Monday, March 16, 2009

Tales from the Graveyard... the Football Team Graveyard!

*maniacal cackling*

Hello, "Boils" and "Ghouls!" Larry Langford here. Tonight's tale is that of the Birmingham Americans, a team buried in the history books... but play them and it was YOU who would end up six feet under!

Legion Field truly was a house of horrors for opposing teams... none of the 13 who ventured in came out alive!

Local businessman Bill Putnam took a stab at team ownership, and you might say that his minions were quite adept at "Putnam in body bags!"


The Americans haunted the Central Division of the World Football League during its inau-"ghoul" season of 1974. They may have been the American dream, but for the rest of the league it was truly a nightmare!

On Thursday, Dismember 5th, 1974 the "talon"-ted team clawed their way to a World Bowl Championship!

Soon after, however, their fortunes turned for the worse. They've "slain" dormant, rotting in the earth.... until tonight!

*maniacal cackling*

Sunday, March 15, 2009

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Liverpool

Location: Liverpool, Merseyside.

Nickname: The Reds.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: Anfield.

Crest: I think they stole the flames from Bowser's castle.

Season So Far: Good start, but too many home draws to the assorted flotsam drifting around the bottom of the league have pretty much eliminated them from title contention (although as I groggily type this, they've just gone 2 - 1 up at United.) Still, somebody will have to deal with them in the Champions League.

General vibe to a casual American fan: Death by crushing. Until Manchester United's recent dominance they were, by far, the top scone on the English soccer lorry. Also too, that damn song.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

3E Fan Nonfiction

Click. Click. Ted was sure that this round of attacks would critically disable his computer opponent. Fumbling blindly for another pepperoni slice, he almost cut his hand of a pair of scissors. THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE! He was getting better at Command and Conquer. He had always been good at video games, whether through some latent talent or through true Tennessee grit and tireless dedication, he was not ready to admit. His phone rang. Stephanie, geez. What is it now?

Click. Click. Wes was sure that this round of tax cuts would be just what BIGDICKCITY needed to reach Metropolis status. Fumbling blindly for his bottle of Woodbridge Merlot, he almost knocked it off the desk. THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE! He had always loved SimCity games... really the only games he had ever had the grit or dedication to stick with. Cheat codes? He wasn't going to admit to that so easily. His phone rang. Sarah, come on. Can't this wait?

Click. Click. Charles was sure that this latest Flash game was the coolest and funnest thing he had ever played. Note to self: show Lauren next time she visits! Fumbling blindly for his cup of hot tea, Charles almost couldn't find his cup of hot tea but then he did. THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE! He had always been good at making hot tea. Although whether it was through some latent tea-making talent or sheer repetition, he would readily admit to the latter. His phone rang. Lauren! Charles's spirits soared.

Clomp. Clomp. John plodded down the hall, farting more than half the way. Half gallon of skim milk in one hand, the other scratching his belly he slammed himself down in front of the television and prepared a bowl of cereal. Failing to notice that Stacy was even in the room, John watched three consecutive episodes of Law and Order, punctuated by brief periods of napping.

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Aston Villa

Location: Birmingham, baby.

Nickname: The Villans, Villa.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: Villa Park (they've got a theme and they stick with it.)

Crest: The Boy Scouts called and they want one word of their motto back. Recently updated. The star means they won what is now called the Champions League in 1982.

Season So Far: Will be good, could have been great. They're a whisker ahead of Arsenal for the last Champions League spot right now, but they're fading a bit. Tha Captainz prediction: They'll have to settle for the UEFA Europa Cup next year.

General vibe to a casual American fan: They're owned by the guy who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So just picture Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott kicking a ball around.

Happy Pi Day!

Because Pi is 3.14, you see. I hope math enthusiasts everywhere are having a great day. I will celebrate it the only way I know how, and I hope all of you will do the same. On that note, here's a little something to further diminish your faith in humanity:
It happened in Indiana. Although the attempt to legislate pi was ultimately unsuccessful, it did come pretty close. In 1897 Representative T.I. Record of Posen county introduced House Bill #246 in the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill, based on the work of a physician and amateur mathematician named Edward J. Goodwin (Edwin in some accounts), suggests not one but three numbers for pi, among them 3.2, as we shall see. The punishment for unbelievers I have not been able to learn, but I place no credence in the rumor that you had to spend the rest of your natural life in Indiana.

