty, too, by making a "frame" for the backing fabric with strips of left-over fabric from the front. Since the backing fabric is narrower than the finished quilt top, this was also an economical way to complete the back, as opposed to buying twice the length of backing fabric and piecing the lengths together.
The rest of the story: When I got a new sewing maching in 2000, Lil half-joked that I should make a quilt for her. At the time I had a lot of other projects in the pipe-line and wasn't into quilting, so I just laughed. This fall she got married, and all of a sudden the quilt seemed like a good idea.
I did end up adding some gear to my sewing room, most notably a self-healing cutting mat and roller for making precise cuts, a 1/4" piecing foot for making precise joins, and a walking foot which was invaluable in putting the layers together with minimal creep.
Including climbing the learning curve, this project took a couple of weekends and a few evenings. And it was fun!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
New Era in Navy Football
When I read last Friday afternoon that Paul Johnson was going to Georgia Tech, immediately, my heart sank. But Chet Gladchuk was really and truly on top of things and signed Ken Nuimatalolo immediately, and managed to keep most of the staff intact.
Kudos to Chet, and thank to Ken for stepping in so quickly.
This season gave us some wild and crazy rides, but I'm looking forward to the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20 and feel pretty good about Navy's chances.
Go Navy!
Kudos to Chet, and thank to Ken for stepping in so quickly.
This season gave us some wild and crazy rides, but I'm looking forward to the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20 and feel pretty good about Navy's chances.
Go Navy!
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