Thanks to the bass player from The Scarecrow Effect I ended up with a pair of tix to see Herbie Hancock at WPZ. I got to enjoy this show with my son. However, I feel like I owe my bass player a bottle of wine ... on principle.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Herbie Hancock 08/29/10 at WPZ
Thanks to the bass player from The Scarecrow Effect I ended up with a pair of tix to see Herbie Hancock at WPZ. I got to enjoy this show with my son. However, I feel like I owe my bass player a bottle of wine ... on principle.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Big Clubs
Seattle Sounders FC 0
CF Monterrey 0
August 25, 2010 - Qwest Field - Seattle, WA
CONCACAF Champions League Group Phase
Big clubs in the world of club soccer do certain things in the modern era.
Big clubs play over 40 or even 50 matches in "all competitions" every season.
Big clubs juggle these different competitions in order to win as many trophies as they can.
Big clubs use their entire roster to make certain that playing time is spread around and so that there is competition in training for more actual minutes and not merely for the core group.
Big clubs travel well.
Big clubs have supporters that travel well.
Big clubs make big moves when they need to to salvage seasons and not merely to play for the future. The future is always on their mind, but so is the now.
Now, the Seattle Sounders FC are working very, very hard to become a Big Club. I find this to be a worthy goal. This game at Qwest Field tells us an awful lot about just how close they are in many ways. For instance, over 22K for a midweek game with the tickets sold from a (as Arlo White put it) "standing start" is awesome. Both CCL games have had nice attendance. We also see what it means to be an elite team in this region in the quality and pace of the game. To lose at home 2-0 to a team as good as they played is no shame, but the margin does not tell you how close the play looked on the field ... good job boys.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
I don't like this hire
Seattle Seahawks 24
Green Bay Packers 27
August 21, 2010
Qwest Field - Seattle, WA
NFL Preseason
A couple of my friends have given me a hard time about just how much I dislike the Pete Carroll hire by the Seahawks. Well, in a couple years when he is gone it won't matter, but I did at least tell Big Blue at the last SCRABBLE night that I would rather be wrong because I would prefer the Seahawks win.
That said ... I probably would not have paid any attention to this game (it is preseason for #*+%'s sake) if a recently married couple from my soon to be disbanded soccer team (all right, I have played like 8 games over a couple years, but it felt like my team) hadn't handed over their season tix for this night.
So, for the second consecutive preseason I headed to a Seahawks game gratis ... only this time without quite as good a view of the Seagals.
Green Bay looks ready to contend and their #12 (our #12 was only ever worn by Sam Adkins) looks like a Pro Bowler.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Hummus
I decided to give making HUMMUS a try. It is remarkably easy, but I will likely go with tahini as my sesame paste in the future over straight sesame paste ...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
This is what payback looks like
Seattle Storm 111
Tulsa Shock 65
August 7, 2010
Seattle, WA - Key Arena
The largest margin of victory in WNBA history is what happens a few days later when the two teams meet a second time in short order after the worst team in the league upsets the best team in the league on the road.
This game was over early and the only question was the margin of victory. As a subset of that would be whether Tulsa would manage in 40 minutes the 60 points Seattle had scored in the first 40. Tulsa got to 65, but mostly because it became an open court game of two benches trying to kill off the clock.
Yes, the Marion Jones playing for Tulsa in the former sprinter ... hope she gets her life back together with this opportunity.
For me, I now only need to see 2 current WNBA teams to see the entire current league ... this is to go with the 1 MLB team and 3 MLS teams I currently need to see.
Tulsa Shock 65
August 7, 2010
Seattle, WA - Key Arena
The largest margin of victory in WNBA history is what happens a few days later when the two teams meet a second time in short order after the worst team in the league upsets the best team in the league on the road.
This game was over early and the only question was the margin of victory. As a subset of that would be whether Tulsa would manage in 40 minutes the 60 points Seattle had scored in the first 40. Tulsa got to 65, but mostly because it became an open court game of two benches trying to kill off the clock.
Yes, the Marion Jones playing for Tulsa in the former sprinter ... hope she gets her life back together with this opportunity.
For me, I now only need to see 2 current WNBA teams to see the entire current league ... this is to go with the 1 MLB team and 3 MLS teams I currently need to see.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Book List 2010 ... month seven
Book List Month Seven
Last year I hit my goal of 52 by my birthday in July and this year I am way, way ahead of that pace. It looks like I have a realistic shot at 144 or 12 a month at this rate. I still don't think I can do that, but at this point it is still plausible so I have some hope. The month I only read a couple is the one month that could kill this possibility. It still has not happened though, so I am continuing to crank through my reading lists. I also must admit I am getting a bit tired of all the series fiction in a way because I really have tended toward narrative non-fiction in recent years. It will be good to finish these various series in the coming months.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The penultimate book of a series has no choice but to leave a bunch of stuff unresolved ... and this does that.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
A solid finish to an enjoyable series.