Just as people today have a hard time accepting the idea that the speed of light is the speed limit of the universe, Goodwin and Record apparently couldn't handle the fact that pi was not a rational number. "Since the rule in present use [presumably pi equals 3.14159...] fails to work ..., it should be discarded as wholly wanting and misleading in the practical applications," the bill declared.
I am glad that Congress has figured out how to fix the war, recession, continued existence of Dancing with the Stars, etc, so they've got time to get in on the act. From Politico:
“It makes you realize how consequential you really are,” Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) said with a smile.
Oh, fine, fine. Good to have that sorted out.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Mike Tyson

He so crazy. Fantastic boxer, though, back in his prime.

Tyson is lucky that he is a powerful man with fighting instincts, because he has a silly voice and is an idiot, a potentially lethal combination for most people.

"I normally don't do interviews with women unless I fornicate with them. ... So you shouldn't talk anymore. Unless, you wanna, you know."

Also, "I'ma gut him like a fish" is my new go-to smack talk.

Mark Ryden

Since he's graced our digital pages more than once, I think I should link to Mark Ryden, who creates bizarre and creepy and fantastic art. His online biography mentions "his masterful technique and disquieting content," which is, I think, entirely accurate. His book looks really interesting, also.

It's Spring Break....

...and that can only mean one thing.

fucktarded.

Tha Captainz First Attempt at BLOG: 01/04/2005

You can't overstate how funny I used to be.

hey computer whizzes! due to overwhelming demand...an update!

remember to keep thinking about what my secret identity might be!

what? a clue? you want a clue? well i'll tell you this...

i'm not who i may seem!

keep sleuthing, super-sleuths!

Seriously, WHO AM I?

Thursday, March 12, 2009

String and Stick Tricks

El Emigrante, an old game I rediscovered. It's addictively addictive.

I don't quite understand why people pay for simple games on, say, Xbox Live Arcade, when there are so many awesome free ones online.

Movies I should be ashamed of owning.

WARNING: Filmed in Baldwin County, Alabama.

Space does not work that way.

Largely thanks to Speculative Fiction, space is probably one of the most consistently inaccurately portrayed things in modern media, to the extent that complete falsehoods are widely accepted fact. This is a very specific kind of Did Not Do The Research, which may have been partially justified in earlier media as the Research back then wasn't up to much. Modern portrayals of space, however, still haven't changed much from the rock-filled, noisy place which will make an unprotected human instantly explode into clouds of ice.

Some of these are due to a lack of research or just uninterest. But most of the modern portrayals of this like are due to the Rule Of Cool (things with sound are cooler than things without sound – although not as scary, as a famous tagline pointed out), artistic license, or simply the belief that audiences wouldn't accept it any other way.
TV Tropes, which is worth checking out.

Garage Days Revisited: 04/26/2004

My final article. Submitted (and actually published) as 5 Things: The Last Meal.

1. We’ll start off with drinks: a shot of idiotic randomness chased with a somewhat boyish naivety. As an appetizer, strips of sarcasm, battered with relevance and fried; served with a dipping sauce of honesty (100% pretense free). The main course will be an ill-informed, exorbitantly verbose and grandiose diatribe with blatantly obvious anti-BSC flavors, pan-seared and garnished with gratuitous innuendo included only to get a rise out of you (ingredients may vary depending on editing). Finally, dessert will be an abnormally terse goodbye, served tongue-in-cheek and cold.

Note: Nothing I’ve ever done has been 100% pretense-free.

2. At my wedding reception, I want the caterers to serve steak niblets with a lobster bisque to dip them in. I don’t exactly know what portion of steak constitutes a niblet, but it sounds good.

Two Notes: 1) I no longer eat steak and 2) I will die alone.

