End of a Legacy

Ramses, the UNC mascot, has been replaced by...Ramses' son Pablo. We had the pleasure of meeting Ramses at a Democratic party fundraiser (I snuck in) that was held at the farmhouse where Ramses lives.

I guess since his son is named Pablo, his mother must've been Hispanic, which means that we the people of Hispaniola are getting closer at taking over the US of A.

Note: the N&O story is not PG13 or vegetarian friendly as it talks about someone eating a ram.

Feist Sucks!

We attended this weekend the Vandy-sponsored Rites of Spring. For $20 we got to go Friday afternoon and Saturday evening to listen to a wide array of artists, none of which I was particularly fond of. Either way, after a hideous day of work for me (let's just say I had a beer with lunch) we walked over with blankets, beer, and raincoats in hand to the site of the concert. We were treated to a bit of Jeremy Lister (pretty generic) followed by Concord, NC natives The Avett Brothers, followed by a lot of rain that chased us home before Spoon (Nat really wanted to check them out) came on. I must say that The Avett Brothers were a good show and their music is pretty cool. I am currently listening to "Emotionalism" and I recommend it. It is a fun mix of Bluegrass, Blues, Punk, with a little spice here and there.

Saturday night we got there, with cloudy but dry skies, to a decent Grace Potter, who would prove to be the highlight of the night, Old Crow Medicine Show (ok Bluegrassy band with a high percentage of words in songs referencing drugs or drug use), followed by Feist (who was so horrible it is hard to imagine her lasting much longer). Actually Feist was so incredibly hideous that we called it a night halfway through her show. We missed the last act, Lil Jon, although word has it that he was almost as bad as Feist. Overall, it was a good time to hang out with friends and wife and listen to some music after a crappy work week, even if the music was not particularly good and mother nature decided to cry on us.

In the end I learned 4 things:

1. If you musical career took off mostly because of a solid marketing campaign by a computer maker chances are you suck at the music thing and should consider going back to college.

2. Female undergrads at Vanderbilt like to wear cowboy boots with dresses-is this normal or am I just old?

3. While people hate on Microsoft and Bill Gates and root for Apple and Steve Jobs, I must say that while I notice Apple selling iPods and Macs and giving away iPods at concerts they sponsor, Bill Gates gives away anti-HIV, malaria, etc. drugs and runs a quality foundation.

3. The Avett Brothers proved again that what I consider my home state, NC, is a hot bed for everything good...and yes, in my mind I am going to Carolina.

Roy

One small bit from the Roy Williams press conference after our final four loss to Kansas. Hey, I may not be curing cancer, but he sure is right about not giving up. I love my Heels, in victory and defeat.

What did you tell the team when you down by so much in the first half?
“I guess the good news is I haven't had that many experiences like that. But I did tell them – I'm corny as all get out, guys. What we have here is every day - again, you can make fun of this if you wish - but what the doctors and scientists do that are trying to find a cure for cancer, they get hit right in the mouth every day because it's not there, but they keep going back to work to try to do it again the next day. And I'm so dadgum corny, I even used that with my team. I said, ‘Hey, we don't want those guys to give up. You can't drop your head and say, ‘Woe is me.’ We've got to keep playing.’

”I know our guys did. I know that's probably melodramatic or overly dramatic or whatever you want to call it. But that is, that's life. It's not all roses all the time. But you have to continue trying to do the absolute best you can do. So during that timeout, that's what I challenged them. I said, ‘We can't do anything about what's already gone on, but we can do something about the way we do it now and have some pride.’ You know, I really did, guys, down 17 at the half, I still thought we had a great chance, that we would be there at the very end to win the game.”

First time for everything

For the first time since I can remember, I will be watching a March Madness game that my Heels are involved in without a group of friends. The reason for this is a small conference that I will be attending. I guess it is the signs of growing up whenever you start having to do work-related stuffs in exchange for big sporting events. I am sure that soon enough I will be having to TiVo/DVR big basketball and football games due to work-related travel. Thankfully, that shouldn't be happening for a few years.

I know a lot has been written about growing old, and it seems silly to write about it when I am only in my late 20s, but it sure feels like time blows by. My oldest sister is a couple of years from turning 40, and that just seems crazy to me. Working in academic science also provides an interesting view point on aging. The Freshmen undergraduate classes do a really good job at staring you right down and letting you know that there are plenty of 18 year olds in the world.

Alas, I should leave this post on a positive note:

Go Heels!