Distant Waves: A Novel Of The Titanic by Suzanne Weyn
I find Tesla to be one of the most interesting people in history. This gift from my daughter places him on the Titanic amongst other real life characters and a group of fictional sisters.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
I am pretty much firmly entrenched in the whole Twilight universe at this point. So, when I picked this up for my daughter I just went ahead and sat down and read it. Actually, a few more of these from Meyer might not be a bad idea in re filling in the blanks of the world she created.
Dead To The World by Charlaine Harris
Sookie and Eric kissing in a tree ... oops, spoiler alert if you watch True Blood.
The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry
The second Joe Ledger novel. This time, instead of mad scientists trying to make the world into zombies we have hidden Nazis trying to kill everyone that doesn't look like them through genetic diseases. As I read that it doesn't sound very good, but it actually is an enjoyable read if you like thrillers.
Time and Materials: Poems 1997-2005 by Robert Hass
Every once in a while it is good to grab a book of poetry. And, even though I found Hass' use of language to be enjoyable and his ability to paint a picture with words to be quite good, it really is hard to sit down and simply read a book of poetry straight through. Poems really should be read, reread, and mulled upon.
Memories of the Future (Vol. One) by Wil Wheaton
TNG was awful in a really entertaining way in its first season. To read the first hand accounts of the first half of a first season nearly as bad as Star Trek V: The Final Frontier from someone who was there and loves it as much for its flaws as its future greatness is worthwhile.
Burning Chrome by William Gibson
A collection of short stories from scifi icon Gibson was something I just grabbed off the shelf when I needed a book. His ability to look into the future to create near future realities is amazing. I wish someone else had played Johnny Mnemonic in the film version of one of these shorts, but so be it.
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett
There is a real anti-intellectual and enti-reading element to our modern culture. The fact that England still has a monarchy is kind of silly. That is what this novella is about.
Beatrice And Virgil by Yann Martel
I had the good fortune to hear Yann Martel read from this novel this Spring. I found myself flying through this novel and really enjoying it. I was not certain where he was taking us as it wound down and then boom it hit and I did not see that coming. Martel is a true literary genius.
July total = 11 / YTD = 85 (goal 100)
Last year I hit my goal of 52 by my birthday in July and this year I am way, way ahead of that pace. It looks like I have a realistic shot at 144 or 12 a month at this rate. I still don't think I can do that, but at this point it is still plausible so I have some hope. The month I only read a couple is the one month that could kill this possibility. It still has not happened though, so I am continuing to crank through my reading lists. I also must admit I am getting a bit tired of all the series fiction in a way because I really have tended toward narrative non-fiction in recent years. It will be good to finish these various series in the coming months.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The penultimate book of a series has no choice but to leave a bunch of stuff unresolved ... and this does that.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
A solid finish to an enjoyable series.
Distant Waves: A Novel Of The Titanic by Suzanne Weyn
I find Tesla to be one of the most interesting people in history. This gift from my daughter places him on the Titanic amongst other real life characters and a group of fictional sisters.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
I am pretty much firmly entrenched in the whole Twilight universe at this point. So, when I picked this up for my daughter I just went ahead and sat down and read it. Actually, a few more of these from Meyer might not be a bad idea in re filling in the blanks of the world she created.
Dead To The World by Charlaine Harris
Sookie and Eric kissing in a tree ... oops, spoiler alert if you watch True Blood.
The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry
The second Joe Ledger novel. This time, instead of mad scientists trying to make the world into zombies we have hidden Nazis trying to kill everyone that doesn't look like them through genetic diseases. As I read that it doesn't sound very good, but it actually is an enjoyable read if you like thrillers.
Time and Materials: Poems 1997-2005 by Robert Hass
Every once in a while it is good to grab a book of poetry. And, even though I found Hass' use of language to be enjoyable and his ability to paint a picture with words to be quite good, it really is hard to sit down and simply read a book of poetry straight through. Poems really should be read, reread, and mulled upon.
Memories of the Future (Vol. One) by Wil Wheaton
TNG was awful in a really entertaining way in its first season. To read the first hand accounts of the first half of a first season nearly as bad as Star Trek V: The Final Frontier from someone who was there and loves it as much for its flaws as its future greatness is worthwhile.
Burning Chrome by William Gibson
A collection of short stories from scifi icon Gibson was something I just grabbed off the shelf when I needed a book. His ability to look into the future to create near future realities is amazing. I wish someone else had played Johnny Mnemonic in the film version of one of these shorts, but so be it.
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett
There is a real anti-intellectual and enti-reading element to our modern culture. The fact that England still has a monarchy is kind of silly. That is what this novella is about.
Beatrice And Virgil by Yann Martel
I had the good fortune to hear Yann Martel read from this novel this Spring. I found myself flying through this novel and really enjoying it. I was not certain where he was taking us as it wound down and then boom it hit and I did not see that coming. Martel is a true literary genius.
July total = 11 / YTD = 85 (goal 100)
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