3. See what calling it “the caf” has gotten us? Someone apparently thinks that we as college students have an aversion to polysyllabic words. Thus, in that unknown entity’s infinite grace, they shortened the title of Birmingham-Southern’s annual spring festival of debauchery to SoCo. Our tongues no longer tied up with its archaic title, we are freer to drink the sweet nectar of alcohol that will always be such an integral part of the celebration. Thank you, powers-that-be.

It’s funny how fondly I remember Southern Comfort despite never once actually going under the tent to see a band.

4. I read an editorial in a recent edition of the Vanderbilt student newspaper on the subject of the sexual equivalent of winning the Music City Bowl, something that I can only faintly fathom even seeing in print in a BSC publication. In fact I’m not even going to say what the subject is to avoid my column being hacked to indiscernible pieces. Let’s just say that the article was truly gripping. And since we here on the hilltop are nothing if not progressive, liberated, and open to free discussion, we too need a monologue on certain taboo topics. To truly become “Southern Ivy,” we must follow the footsteps laid down by the institutions that have the national reputation that this school would like to have. And the first step that we need to make is an acknowledgement of the true nature of college life. The hallmark of today’s revered schools is an open-minded and expressive student body, not a cloistered community of status-driven automatons shoveling piles of stillborn ideas into the flames of mediocrity.

I read every student newspaper in the country hoping to find an article about handjobs. Thanks, Vandy.

I’m not half as good a writer as I thought I was back then. And math school has only made me worse.

“…cloistered community of status-driven automatons shoveling piles of stillborn ideas into the flames of mediocrity.”

That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. And that includes this.

5. This is it. The last scratch on the lid of the coffin by a man buried alive. I hope someone heard me.

My final impression is the same as my initial impression. I’m a tool.

Later, boners.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Crest for Success: the SKEET sixteen day two

And that's how babies are made. Round of sixteen: OUT.

Atletico 2 - 2 Porto
Madrid Leg: 2 - 2
Porto Leg: 0 - 0
Porto wins on away goals.


Two teams that don't really belong here. Welcome to the world of unseeded draws.




Lyon 3 - 6 Barcelona
Lyon Leg: 1 - 1
Barcelona Leg: 2 - 5

Barca's ridiculously handsome front line brought the ruckus. Nobody is going to beat them.




Internazionale 0 - 2 Manchester United
Milan Leg: 0 - 0
Manchester Leg: 0 - 2


"Profligate" would actually begin to describe Manchester United in front of goal in this series. They still won. They're pretty good.




Arsenal 1 - 1 Roma
London Leg: 1 - 0
Rome Leg: 0 - 1
Arsenal wins 7 - 6 on penalties


The one English I would have liked to have seen shit a brick almost did.




You want your final eight? I'VE GOT YOUR FINAL EIGHT RIGHT HERE! Also too, they're in a scientifically computed order of likelihood of winning it all:
Barcelona
Manchester United
Liverpool
Bayern
Chelsea
Villareal
Arsenal
Porto

Later, losers.

BIRTH CONTROL IS SINFUL IN THE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES and also ROBBING GOD OF PRIESTHOOD CHILDREN!!

This book costs $135:

