My Bloody Valentine

Not sure if any of you are familiar with this group, but at one time, they were at the top of my faves list. Looks as if they are going to re-release their 1991 album, Loveless, via the internet and also on vinyl? How interesting.

Sooie!

Go Razorbacks! What a crazy game -- Arky knocked off LSU in a wild triple OT game!

Now, hopefully the Tigers can open up a can of whoop ass on Alabama tomorrow in the Iron Bowl (or "Arn Bowl" as they say in these here parts!)

casa degli orrori

What a very sad story -- the horrible murder of a British exchange student in Italy. The story is here.

This really hits close to home for me as we were just over in Italy with a group of university students in May. We stayed in Siena, which is about 65 miles west of Perugia.

I guess shocked best sums up my thoughts/feelings about this.

Campin' Photos

Goin' Campin'

This evening, Eli and I will be camping. I hope to take some pix with my new phone and maybe try to blog from the phone. Uh, whatever. You know how terrible I am with keeping up with the blog ;)

I am sure we will have a great time :)

-- Live, from high atop the Hotel Palomar --

Just arrived in DC yesterday afternoon. The hotel is absolutely fabulous and is in a great location -- Dupont Circle.

This morning I went for my morning walk down to Georgetown -- gorgeous weather!

Even had time to get in a little bit of shopping. Today I had the pleasure of shopping at the Burberry store :)

Tomorrow we are going to see some book learnin' in action -- I mean, we are going to a few museums. My favorite is the Air and Space.

Signing off for now.....

How well did I do?

Here are the final scores of the SEC games I picked this week (actual scores are in red):

Thursday:
SC 38 UK 23
SC 35 UK 34

Saturday:
UF 24 LSU 28
UF 17 LSU 28

UT 35 UGA 14
UT 27 UGA 24

AU 35 Vandy 7
AU 34 Vandy 17

Bama 30 Houston 24
Bama 42 Houston 21

Ole Miss 24 La Tech 0
Ole Miss 45 La Tech 14

MSU 30 UAB 13
MSU 37 UAB 21

UK vs. the other USC

This has been a fairly interesting SEC game to watch. Of course, I must disclose that I am a Spurrier fan. *GASP* How can a UT fan be a Spurrier fan? First of all, I think Spurrier is a pretty good guy and he does not take himself too seriously. Love that. Also, he has a lot of confidence -- gotta love that as well.

My picks for SEC games for this week:

Thursday:
SC 35 UK 34

Saturday:
UF 17 LSU 28
UT 27 UGA 24
AU 34 Vandy 17
Bama 42 Houston 21
Ole Miss 45 La Tech 14
MSU 37 UAB 21

Office Linebacker

Blah, blah, blah. I have been a bad blogger and have neglected my blog :(

Once soccer season is over, I have major plans for this blog. Just you wait and see ;)

For the meantime, I will post some silly YouTube videos.

Backlogged

I am so far behind with posting :( My goal this weekend is to post more photos and stuff. I do know you are awaiting with bated breath.....

From Popular Mechanics

(image from www.popularmechanics.com)

Bladerunner at 25

This article takes a look back at the brilliance of this film. OK, I know, I am a bit biased since this is one of my favorite movies of all time. The sets are amazing; the spaces look as if Frank Lloyd Wright designed them; and the videography is wonderfully futuristic yet does not look as if it is a film from the early 1980s.

Week No. 2 of the summer basketball league

Unfortunately we could only stay for 30 minutes of the first game and my camera battery only lasted for a few photos. Former UT player Ron Slay was pretty funny this evening -- he did a few cute showboating moves after he made a shot. Am I allowed to use "cute" to describe a basketball move? Anyway, I think he was on the First Tennessee team. Here are a few photos from the first game:

China boosts African Economies, offering a 'second opportunity': Trade between China and Africa reached a record $55 billion last year, much of it coming from oil and metals.
The Christian Science Monitor
By Danna Harman

This article caught my attention. Get this:

Sudan's experience is hardly unique. There is more trade going on today between China and Africa than ever before. In the late 1980s, trade between the country and the continent was $12 million. Last year, according to official Chinese figures, it reached a record $55 billion. In 1991, Chinese direct investment in Africa was less than $5 million a year. In 2006 – China's official "Year of Africa" – it reached $1.25 billion, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Sudan is the No. 1 recipient of that investment.

