Singles Tournament

October 24, 2011

The kids ran most of the tournament this year. 

Delegating is an important leadership skill.

#allthecreditnoneofthestress

#exceptistillfeellikeiworkedhard

Linkage:

When Harry Left Hogwarts: Documentary About The End of Harry Potter

It will be included on the HP7P2 DVD.

Shit That Siri Says

Siri is the new iPhone digital assistant. 

She's super helpful and completely non-judgemental. 

She can even help you hide a dead body.

In case you need help with that...

Test Grades

October 23,2011

Grading is easier when kids get it all right.

#idlovetotakecreditbutthestudentsareawesome

Linkage:

In The Language of Men: The New Sad Era of Masculinity
from GQ

Yes, every guy in a commercial is dumb. 

I can't stand the "bar exam".

Coldplay’s new video - “Paradise”

Reminds me of Blind Melon's "No Rain"

Vampires Can Wait

October 22, 2011

a visit from the goon squad

Vampires didn't win a Pulitzer Prize.

Linkage:

New York Times Review

Top 5 Articles About TV

Since we're reading, this set includes a great article about a perfect bid on The Price Is Right

Evil Dead: The Musical

October 21, 2011

Boomsticks. Demons. Chainsaw Hands.

The first row is called the "Splatter Zone"

At the bar next door, Gin Creek played Johnny Rivers covers.

Linkage:

Seattle Pinball Museum
Yes please.

Belle Epicurian
I want to go to there.

“Luminous” at SAM
Also a Gauguin exhibit is coming soon.

You Know What's Fun? Winning Is Fun

October 20, 2011

Our #1 player won in a forfeit, because the other girl had a piano lesson. Hard to get super competitive about a sport like that.

#wewonsuckitnerds

Linkage:

Improv Everywhere Wedding

Why do people get so up tight about their wedding?

Doesn't it look like everyone is having fun?

I'm Batman

October 19, 2011

Batman: Arkham City

 Batman has no superpowers. 

So if I practiced really hard, I could be Batman

#ialsoneedabilliondollars

Linkage:

Grantland Review of Arkham City

What if the thing that video games do best is simulate superheroes?

The title of the review is based on "Greatest American Hero" which had a killer theme song. (and inspired this answering machine)

Review from 1up.com

Can't do better than an "A"

Darkwing Duck Theme

He's like Batman.

Sounders Account Managers Are Awesome

October 18, 2011

A potential Sounders problem was resolved before lunch:

Hello,

I thought I had already purchased my playoff tickets, but it turns out I mixed them up with next season's tickets.  I went into my account manager today to fix it, and the system wouldn't let me pay.

What's the best way to work around this problem?

Thanks for your email. I just left you a voicemail, but thought I’d email you back as well. I can help you get your playoff tickets. Would you like to use the card we have on file that you used to purchase your season tickets?

-Becca,

That sounds great.  Thank you for your help.

Ok great, you are good to go! You will be able to print those through your account manager online. We will send an email as soon as the date, time and opponent are confirmed.

The lesson:

The Sounders always take care of us.

Linkage:

Why Is College So Expensive?
from NPR
States pay less, we pay more.

Leaky Boom Boom Now

October 17, 2011

Pop-Up Video is back!!

Snow - Informer (Pop Up Video) - Free Music Videos

"They whipped down my pants, looked up my bottom"

-actual lyric from Informer


Linkage:
Pop Up Video
The Beyonce special was pretty great.
Also, Losing My Religion


And they don't have a Pop Up Video but,

The Head and The Heart Deal With Success

They are kind of blowing up right now.  

I'm sure they'll be fine.

Ides of March

October 16, 2011

Ides of March

Great West Wing episode that turns into a twisted, messed up West Wing episode.

 Linkage:

The Question on Everyone’s Mind

“What Do You Do?”

Day 6497 - Educator Day + Sounders

October 15, 2011

Linkage:

Rubik’s Cube Solving Championship

I'd like to think, if I put in the time and effort, I could do this.

Fun Fact: One summer I solved a Rubik's Cube using instructions.

Day 372 - Spotify Suggestions

October 14, 2011

Spotify is awesome for catching up on things you should have known all along.

#Ryanadamsiscrushingit
#mylackofindiestreetcredisstaggering

Other Spotify favorites:

(Can't embed some youtube videos?  What the what?)


Ryan Adams - New York, New York

Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know

Twin Shadow - Castles In The Snow

Band Perry - Hip To My Heart
(Total bubblegum country pop.  But they're so likeable)

Feist - Graveyard

Wilco - You And I (with Feist)

Day 371 - Cat Hat

October 13. 2011

He does this on his own.  He likes it.

#catsliketobeontallthingssothisisanegoboost

Linkage:

Celebrities promote Anti-bullying on Sesame Street

Starring Seth Rogen, Mila Kunis, and Mark Ruffalo. Elvis Costello also sings "Monster Went And Ate My Red 2", a play on his song "(Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes".

Being Elmo

I haven't seen it yet, but the trailer makes it look fantastic.

Day 370 - SIP and Physics

October 12, 2011

Today we had a "SIP" meeting.  It used to stand for "School Improvement Plan" but we changed it into a Happy Hour (because you can "sip" a beer.  Get it?)

Breaking my own rules already.

There's no picture and that was longer than a tweet.

Oh well.  

Physics lecture for leisure.  Yes, I feel cultured.

#physicsisphun

Things I learned:

-Gravity is a weak force, (but not the Weak Force) because it can be overcome by a magnet.

-We don't know how particles get their mass.

-Humans may never be able to see things at a scale of 10 to the -35 because the act of observing something that small would create a black hole.

-Her book talks about an extra dimension and the interaction between extra dimensions.  One is called the "Gravity Brane" and one is called the "Weaker Brane.  Their interplay could explain many crazy phenomenon.

The talk focused on how little we know about the new frontier of science and how ideas that might sound crazy could turn out to be correct.

Linkage:

How to Optimize Basketball Shots (or How a Physicist w/Expertise in Projectile Motion Still Can't Shoot Hoops)

A classic example of over-thinking.

Day 369 - Four Coffees

October 11, 2011

Four cups are better than one.  I'll get the coffee this time.  You can get it next time.  That means there's a next time.  #coffeebuildscommunity

Either Hobbes is fast or camera is slow.

#Hobbesisslow

That's not even the good part of the avacado.

#Hobbeseatsanything

Cheese is close to milk, so this isn't that weird.

#Hobbesonlywantsasniff

Mom has made hundreds of pages like this with her mountains of photographs.

#Momisamazing

(She's in the middle on the top row)

Linkage:

Ben Folds Walks Us Through His Career Highs and Lows

He has an interesting view of the music business.  He's never been super commercially successful but Ben is able to make the records he wants to make and work with people he respects and admires.

Ben also sings a duet with Bob Sagat

Day #$%^&@* - 365 Redifined

October 10, 2011

Other Project365 blogs consist of a lone photo and an occasional caption.  

I've been doing it wrong the whole time.

Writing each entry takes the most time.  The pictures are fast and the web-surfing I was going to do anyway.  So, maybe I'll try and tweet about each photo (140 character limit).  But I probably won't count the characters either.

Whitney's wicked wheels watch worlds whip by whilst Weepies warble.

Wow.

Note to self:  Less alliteration tomorrow.

Linkage:

Weepies Videos

The Weepies were described to me as a mellow version of Arcade Fire.  This may or may not be true.

(must be played on youtube due to legal reasons... I guess)

The World Spins Madly On

Claymation!

Can't Go Back Now

Puppets!

Be My Honeypie

Cute Dancing Couples!

Be My Thrill

Cartoons!

Day 367 - RedZone. Now More Adorable Than Ever.

October 9, 2011

It's the first time we've had a baby at RedZone.  He cheered for the right team and didn't overdo it on the beer. (The baby had no beer.  Just in case CPS is somehow reading this.)

Sounders Snuggie doubles as a swaddling cloth.

Linkage:

Evergreen Park High School To Penalize 'Excessive' Student Bathroom Use  

Hollis did not pee excessively.  If a baby can take care of himself, students can too.  But this policy is probably excessive.  I’m not dealing with “feminine” bathroom needs.     

Day 366 - Bring Out The Backup

October 8, 2011

My obsession with fake plastic instruments goes back to the year before my Master's program.  I only had to take one prerequisite course (Calculus III) and I coached for one hour a day.  The rest of the time, I needed something to do.  Enter Guitar Hero, which morphed into Rock Band.  Over the years, I've amassed quite a collection of this crap.  I've tried to donate the old instruments several times, and it just seems like nobody wants them.  At least I always have a backup.

Before you judge that year; I was in school, I had a job, and I had a plan to get into graduate school.  But I lived with my parents, so it's not like I could go completely bonkers.

Linkage:

There’s No “G” in “Strip Search”; Scandal at World Scrabble Championship

There's a joke that involves "Strip Searches" and "G-Strings" 

But I can't quite find it...

Day 365 - What Kind Of Year Has It Been?

October 7, 2011

Wow.  I guess that's been a year.  

I feel like Forrest Gump when he ran across America.  People kept asking him why he was running.  He said, he just felt like running.  That's me and blogging.  After a while, I just got used to doing it.  Taking pictures and finding stories on the internet just became a part of my routine.  

I'll keep doing it as long as it's fun. 

So, this was today:

My work takes time but I do it because it matters and it makes me happy.

Working with kids is a great job.

Hi, Hobbes!

Linkage:

How Yelp Stars Affect Revenue
Your ratings directly impact their bottom line.  Take your responsibility seriously. 

But Just Because You Yelp, Doesn’t Make You God.

How to Flash Mob
If you’re still interested in that sort of thing.

Act More Like Dogs
Huh?

Day 364 - CRAZIEST PARTY EVER!!!

October 6, 2011

It's probably safer if I don't elaborate...

Wait, why did I say that?  Someone is having whipped cream straight from the can.  Like we're wild or something.  There was definitely an impulse in me to claim that this story is "Sooo crazy, dude!".  The entire party consisted of a few drinks, playing Apples To Apples and listening to John Cougar Mellancamp and debating if he was "John Cougar", "John Mellancamp", or "John Cougar Mellancamp" when he wrote a particular song.  

There's nothing wrong with that party.  

It's a great party.  

It's a party where I have fun.  

I should be celebrating the fact that we attempted to kick back on a Thursday.

The reason I used the picture is because I felt a little shuttershy, I didn't have a good picture and this one was floating around bookface.  But I wasn't sure if the photo subjects wanted this on the interwebs, so I blurred out the faces.  Heaven forbid this picture of people enjoying whipped cream and making funny faces be shared with the ginormous readership of this blog.  

So we've learned:

1) I am not a party animal.

2) This blog is not widely read.

Linkage:

Stories from the NBA D-League

Minor league athletes fascinate me.

School Sucks (Sometimes) But You Don’t!

We’ve all had those moments.  I hope I never make a kid feel like that (but I’m sure I have).  Did the teacher do anything wrong here?

A Love Letter To My Bestie

It's great to have friends.

Yes, I love Hello, Giggles!  

The humor site written by girls.  They are consistently funny, creative and smart.  

You like those traits too.