"Product Description
THIS IS A HOLYSPIRIT MANUSCRIPT BOOK: WHEN YOU BUY THIS BOOK YOU WILL BE READING A HOLYSPIRIT DIRECTED BOOK FROM GOD; & *CHRIST JESUS. THIS BOOK IS GODS HOLYSPIRIT VOICE: THE CALL FOR ALL CHRISTIANS & CHURCHES TO REPENT FROM ALL THEIR SINS: EVEN FROM FALSE CHRIST TEACHINGS. BIRTH CONTROL SINS HAVE CURSE THE CHURCH WITH SPIRITUAL WHOREDOM & FALSE WORSHIP. RESULTING IN THE PERSECUTIONS: AGAINST THE HOLY PEOPLE. THIS BOOK MAY BE REVISED: BECAUSE OF COMPUTER DICTATORS: MANY WORDS IN THIS BOOK: MADE HAVE BEEN CHANGED: TO>>DISCREDIT: THE AUTHOR. BUT IN TRUTH: I AM A HOLYSPIRIT CHOSEN ANOINTED DISCIPLE FOR GOD & CHRIST JESUS. EVEN FOR JEWS, MUSLIMS & GENTILE SINNERS. MANY PEOPLE WILL LEARN HOW TO> BECOME REAL BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN: THROUGH THIS HOLYSPIRIT BOOK & THROUGH THE PROTECTION & SUPPORT OF MY HOLYSPIRIT LIFE!! JOHN 3 & 15. ALL NATIONS WILL OVER COME THE SINS OF BIRTH CONTROL. *BECAUSE HOLY DOMINIONSHIP IS ONE OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT IN GENESIS 1;26-31. ALL BELIEVERS: WILL COME TO A HOLY VOW OF REPENTANCE: THROUGH GODS RESTORATION & THROUGH GODS ADOPTION VOWS. YES!! THE KINGDOM OF GOD & HEAVEN!! IS AT HAND!! FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE IN THE ONE CREATOR GOD & CHRIST JESUS OUR HOLYSPIRIT ETERNAL LIFE SAVIOR: SURELY YOUR NAMES WILL BE WRITTEN IN THE LAMBS BOOK OF LIFE!! *WHEN YOU SUPPORT & PROTECT MY HOLYSPIRIT LIFE. WE ARE BRANCHES >JOHN 15 MY WEBSITE: http://groups.msn.com/ChristianPowerHealthProsperityAndSoulREMEMBER: GOD HAS MADE ME A HOLYSPIRIT VOICE FOR THE BRIDE OF GOD & CHRIST JESUS IN 1996 GOD TOLD ME TO TEACH THE GOSPEL ON CABLE TELEVISION IN TUCSON ARIZONA. *CONCERNING THE SINS OF THE CHURCHES: & CONCERNING THE>LACK OF GIVING TO THE POOR & ORPHANS: CHRISTIAN CHURCHES SHOULD: BUILD MORE:> WATER WELLS: & BUILD LOW INCOME HOUSINGS: MATTHEW 25 & ISAIAH 61"
You can buy it! The product reviews are pretty good too. I learned about it here.

Me too -- five hundred of 'em


Remember when this came out? It's one of my favorite commercials ever. Especially the first 10 seconds or so.

Free throws

Basketball in the United States has changed in myriad ways over the decades, from flat-footed set shots to dunks, from crotch-hugging uniforms to baggy knee-length shorts, from the dominance of American players to the recent infusion of international stars.

But one thing has remained remarkably constant: the rate at which players make free throws.

Since the mid-1960s, college men’s players have made about 69 percent of free throws, the unguarded 15-foot, 1-point shot awarded after a foul. In 1965, the rate was 69 percent. This season, as teams scramble for bids to the N.C.A.A. tournament, it was 68.8. It has dropped as low as 67.1 but never topped 70.

In the National Basketball Association, the average has been roughly 75 percent for more than 50 years. Players in college women’s basketball and the W.N.B.A. reached similar plateaus — about equal to the men — and stuck there.
"For Free Throws, Fifty Years of Practice Is No Help"

Because the NCAA tournament is stupid.

...I've said it once, I've said it 4,096 times.


NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

GRAVITY BEAVER

"It may have been a train that struck you down, but it was gravity that pulled you inexorably towards the earth."
-Ancient Chinese Proverb


Crest for Success: the SKEET sixteen day one.

Four in, four to go. Just walking around Auburn, I can feel the excitement as a thick film on my neck.


Real Madrid 0 - 5 Liverpool
Madrid Leg: 0 - 1
Liverpool Leg: 0 - 4
There's only one word for the way Liverpool came out tonight: Gangbusters. Or maybe Murderdome. Either way, they deservedly pummeled the Spanish champions and gave Scousers more reason to wonder why this team hasn't won the English title in almost twenty years.


Villareal 3 - 2 Panathinaikos
Villareal Leg: 1 - 1
Athens Leg: 2 - 1


The luck of the Greeks runs out. I would describe it as 'win sausage,' but this isn't the sausage you want.




Chelsea 3 - 2 Juventus
London Leg: 1 - 0
Turin Leg: 2 - 2


No team from London has ever won the Champions League. The pride of London? The Monarchs, 1991 World Bowl Champions. Which leads me to the BIRMINGHAM FIRE. But let's focus.



