FORE!

I spent yesterday working for the Big West at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, where we were holding the Big West Men’s and Women’s Golf Championship. I know, I know... tough job. I’m going to admit this was the first time I’d ever spent at a golf club other than for a wedding, and it was pretty nice. I would, however, advise against having to film golf, especially a lot of it. After arriving at the golf course in time to catch the second round of tee-off times, I ended up just figuring I’d have to sit between two holes and shoot everybody as they came through – a shot from the fairway, a put or two (or three, in some cases), and then get them teeing off for the next hole.

Okay, I’ve never played golf, either, except for miniature and hitting balls at a driving range, but it’s DAMN SLOW when you’re watching it. There were eight or so women’s groups with two or three players per group, and thirteen men’s groups with two or three players each. My mind was so all over the place since I’d be shooting for a while, then there’d be a five- or ten-minute lull, then I’d shoot again. No offense to the golfers out there, but ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I’m sure it’s way better when you’re playing.

I can’t imagine what those camera guys go through who shoot golf for TV, because you’re looking at the same shot over and over, and it’s not like there’s that much action. At least in other sports, there’s some back-and-forth action. Even in baseball, which is another pain in the butt to shoot, there’s a battle between the pitcher and the batter. And college pitchers work a little faster than pro pitchers.

FYI, some female golfers are WAY out of shape. Good thing they had to walk the course, because some of them REALLY needed it. I’m not saying you have to look like a supermodel, but at least look fit. I ended up deciding to shoot some golfers just putting or driving the ball, because to look at the whole package would’ve been disturbing. Seriously – there was one girl who was wearing shorts with a belt and her shirt tucked in, and her gut hung over her shorts. Ugh.

* * *

In more exciting news, I just saw the trailer for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and must say that it’s SPECTACULAR. The Harry Potter movie series is one of the few that has gotten consistently better over time. I really thought the first two Harry Potter films took the material and translated it into something a little too juvenile, but as the series has grown, they’ve stayed true to the darkening nature of the books. It’ll be interesting how they deal with Dumbledore’s apparent death in the film after this one, but after seeing the trailer for “Order of the Phoenix,” I’m not worried. The trailer showed a great mix of action, suspense, horror and some beautiful cinematography. