Saturday Morning Summary

Union Hockey

Union won last night. There was a disputed goal and there is some controversy about it but...Union won their first NCAA Playoff game yesterday!

The Union win was the only game that I picked properly. (Though, I am not unhappy about being wrong about Cornell v. Michigan.)

Look at this though:

Ugly.

Tonight we play UMass-Lowell. We should win.

Plans

So, I am either watching the game and eating ribs with a cute blonde tonight or...I am going to a wine tasting with a adorable red head. Both sound appealing for different reasons however, if it is the latter, you know that I will have the game on via my iPhone because I am classy like that. My plans are dependent on what the cute blonde decides what to do.

Media

So, I listened to the Nerdist interview with NPH while I went for my run this morning, and Chris was talking about the Magic Castle (which NPH is the president of) and kept referring to the "tricks" that were going on.

Part of me was hoping that NPH would tell Chris that "They're illusions, Chris. Tricks are what prostitutes do for money." (Looks at children.) "Or cocaine." (And if you don't get the reference, I pity you.)

Workout

Because I wanted to avoid the rain, and because I have a number of things that I want to get done today (which means that I will get nothing done and will end up watching hockey all day), I went for my run as soon as I woke up. I thought I would be up early enough that running down Rt. 7 towards Frear Park would be okay because there would be a lack of traffic, therefore a lack of burnt hydrocarbons. I was wrong, and it was difficult. Instead of retracing my route, I ended up running though a neighborhood. I hope that they did not think it too odd to see me running through their very residential neighborhood. After I finish writing this up, I am going to finish my stretching and do a light wait workout. I have a goal. I am trying to meet it. Though, I am taking a weird combination of supplements to ensure that I am able to walk in the morning.

The Friday Omnibus Post

The Run
I took advantage of the continuing gorgeous weather (more on the weather later) to go for a run at lunch.

Seriously, it is beautiful out there.

The disturbing part, aside from that after a week, my lungs are already a lot more clear, was not that I felt good and could have kept running but that halfway through I saw a turkey vulture flying overhead.

The Weather
The weather this week has been wonderful. Yes, I find it irksome when people complain about the weather but when you praise the weather, I am cool with it. Yesterday, I was able to work from my deck for the bulk of the afternoon. When I went to my friend A's house for dinner (more on that later) last night, I noticed that I was feeling sun kissed. It was even more apparent when I went for my run this afternoon. I am getting good color and that is wonderful because I want to look my best next week (for a couple of reasons and no, they are none of your business). As you know, I do not look good without a good base.

Dinner
I cooked for A last night because as A admits, she cannot cook, but she can bake. I did something simple. Oven roasted pork chop (olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper) with jasmine rice and mixed vegetables.

Now, the vegetables were the real hit. They were simple. Sweat half a white onion in olive oil and faux butter and then add a cup of mushrooms, a cup of organic sweet corn, and a package of organic cut spinach. Let cook down and together, add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some red pepper flake and a little bit of balsamic. Serve hot over rice. (A, please pass this on to M.) Easy and tasty. (Oh, and very healthy)

There was a nice beer to go with the meal.

I love Southern Tier.

The Hunger Games
Yes, the Hunger Games are everywhere today. These are two things that stood out to me as being more than awesome.

1) Being mean to teens. (Who says that all bullying is bad?)

Trolling those who are waiting in line. (Mediaite)

2) The Cruel Policy for Sold Out Shows.

Union Hockey
In less than two hours, Union will be playing Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Hockey Tournament. I will be watching and rooting for the Dutchman. Go U!

Union did get a really good write up in today's New York Times.

Pull quote that is awesomesauce: "Michigan State has a larger student population, about 48,000, than Union has living alumni."

Finally...

Happy Birthday, Fish. You are a great friend even as you are a pain in the butt. I hope that you have a great day and I look forward to celebrating with you very soon.

Weird Wonderful Stuff

This morning was surreal. Between the sleep deprivation and the tasks I needed to complete, I was laughing at myself and the choices that I had made by 9 am. (Yes, I am sure that a bunch of you automatically laugh at the choices I have made and I am cool with that.)

Anyway...

Today is Talk Like A Shatner Day (as it is William Shatner's, noted author and speaker...he may have acted, birthday.). Talk like a Shatner, folks.

Today's Questionable Content has provided me with the real reason to leave the seat down. Finally.

Was I the last person to see this?


And this is an awesome idea. Ad placement in The Hunger Games:

Who invented the Whoopie Cushion?

There is a new episode of The Daly Show on Shelton Films' You Tube.



This one has an appearance of Whoopi Goldberg.

It made me chuckle.

(I mentioned this series of films last week, with A Little Less Douche.)

Three Things At Four In The Morning

1) Have you watched the trailer for Blood & Chrome? Watch it. Watch it now.

2) According to Splitsider, Community has good enough ratings to return for another season. I know, I know, you want #sixseasonsandamovie.

3) WTF had Marc interviewing, and playing music with, Mary Mack. Okay, I had never heard of her, but I find her persona adorable.

The Drums at SxSW

I have not been secretive about my love of the Drums and I was happy to see this video from SxSW show up on IFC.com



There is also an interview with the guys from the band on IFC's page.

Via IFC.

Marmageddon is an awesome neologism

"Food company Sanitarium said on its website that supplies "are starting to run out nationwide" after "our Christchurch factory was closed due to earthquake damage".

Even Prime Minister John Key said he is rationing his personal supply.

Sanitarium Marmite is a variation on the UK's Marmite."

BBC News - 'Marmageddon' grips New Zealand as Marmite supply falls

A) The UK Marmite, which is different in flavor, is still available and tasty. On toast with butter, it is divine and apart from being a little high in sodium, it is really healthy for you.*

B) If you have not tried it, do not knock it.

*It is a great source of protein for vegetarians. When I was a good vegetarian, I was having it three or four times a week. Someone, I think Sandor, once gave me a Marmite cookbook. It is wonderfully versatile.

Via The Awl

The Mix Tape

I may have suggested on Facebook the other day that I wanted to have someone to make a mixtape for. Not that I would make a tape (does anyone still have a tape recorder?) but Mix CD sounds odd and playlist that I put on a flashdrive is just wrong. I like making mix tapes. Maybe it stems from my time at WRUC but I was making them in high school, which proves that I am a child of the 80s (When The Mixtape Ruled).

So, I was thinking about this yesterday and I came to a decision about how it would set up.

Here it is:

1) Bibio - Lover's Carvings



2) Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats



3) The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition



4) The Naked and Famous - Girls Like You



5) Matt Nathanson - Faster



6) Sleater Kinney - Leave You Behind



7) Arcade Fire - Ready to Start (Live)*



8) The Airborne Toxic Event - All At Once



9) The Drums - How It Ended



10) Thom Yorke - Black Swan



11) The Mountain Goats - Oceanographer's Choice



What would be on your mixtape? Who would you make your mixtape for?


*Yes, I do have the mp3 of this video. It is my favorite version of the song.

Edit at 10:43: And I realized after I posted this that I left one out...



Wild Horses and in this case, I prefer the Sundays version to the Stones.

Monday Monday

Questionable Content had a great cartoon today. Sometimes the best gift is your child giving you a hug and telling you that they love you.

In light of the TAL decision to refute their report on FoxConn, the Awl has decided to go with a piece about how everyone thinks that David Sedaris is a liar. Gawker has a piece on someone else who was "duped by Mike Daisey".

In New York Magazine, David Edelstein has a great interview/essay with Will Ferrell. Highlight: "‘Okay, you don’t like it, I’m going to make sure you really hate it,’ so I would just take my time. I don’t know, it was like a perverse joy in the agony of it being so painful. I can’t explain that."

Rick Santorum was on Morning Joe. It is worth the watch.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Finally, does the act of writing something out make it true for you? Over the weekend, I sent a message to a friend, and told them something that I did not quite believe as I was typing (not that it was a falsehood, I was trying to be tactful) and as soon as I hit "Send" it became the truth. Is it the power of suggestion or something else? Just curious.

Picking Your Bracket

Yes, the basketball people do get all the fun when it comes to Bracketology, but...after this weekend, most of your brackets are f****d, plus, hockey is better than basketball.

Oh, and Union is the number three seed in the NCAA tournament!

Here is my bracket. You can fill yours out HERE. We can compete against each other if you join the group AFMUnionHockey. (The password is GoU).

The Plan

Before I get to the plan of the day, let me share two things and ask one question.

1) I am so very proud to be a Dutchman today. The Union College Skating Dutchmen defeated Harvard 3-1 last night to win their first ECAC post season tournament.

2) I watched the first ten minutes of the Atlas Shrugged movie on Netflix. I was really disappointed.

3) Why does Bully Hill advertise at the TD Banknorth Center (if you call it the Garden, I will cut you.)? I have not seen their advertisements in Buffalo or Manhattan. (Sorry, I haven't watched an Islanders or a Devils game in years.)

Okay...on to the plan:

(in no particular order)

• Laundry
• Get a good run in. (As I mentioned, yesterday's run was truncated.)
• Misc. chores
• Season finale of the Walking Dead (see new favorite image below)
• Make the best mix cd ever.
• Figure out where Union is playing next weekend (The Bracket and seedlings are announced at noon.)

Finally, special thanks to A, S, and F for being great friends. You are all awesome and I appreciate you more than I can express.