Sporting 1 - 12 Bayern
Lisbon Leg: 0 - 5
Munich Leg: 1 - 7



Thump.

nationalized Citibank


What's weird to me is that, as this video's existence demonstrates, everyone realizes as soon as the government gets their hands on something, it goes to pot. Yet, had Bush or Obama or whoever done the correct thing (sit back and let this recession ride itself out), the same people would be freaking out because the government refused to "do something."

The lesson is, you're always being watched





The best of Google Street View.

From Geekologie.

Two sites

As I've mentioned before, one thing that strikes me about the internet is that there is a website for everything. With that in mind:


Cake wrecks, "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong."


Passive Aggressive Notes, "painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over."

3E Fears

...the flying orcas and the kids having fun, not the other stuff.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Who drinks a carton of milk they found on the floor?

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Arsenal

Location: North London.

Nickname: The Gunners. Also: Gooners.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: NON-COMMERCIAL FAIL. The Emirates Stadium (after the Dubai based airline.) Sellouts.

Crest: Boom!

Season So Far: A little below their standards, but still very much alive for the FA cup and the Champions League. Domestically, sitting in fifth place and in danger of missing out on next year's Champions League. They've had injury issues and they sold players before the season in a seemingly random fashion leaving them thin at key areas.

General vibe to a casual American fan: Gay. So gay. The word 'arse' is in their name. Their coach is a Frenchy French weiner. Most of their players are raging dickwads. Secret: I'm biased!

Blinders

I'm not a sentimental guy, but the horse trying to drink and not being able to made me tear up a little.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

3E party flyers: old school.

The Date: Seven years gone. March 8, 2002 (that's pre-3E, history majors.)

The Flyer:
The Party: Delta Mu Chi, the pseudo-forerunner of 3E, was known to throw a party or two. A surprising number of RAs showed up. For the uninitiated, The handsome devils gettin' x-ed up there are Filly and Scrotzilla, 3e's blonde bombshells.

3E approves

A little midnight edamame?

Saturday, March 07, 2009

WHAT?

UNLICENSED! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!

Tiger and pig

From "Let's Be Friends," which features "Touching photos of unusual animal friendships."

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Everton

Location: Liverpool, Merseyside. Literally across a park from their eponymous neighbors.

Nickname: The Toffees.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: Goodison Park.

Crest: There it is. Somebody squirted toothpaste on a pointy wang. I think the Latin there says something about Millsaps so fuck that.

Season So Far: It's Everton. They're in the FA cup quarterfinals and will finish in the top 6 in the EPL. Outside of the top four, they're the model of consistency.

General vibe to a casual American fan: The OTHER team from Liverpool. Also, Tim Howard: by far the best American player in the EPL right now. Every single season they're a lock to finish somewhere between 4th and 7th. A workmanlike, blue collar (literally!) team that isn't flashy but consistently beats the teams it should and gives hell to the top four.

Movies I should be ashamed of owning.

WARNING: LAME.

Saturday Morning Watchmen


Mildly related: I liked the ending of the movie better than the original comic book.

Friday, March 06, 2009

A liberal arts education is a terrible thing to waste

One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis and Clark have shared for generations is that a traditional liberal arts education is, by definition, not intended to prepare students for a specific vocation. Rather, the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop have a different purpose: They are prerequisites for personal growth and participation in a free democracy, regardless of career choice.

But in this new era of lengthening unemployment lines and shrinking university endowments, questions about the importance of the humanities in a complex and technologically demanding world have taken on new urgency. Previous economic downturns have often led to decreased enrollment in the disciplines loosely grouped under the term “humanities” — which generally include languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies, philosophy and religion. Many in the field worry that in this current crisis those areas will be hit hardest.

Already scholars point to troubling signs. A December survey of 200 higher education institutions by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Moody’s Investors Services found that 5 percent have imposed a total hiring freeze, and an additional 43 percent have imposed a partial freeze.

