Thursday, October 20, 2005

another book list

Not that we really need another list or anything, but who am I kidding? I love this stuff. I have a strange fascination with lists, especially those relating to books, movies, sports, etc. Especially books. In this case, it's Time Magazines recent 100 Greatest Novels.

Enjoy.

berkeley to pasadena

Well, I meant to write about the win at Berkeley much sooner, but to be honest, I've only recently recovered from that experience. That was one of the most draining sporting events I've ever attended. I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. The Beavers offense did their level best to hand that game to Cal at every opportunity, but our defense and special teams bailed them out almost every time. And while I was very happy to see our run game finally get going, it was a little disheartening (ok, more than a little) to watch our offense turn 4 redzone trips into 9 points. Brutal.

Still, the Beavs came out with a much-needed win, one that could mean all the difference this season. Wins over teams like Washington State, Arizona, Stanford, those are teams that are very beatable, and so far, we're on the right track. Games against Cal and UCLA are ones we need to steal if we want more than 6 wins this season. And we do, dammit!

Before the game, I was thinking that we needed to steal one win in this two game stretch from Berkeley to Pasadena, and now we've got a head start on it. If we can take this next one in Pasadena (which, frankly, I'm not sure we will) then the season will be set. If we can establish the run, keep the defense and special teams rolling, AND get Matt Moore to stay under control and playing smart, we can take it. Those are some big "if"s, but they're not out of the question.

And now it's official...we own Memorial Stadium!

Friday, October 14, 2005

futbol

World Cup fever is officially upon us! As of Wednesday, all but a handful of spots in the greatest tournament on Earth have been filled up. It was a pretty exciting day of qualifying, and of course, I got to watch none of it. Given the success of the U.S. squad at the 2002 World Cup, you would think awareness and coverage of the final qualifying matches for the 2006 tourney would be at least somewhat improved from last time. Needless to say, the improvement was minimal.

Still, we're coming closer and closer to next June, and even closer to the opening round draw, where we'll find out where everyone stands for the group stages. It should be an amazing summer of futbol, and I'm getting stoked for it already.

slippin' and slidin'

I've already started to slow down with the blogging. It's a shame, I know, but that beginning burst of energy has faded somewhat, and I've been pretty busy. This has been a crazy month, and it's not slowing down anytime soon.

I head up to Berkeley tomorrow morning for the OSU-Cal game, so it's doubtful I'll be posting much this weekend. HOWEVER, I remain committed to posting pictures of Derek's epic housewarming party, and now that I've got them on my computer, it's only a matter of time before they are online for the world (or, the three of us that check that this blog) to see. Until then, though, I'm preparing myself for Saturday's game.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

hanging with mom

I showed my mom around L.A. this weekend. It was great to have her around, and she definitely hooked it up with the cooking and cleaning! The apartment looks like a brand new place. A very nice upgrade. And as a bonus, I'll be eating leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next two weeks. Outstanding!

Thursday, October 06, 2005

a little longer

It's already taken longer than I would have liked, but it looks like the posting of party pictures will have to be delayed a little longer. I haven't been able to get the pictures on my computer yet, and the Moms is coming into town this weekend, so I'll be busy showing her the sights and sounds of L.A.

stories of a stranger

If you haven't checked out the new O.A.R. album yet, go pick it up. I've been grooving on it for the last few days now and it just keeps growing on me. It's definitely a different sound than their previous work, but I think it reflects some positive changes for the band.

It's far and away the best-produced of their albums, and all the songs are well put together and tightly focused. That's not to say that there isn't some jamming, but it doesn't have the live studio recording sound that their previous albums did. My only complaint has been that the saxophone is a little scarce on this one. I've really liked how they've built Jerry's sax work into their sound over the last few years, and I've always thought that it is what sets them apart from so many other alt rock bands. On Stories of a Stranger we don't get as much sax as I'd hoped, as it seems to have been shifted to the background for the time being. It's not that the songs aren't good the way they are, I just feel they could be even stronger. 52-50 is easily the closest they've ever come to capturing the raw energy and power of their live performance, and it happens to be built around the sax. Like Christopher Walken, I've got a fever and the only presciption is more SAX!

Seriously though, the album as a whole is great. The more I listen to it the more I like it, and I think the band is continuing to improve as musicians. Their live sound is still what drives their success, but this album is a step in the right direction for their studio work. I think that their next album will continue this shift towards a more complex sound, and I'm hoping it will incorporate Jerry a bit more, but for now, I'm loving Stories of a Stranger.

Monday, October 03, 2005

some quick notes

The new O.A.R. album (Stories of a Stranger) comes out tomorrow, so if you haven't pre-ordered it already, you can pick it up from Best Buy for $9.99 tomorrow. I haven't kept up with their new stuff like I usually do, but I'm definitely heading over during lunch to pick it up.

Also, pictures from Saturday evening's festivities are still forthcoming, but I haven't got them from Derek yet. As soon as I do, the analysis, commentary, and laughter may begin. From what I hear, there are some real gems, but I'm not sure they'll be too flattering. We'll see.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

post party reflections

Derek's housewarming party went off without a hitch last night. The morning after, however, did not go as smoothly. I'm still in recovery mode, but as soon as I feel up to it, I'll post some pictures and some post party analysis.

saving the season

Saturday's win was huge for the Beavers! Washington State is a team that we match up with well talent-wise, and we got them at a good time. They were coming off a bye week and hadn't yet played a team with Pac-10 caliber athletes. I think they are a solid team, and with a few more games under their belt, they will be all right, but that was a game we had to win. A loss there and we're sitting at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference. That could easily have finished off any chances of making a bowl game. The losses to Louisville and ASU were brutal to watch, but they were games we were expected to lose. After such lopsided losses, a third loss in a row would have been pretty much impossible to recover from.

Now the Beavers need to prepare themselves for Cal and hope that the defense can step up and give the offense a chance to win it. The secondary has been atrocious so far, and a Jeff Tedford offense isn't exactly what we want to see next, but there's still time for the D to turn it around. We'll have to wait and see if Mike Riley can scheme up a way to finally get some pressure on the opposing quarterback.

More to come as game time approaches.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Inaugural Address (continued)

I guess it's time to do this thing. I've always been horrible about keeping up to date with emails, so a blog doesn't seem like my cup of tea, but maybe it will inspire me to be more consistent with my correspondence to friends. In fact, a couple of my friends inspired me to start this page, so I should probably start off with some shout-outs to them.

If you want to hear what my roommate Steve has to say about life, religion, or the combination of the two he calls the Chicago Cubs, go here.

And for those of you that know and enjoy Wendy Batt's emails (if you're still privileged enough to receive them), you'll probably already know what's going on with her, but check out her blog to catch up on anything you've missed.

I'll get links to both those sites, as well as a few others, up in the Links section as soon as I feel motivated to update it.

Alright, that's enough of the of the intro-type stuff. I'm still learning how to do this, so you'll have to forgive the sorry state of this first post. From now on though, it'll be time to get down to business. I'll try to keep everyone (and by everyone I mean myself and the 2 or 3 people I force to read this--sorry Steve and Lauren) up to date with news and thoughts on the Oregon State Beavers football team, the Portland Trail Blazers and their quest for an NBA title, and whatever random ideas and recommendations I have about books. I can't make any guarantees about how often I'll post, but hopefully I'll have something to say now and then. Until next time, kids!