Tuesday, June 26, 2007

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.

Monday, June 25, 2007

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."

Sunday, June 24, 2007

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 :)


























































Friday, June 22, 2007

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).



Thursday, June 21, 2007

Monday, June 18, 2007

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).

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Monday, June 11, 2007

"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.