In the last three months at least two dozen colleges have canceled or postponed faculty searches in religion and philosophy, according to a job postings page on Wikihost.org. The Modern Language Association’s end-of-the-year job listings in English, literature and foreign languages dropped 21 percent for 2008-09 from the previous year, the biggest decline in 34 years.

“Although people in humanities have always lamented the state of the field, they have never felt quite as much of a panic that their field is becoming irrelevant,” said Andrew Delbanco, the director of American studies at Columbia University.

With additional painful cuts across the board a near certainty even as millions of federal stimulus dollars may be funneled to education, the humanities are under greater pressure than ever to justify their existence to administrators, policy makers, students and parents. Technology executives, researchers and business leaders argue that producing enough trained engineers and scientists is essential to America’s economic vitality, national defense and health care. Some of the staunchest humanities advocates, however, admit that they have failed to make their case effectively.

This crisis of confidence has prompted a reassessment of what has long been considered the humanities’ central and sacred mission: to explore, as one scholar put it, “what it means to be a human being.”
In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth

No. Randall Cunningham.

My favorite Dr. Gerard Leavenworth.



I find this whole series hilarious.

Put your tape decks on 'record.'



Seamless editing.

Garfield minus Garfield



More: here.

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Wigan Athletic

Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester.

Nickname: The Latics.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: NON-COMMERCIAL FAIL: JJB Stadium. Apparently that's an English sportswear manufacturer.

Crest: Just your average tree growing out of a crown, whatever, but check out the old one. There are Where's Waldo drawings with less going on.

Season So Far: Distressingly good. There's a big gap after the top six and Wigan have made firm statements all year that they're the seventh best team in the league.

General vibe to a casual American fan: Really? Just waiting for the big twist at the end of the movie where Wigan isn't actually this good. They're not interesting and never fill their stadium. Need to get relegated but they won't.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Babies are unsettling, reason #87: Giant Vaginas.

Classy visual aids. Presented as graphs representing vagina mass as a percentage of total mass. For somewhat more NSFW visual aids, change a female baby's diaper. It's crazy.


Jon Stewart on CNBC

"On" in the sense of "on the topic of," not in the sense of "appearing on."

Way to go, Royal Mail

This is kind of cool.
We may be living in the era of the email, but one young illustrator has proved that the art of correspondence is far from dead. While working for her degree at Glasgow School of Art Harriet Russell decided to find out exactly what lengths the men and women of the Royal Mail were willing to go to to ensure the safe delivery of her missives.

To put them to the test she concealed the addresses of 130 letters to herself in a series of increasingly complex puzzles and ciphers. Among the disguises she employed were dot-to-dot drawings, anagrams and cartoons. The answer, it seems, was very far indeed. Amazingly, only 10 failed to complete their journey back to her.

I remember at BSC, Isaac and those friends used to try sending letters with the minimum address necessary. I think just the box number and zip code was the minimum.

Shockingly, papajohns.com Bowl not a massive financial decision

For Rutgers, I mean. Not me.
Rutgers University collected $1.2 million for its trip to the PapaJohns.com Bowl last December. But by the time expenses were paid and the coaching staff given its performance bonuses, the school lost more than $184,000, according to reports filed with the NCAA.

While the football team's expenses were more than covered through the Big East Conference -- which pools playoff money -- the university spent more than $200,000 to send faculty, staff and 187 members of the band and cheerleader squads to the game.

Athletics officials said they kept a tight rein on expenses. Had the band and cheerleaders stayed home, they said they would have made $16,456.

"I am especially pleased that we could achieve our seventh straight victory and our third consecutive bowl championship and do so in a fiscally responsible manner," said interim athletic director Carl Kirschner.

The Papajohns.com Bowl is part of a long list of post-season games that are not part of the Bowl Championship Series. While they play a major role in college football, they have no impact on determining the sport's national champion.

Rutgers had downplayed the revenue impact of the game -- which it won in a come-from-behind victory -- long before it played out before a crowd of 38,582 at Legion Field on Dec. 29. While the big bowl games can generate millions in ticket sales, television contracts and other earnings, the Papajohns.com Bowl paid only $300,000 into the pool. Athletics officials had said they expected to break-even.
Via a college football site for winners.

