ECAC Regular Season Awards

Congratulations to Yale for winning the ECAC tournament and the automatic bid the the NCAA tournament.

Before the ECAC tournament started, the regular season awards were announced.

2010–2011 ECAC REGULAR-SEASON AWARDS
Most Outstanding Player: Chase Polacek, F, Rensselaer
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Calof, F, Princeton
Ken Dryden Award: Keith Kinkaid, G, Union*
Student-Athlete of the Year: Stephane Boileau, F, Union
Best Defensive Forward: Adam Presizniuk, F, Union
Best Defensive Defenseman: Brock Matheson, D, Union
Tim Taylor Award: Nate Leaman, Union**

Via USCHO.com

* Goalie of the Year
** Coach of the Year

Another New To Me Song

Teacher Dave and I were in the truck for Habitat for Humanity yesterday, and this song came of the radio (WEQX, yes, I was listening to commercial radio, and I found something that I liked on it. I am not proud. I do home that the next truck does have hook-ups for AV cables though.).



TD and I were trying to figure out who this was. The voice sounded a lot like Karen O., but the music did not sound like Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I suggested that it could have been the Sounds, as they do have a new album coming out, but the vocal were wrong.

Luckily, the DJ was able to answer our questions as to this band was.



They are The Naked and the Famous. Via Wikipedia, they are a Kiwi band that has been featured on television shows that I don't pay attention to (Vampire Diaries and Chuck) and was named part of the Sound of 2011 by the BBC.

I am chagrined that I have never heard of this band until yesterday. Thanks to iTunes, I was able to grab their album and give it a listen. It is one of those albums like Dying to Say this to You that I can see myself listening to often. Mostly as background music, but cool background music. I admit that it is a little (maybe cheesy is not the right word, but it is the one I am going with...) different from the music I have been listening to as of late. It is much more upbeat and well...popular.

Anyway, give The Naked and the Famous a listen. I can't tell you that you will love it, but hopefully you will like it.

A Bunch of Little Things

This is a complete mistake, and as Kempt points out, "while it’s not mechanically impossible to have sex while wearing a onesie, it does seem unlikely."

My father finally got his iPhone. I have suggested these apps for him.
1. Dropbox
2. PhotoShop Express
3. Darkroom
4. Google
5. Wikipedia
6. Urban Spoon
7. Urban Daddy
8. ESPN Score Center
9. CBS Sports
10. MLB At-Bat Lite
11. Mets Lifers
12. GL Golf
13. Slate
14. Atlantic Wire
15. Daily Beast
16. NY Times
17. HuffPost
18. Echofon
19. Skype
20. Google Voice
21. Hashable
22. Pandora
23. Public Radio Exchange
24. Words With Friends
25. Facebook
26. Foursquare
27. Qrank

Can you think of others?

In addition, as I was running around, I realized that I had forgotten my phone charger, and because I had been up since midnight, my phone was running down. I was able to find this. This is a great little device. It charges the iPhone quickly and no cords. I could see having this in my pocket or in my bag at all times and I could also seeing myself getting it for everyone I know who has an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Vulture has a great article about music at SxSW. It has a wonderful quote.

"This showcase isn’t the only thing that poses funny questions about age: There will be official panels, later this week, with titles like "I'm Not Old, Your Music Does Suck" (entertaining the possibility that there are reasons besides old-person grumpiness to feel like music has gotten worse) and "Hip-Hop Crossroads: Growing Up or Getting Old?," organized by the writer Dream Hampton."

Congratulations to England for their Six Nations championship. It was a very well played game, in this lay person's opinion.

Buying jewelry is always...interesting. I had not done it in years.

There is an event going on at Union tomorrow at the Nott Memorial to watch the NCAA Men's Hockey selection show. I do not know if I am going, but I am excited about it. Not making the tournament would be... devastating.

Finally, if you are going to go to a friends' birthday party, and you are drinking a lot on a common tab, it is not the responsibility of the birthday girl to pay for your drinks. That is rude at they very least, and it makes you an awful person.

ned shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

ned just shared an Instagram photo with you:

view full image

"Want! I have no clue what I would do with it but I want it. Use it instead of a safe word?"
(taken at Capital District Habitat for Humanity ReStore)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

ned shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

ned just shared an Instagram photo with you:

view full image

"Giving Clementine (the Habitat cat) some much needed Friday morning love"
(taken at Capital District Habitat for Humanity ReStore)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Remembering Bhopal

Can you name what is widely considered the world's worst industrial disaster? I'll give you some clues: it happened in India in 1984, has killed up to 25,000 people, has caused over half a million injuries, and involved a catastrophic gas leak at a Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) pesticide factory.