"The Chinese have big machines and factories and they work day and night ... and at the end of the day this means we can go shopping," says Jacob Marial, a rebel-leader-turned-bicycle repairman in Rumbek. "My wife likes green tea toothpaste."

Pac Man Jones

To paraphrase a local sportscaster, if you are in a stripclub and you see Pac Man Jones walk in, LEAVE!

Everytime there is a story about him, it always involves him being questioned about some bizarre event. Everytime he was never at the scene, just a person of interest. Now he has been charged with a crime.

It will be interesting to see how the NFL and the Titans will deal with him. I am sure it is all about the legal language of his contract.

Stay tuned.....

'Being' versus 'Having'

A very interesting article about how the concept of luxury is evolving. It's not just about the Bvlgari sunglasses, but more about the experience of being somewhere. The emphasis is more about "luxury service" rather than luxury goods. But remember, this is primarily for the rich, by the rich. Having said that, I do think there is something to learn from this concept. I hope to find and embrace all of the meaningful experiences in my life.

Secret Habits of the Super Rich: The best things in life aren't necessarily flashy objects but discreet, meaningful experiences.
Newsweek
Rana Foroohar

Sevierville/Pigeon Forge

This afternoon we took Eli and his friend, Alex, to play minature golf near the Five Oaks/Tanger outlets in Sevierville. They even went into the arcade. I think they had a great time. Here are some photos :)

Images from Carr Street (Chattanooga)

Here are some photos from our trip to Chattanooga. We were checking on the progress of the Howard High School students and the UT Architecture students. This summer they are building two houses that the Howard High School students designed in the spring (yes, the high school students).

Forgot about this photo.....

Sunday--Monday

The past two days have been great! Yesterday we went for a hike up to Abrams Falls in Cades Cove. Although the weather was hot, we had a great hike. We made sure to bring along plenty of water.

This evening we went to the first games of the Pilot Rocky Top basketball league. The games are held at Bearden High School in West Knoxville. The place was packed and rather warm but we had a great time anyway. Coach Pearl was in attendance -- he had the gaggle of sportswriters/casters hanging around him.

Here is the story from the KNS about the league:

Summer league to feature top players

Vols could be part of basketball at Bearden

By MIKE GRIFFITH, knsgriff@aol.com
May 2, 2007

A summer basketball league featuring current and former University of Tennessee men's players is coming to Bearden High School in Knoxville.

Andre Whitehead, an enterprising journalist who runs a Tennessee High School basketball Web site, put the Pilot Rocky Top League together with sponsorship from Pilot, appropriate sanctioning from the NCAA and the blessing of Vols' coach Bruce Pearl.

Whitehead, 42, said the model he used for the league is Iowa's "Prime Time League,'' which has been in existence some 20 years.

"That league has gotten so big that some of their games are shown on television and the statistics appear in the newspaper,'' Whitehead said. "I just felt this was something Knoxville needed with the emergence of basketball.''

Admission and parking for the games is free. The games will be played at Bearden High School on Monday and Wednesday nights from June 18 through July 16 at 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

There will be six 10-member teams made up of current collegiate players from schools' within a 100-mile radius of Knoxville, along with former local players and current and former high school players, Whitehead said.

NCAA rules dictate that there be no more than two Division I players on the same team. The league will hold a draft to disperse players to the teams, each of which has a different sponsor.

The News Sentinel is one of the businesses sponsoring a team this summer.

Whitehead said that in addition to current Vols, UT signees Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams could play. Former UT players CJ Watson and Jon Higgins are being courted to play, as is former Bearden standout Tony White Jr.

"It helps UT because some players, like Ramar (Smith) might have gone home to play in Detroit in a summer league,'' Whitehead said. "Now, he can stay here and play in a competitive league.''

Whitehead said the list of head coaches for the league includes (with former affiliation in parenthesis): Steve Adams (Tennessee Wesleyn); Rick Campbell (Lincoln Memorial); Chad Smith (South-Doyle); Andy Rines (Heritage); Pat Walden (UT) and Kevin Feltner (Carson-Newman).

::More Photos From Italy::

::Italy Photos::

"Boomburbs" seek to create urban living in suburban settings

Interesting article at WBIR.com about the new trend in suburban community development/planning. Sounds like developers are inserting "urban" typologies into a suburban context.

What a difference.....

It has been so long since I have posted on this blog. Guess it's time to start again. And why not change the template? So here it goes.....

I plan to post some recent photos from my trip to Italy. Currently I only have a few from the train ride from Florence to Venice. As I get more photos, I will post them.