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Fulham

Location: Hammersmith and Fulham, West London.

Nickname: The Cottagers.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: Craven Cottage.

Crest: Simple, slanty.

Season So Far: Compared to last season: absolutely brilliant. It took a fairly impressive escape one year ago but no such shenanigans should be necessary this year to stay up. Eighth place and one of the best organized defenses in the EPL.

General vibe to a casual American fan: Lots of American players. Last season, you could expect to see Keller, Bocanegra, Dempsey, and McBride start on an average weekend. Upper management realized the error of their ways and dumped all but Dempsey (although McBride is still fairly adored around the Cottage.)

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Fortune Cookie Revisited: Sometime in the Past

Ambiguous both in timeline and in extent, I'm really counting on this one coming through for me.

Some possibilities:

Tomorrow... an attractive woman hell-bent on pleasuring me.
The next day... an attractive woman hell-bent on pleasuring me.
Later this week... an attractive woman hell-bent on pleasuring me.
Any time it's convenient for her... an attractive woman hell-bent on pleasuring me.
Oh God I'm so alone... an attractive woman hell-bent on pleasuring me.

Rap music

"The writers of this blog love rap and all of its ridiculousness."
"It ain't my fault your girl be ho hoppin'. And matter fact, the last time you gave her loot to go shoppin', honey picked me up some dope shirts. It's because of me why she's walkin' crooked and her throat hurts."
- Big L, Who You Slidin' Wit'

WHAT A DICK.

I mean, this is the rudest most disrespectful thing ever.
Here.

Rejecting the very concept of a music video

Sleepwalking dog

This has been going 'round the old intertubes.

It's shockingly similar to how I wake up every morning.

3E Party Flyers: We Go Zerg part II: Cruise Control

The Date: February 6th, 2004.

The Flyer: The Party: Reports are conflicting. Recollections are hazy. One thing is certain. We definitely went Zerg.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Money ain't a thang.

Tha Captain is not concerned.

Department of Mathematics and Statistics Graduate Students,

I’m sure that most of you are well aware of the current economic
crisis. As a result of the impact on Alabama and the expected
diminution of funding, I expect that I will be obliged to cut back on
our graduate student support. I hope to support all the students who
are presently in good standing and on track in their programs. A
preliminary calculation indicates to me that we may not be able to
support more than a handful of students at the current levels. Next
year I expect that the majority of the assistantships will only be at
1/3 (or 3/8) time. I felt it necessary to inform you of this likelihood
as soon as possible so that you have time to make plans to conserve your
resources.

-Dr. Smith.

#*****************************************************#
Dr. Michel Smith
Professor and Chair
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Tha Captainz first attempt at BLOG: 11/30/2004

More nonsense from this, well, nonsense.

this is a little website i like to call my livejournal. it is where i post my most intimate thoughts and memories. perhaps one day i will reveal my secret identity.
Mood:equestrian
Music:spinal tap


The beginning of the greatest ruse ever constructed! Update: I've never actually revealed my identity. Not even Charlie knows who I am.

On grading and perspective

One

Two

I think the real issue is that education-as-consumption model that even liberal arts colleges and humanities departments have bought into, the idea that college is something you do because you can afford and are expected to, and its most (if not only) significant purpose is to prepare you for a higher-paying job.

Matthew's non theme based fancy dress party

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 11 Dec 2008 9.15am
To: Matthew Smythe
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: R.S.V.P.

Hello Matthew,
I agree that it is not very convenient and must admit that when I first received your invitation I was perplexed that it was on a Sunday night but who am I to judge. No, I am in apartment 3B. Our bedroom walls are touching so when we are sleeping our heads are only a few feet apart. If I put my ear to the wall I can hear you. I also agree with you that having a particular theme for your party may not be the best choice, it makes more sense to leave it open as a generic fancy dress party, that way everyone can come dressed in whatever they want. Once, I went to a party in a bear outfit which worked out well as it was freezing and I was the only one warm. As it won't be cold the night of your party, I have decided to come as a Ninja. I think it would be really good if you dressed as a ninja as well and we could perform a martial arts display for the other guests. I have real swords and will bring them. If you need help with your costume let me know, I have made mine by wrapping a black t-shirt around my face with a hooded jacket and cut finger holes in black socks for the gloves. I do not have any black pants so will spray paint my legs on the night.