If you guessed "the Bhopal disaster," you are right. If you haven't heard of this disaster, however, you definitely are not alone.
http://news.change.org/stories/filmmaker-demands-us-take-responsibility-for-bhopal

No Flowers for Canadian SSMs

Had this been a straight couple getting married? That would have been no problem. Had this been a straight couple, where both parties had been divorced seven times? Yup, Evans would have provided flowers for that service, too. Had this been a wedding between serial adulterer Newt Gingrich and another woman? Yup, they would get flowers as well.

http://news.change.org/stories/canadian-flower-shop-says-no-flowers-for-gay-weddings

Neko Case from Couch By Couch West

Who doesn't love Neko Case? She is smart, funny, quirky, amazingly talented, and that combination of hot and cute that you can't quite put your finger on.

Well, the folks at Couch By Couch West have Neko playing guitar in her bed with her dog.Watch it at CxCW.

What The Awl asks is if, and rightfully so, this is, "literally the most charming thing ever?" That's a good question. A very good question. It just may be.

Via The Awl & Vulture.

As an aside, I once again have to express jealousy for my friends and such who are in ATX this week. I so wish that I could have been there this year. Maybe next year. Anyway willing to start making plans? Yes, I would want a music badge, but I would be happy with Interactive as well.

I am Mr. Roarke and you want to do what?!?

Of course it would play out like this...



"Does that midget do anal?" may be one of the funniest lines in the history or Robot Chicken.

What would your Fantasy Island fantasy be? As you may know, from being old and watching the show, the fantasy always had a dark side to it. What would you anticipate the downside of your fantasy to be?

More Fake Irish Music

Contributing to the interwebs being full of fake Irish music and fake people celebrating their "Irish-ness" (ponces), I contribute this.



The Young Dubliners - Blink

My contribution to this day

You know you love it.

Well, it makes me giggle.

Saving Paris Hilton

I was so excited when I saw the trailer of Battle: Los Angeles.

FAU was as well.

So...we saw it.

Can I tell you how awesome(ly bad) this film was?

(Mild Spoilers Ahead)

For those who like movies, it was a combination of Sands of Iwo Jima and ID4.

Every cliche save one (where the soon to retire Marine SSG has an ex-wife whom he still loves but his dedication to the Corp precludes his love for another human) was in place. The young (and green) Lieutenant with a young and very pregnant wife. The 17 year old new to the platoon whose mom signed the paper work. They young LC who is about to get married. The Corporal living up to his (dead) brother's memory. The geeky Air Force Technical Sargent who proves her worth and provides the technical details to help overthrow the alien menace. Oh, and the LC from Newark knows how to hotwire cars, buses, and if given the chance, probably one of the alien drones. There is one more classic one, but it would give away a scene that you should all relish and enjoy.

But Aaron Eckhart (who I like as an actor) is all the John Wayne-ie warfare cliches as SSG Michael Nantz. Every one. (Save the aforementioned ex-wife.)

And it is awesome.

Going into a film like this, you cannot expect brilliance and one of the reasons that FAU was so thrilled by this is that when you are given $75 million and decide to make the best B Movie that they can.

They owned it.

They piled on the cliches and awful dialog so powerfully when they stayed their hand for about ten minutes of the film, I turned to FAU and said, "I just want this to be over."

An example of the bad dialog:

(Over the body of a still functioning alien)
Civilian Woman: Maybe I can help.
Nantz: Are you a doctor?
CW: I am a veterinarian.

That is why Hollywood is where the magic happens, folks.

I suggest that every see this film on the big screen, and for those with a propensity for seasickness, the handheld shots are long and often.

May the Hoff Rise Up To Meet You!

May the Hoff rise up to meet you, may the Hoff be ever at your back. May the Hoff shine warm upon your face and the Hoff fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May Hoff hold you in the hollow of his hand.

What is your favorite "weird" food?

Everyone, or almost everyone, has a favorite "weird" food. Something that they love that other people will turn their noses up at. My father loves a combination of peanut butter, onion and bacon on a hard roll (don't know it until you have tried it) while my brother loves Pop Tarts and considers them part of a well balances diet.

My son will chew on a piece of nori and loves it.

My thing is Marmite. (That link takes you to the "Love" side of the Official Site. If you want the hate...well you know what to do.) Marmite on toast with some melting hard cheese is an awesomely savory snack. For a long time, Marmite on toast with butter was my breakfast every day. I have, on occasion, traveled with Marmite in a small jar in my luggage (very well protected, by the way).

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this culinary delight, from Wikipedia:

Marmite is made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing. The British version of the product is a sticky, dark brown paste with a distinctive, powerful flavour, which is extremely salty and savoury.


There is another version of Marmite made in New Zealand which is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT because everything the Kiwis does is kind of...well...odd. So, for an admittedly odd food, the Kiwis have an even odder version.

Marmite does have a Facebook page, and this combined with iWould means that you could easily find someone who likes this odd food too and would enjoy it as part of breakfast in bed.

So...

What is your odd food?

And I am going to be HIGHHHHHH!

Dan had never even heard of this before. I think it is a classic that should be shared with the world.

Brilliant while being completely surreal, and...

What is Shatner smoking?

Such a small town

One of the reasons I love the Albany area is because it is so small and everyone knows everyone else. On occasion, these interactions where social circles overlap become hilarious.

I just wrote out the narrative about why this was hilarious but...

Too many details for too many people.

Trust me, I laughed, and you can ask Fish all about it because I giggled like a school girl on poppers.

Using Insomnia for Useless Things

Insomnia has been kicking my tail this week, and I haven't been trying to sleep all that hard. Rather, when I am finding it too hard to stay awake (around 4 am) I sleep and wake up at 6:30 and start my day. What have I been doing for the past couple of days between 11:30 and say 3:30?

Reading.

It is no secret that I love speculative fiction and I always have.

Sometime on Sunday, I remembered a story about a generation ship made out of a gas giant where the core had been turned into a (reasonably) habitable world for post-humans.

So, I thought that I remember which story this world was in and I wanted to read it.

I started with Pushing Ice and when I got to page 300 or so, I realized that I was reading the wrong book. But...I felt compelled to read it again. So, I finished it.

Then I thought it may have been in Eon, so I started reading that. The difference is that I realized my mistake about one hundred pages in, but once again, I felt compelled to finish the book.

Unwilling to let the vagaries of my memory determine which wild goose chase I would be going on, and it being 2 am, I let my Google Fu help out.

Turns out the novel I was looking for is called Marrow and while the story was right on, I never read the book.

Never.

So I did some more searching and discovered that the novel was based on a short story of the same name.

Maybe I read that?

Some more searching, led me to it being published in The Hard SF Renaissance which I have read through and was sitting in my bedroom. So, I read it.

With all that build-up and all that work, it wasn't nearly as good as I remembered.

Happy Pi Day

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And then there is a new song

Well, new to me at least...

I had another moment when I was in a retail space and I heard a song, and I stopped and listened and then used Shazam to figure out what it was.



"Sometime around midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event.

I like it. I can't say exactly why...but I do.

You are welcome.

Happy Accident

I had to go shopping today. Well, had may be the wrong word, but I wanted to go shopping. I needed a new pair of pre-distressed jeans as my pre-distressed jeans have become fully distressed and one of my favorite pairs makes me look like I am in a crappy butt rock video from 1989. (Yes, I had those jeans then. *sigh*)

So, of to Macy's and a new pair of jeans. I also realized that I was running low on the scent that I normally wear. For the past three years, I have been wearing Yves Saint Laurent's L'Homme and liking it (more to the point, liking the reaction that it provided) and I asked for a bottle of that. The nice woman behind the counter picked it up, wrapped it up and put it in a bag and I paid for it. I never looked at it though.

When I got home, after a family dinner celebrating some sort of ethnic holiday, and I was listening to what ended up being a rather painful (like a kick to the midsection) Union Hockey loss to Colgate (more on this tomorrow), I went through my bags. I tried the jeans on, and once again, they made me happy. Then I unwrapped the box that the aforementioned woman so thoughtfully wrapped and bagged for me and I found not L'Homme but YSL's La Nuit De L'Homme. This is not the same. I am not one who lets the little things go, and this was...a BIG DEAL (in a very little way, I mean, look at Japan...if this is the worst thing that happens to me, I am golden.) that potentially could have RUINED MY EVENING (again, dramatics for effect, it didn't bother me that much).

While I was debating on what to do, (do I return it?) I wondered if a little change like this would be helpful.

So...

I opened it.

You know what? I like it. It is less citrusie than I usually wear, with a little more spice but it is a masculine scent and I like it a great deal.

Yep, a happy accident.

Now I am going to go back to my book and lament Colgate's improbable run through the ECAC playoffs.

Palin-Backmann 2012

"You're the state where the shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord," she said Saturday morning at an event organized by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. "And you put a marker in the ground and paid with the blood of your ancestors."

Michelle Bachmann fails political geography 101

H/T to Heather.

Weird

The combination of restless sleep, weird dreams, and Union's loss made last night and this morning...weird, so lack of a better word.

For the Union game, four unanswered goals in what seemed like four minutes was disappointing. I know it wasn't four minutes but it felt that way. It bothers me because I was happy about playing Colgate (I was rooting for them in their opening round series against RPI)) and I thought it would be a two game series. So tonight, we are playing at 7 at Messa Rink, and I am worried.

After the game, once I got home, I was...not depressed...but filled with a sense of dread. As if I could see us not winning the ECAC and being passed over for the NCAA tournament.

Then, I tried to go to be. Well, first, I fell asleep on the couch.

It was restless, as I was on the couch, and interspersed with odd dreams. One had me telling one of the filthiest jokes I have ever heard (Thanks to Teacher Dave for that and call me if you want to hear it.) and someone else responding with laughter and such.

Another dream had me searching for a date for a wedding because the date I had planned had flaked out on me, after telling me that she was "too busy" & she had "other things that she wanted to do". I have a fear that this dream is going to be more than prescient. Like, I have had some Spice and can see through time to a Golden Path covered in feces.