It is a little hard to breath in the costume so I will need you to keep the window open during the party to provide good air circulation. Actually, I just had a thought, how awesome would it be if I arrived 'through' the window like a real ninja. We should definitely do that. I just measured the distance between our balconies and I should be able to jump it. I once leaped across a creek that was over five metres wide and almost made it.

Also, you mentioned in your invitation that if there was anything I needed, to let you know. My car is going in for a service next week and I was wondering, seeing as we are good friends now, if it would be ok to borrow yours on that day. I hate catching the bus as they are full of poor people who don't own cars.

Regards, David.
Ha! That's the "sent you a picture of a spider instead" guy.

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: West Ham United

Location: Confusingly enough, East London.

Nicknames: The Hammers (due to the shipbuilding industry rather than their club name), The Academy of Football.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: The Boleyn Ground aka Upton Park.

Crest: It's good that they didn't go the "Cinderella's Castle" route with the fortress there.

Season So Far: Financial headaches and trouble securing a shirt sponsor made them sellers in the transfer market, but they've still put together a not-horrible season.

General vibe to a casual American fan: Tough, combative, uneducated. Being from East London, it's safe to assume that their cockney fans are all exactly like the thugs from Guy Ritchie movies. They sport a history rife with hooliganism, even by English standards. President Obama is allegedly a supporter.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Holy cow

The median value of a home in Detroit is $7500.
It may be tough to get financing for a new car these days, but in Detroit you can buy a house with a credit card.

The median price of a home sold in Detroit in December was $7,500, according to Realcomp, a listing service.

Not $75,000. Remove a zero—it's seven thousand five hundred dollars, substantially less than the lowest-price car on the new-car market.

Among the many dispiriting numbers that bleakly depict the decrepitude of this onetime industrial behemoth, the steep slide of housing values helps define the daunting challenge to anyone who wants to lead this shrinking, poverty-pocked city of about 800,000 people.
Instead of getting a new car, I should have gotten two lots in Detroit. Some other things you can get for $7500:

A 2002 VW Passat

Sevenish 46" LCD flat screen TVS

A KitchenAid refrigerator

The best plan is probably to move people out of Detroit as quickly as possible. You could move 80,000 to each of the ten American cities larger than Detroit, and that would work. Or move 40,000 to the ten larger, and then 20,000 each to the next twenty. Or (this might be crazy) they could try lowering taxes and making it easier and cheaper for people to live and work there.

From here.

Marmaduke explained

"Marmaduke is forcibly dry-humping his owner-man. Marmaduke's attention-starved owner-lady blathers something about eating some weird kind of pie, but Marmaduke's perturbed/sassy glance towards the reader indicates that he cares infinitely less about her eating habits than about dry-humping."
-JOE MATHLETE EXPLAINS TODAY'S MARMADUKE


I am fascinated by the deluge of terrible comic strips we get every time we open a newspaper.

Primus


I love this video. Stupid Universal Music Group cocks mean slightly better version here, embedding disabled by request.

You can't spell EPIC FAIL without the EPL: Manchester City

Location: Manchester. It's really pretty clear.

Nickname: The Blues, City, the Citizens, the Billionaires.

Stately, Non-Commercial Stadium Name: STATELY FAIL. City of Manchester Stadium.

Crest: Wouldn't seem out of place on the wall at a Captain D's... in Nazi Germany.

Season So Far: They score a lot of goals, you've got to give them that. When they were bought by staggeringly rich Arabs at the beginning of the season, their sights were probably a little higher than tenth place. Not going to be relegated, but it's definitely going to take another year before all that oil money turns into a top four finish.

General vibe to a casual American fan: LOLZ. Arabian fat-cats throwing ludicrous amounts of money toward every big name in the sport and almost without fail being rebuffed heartily. Before this year, they were just the little brother in Manchester, now they're a punchline to soccer fans everywhere.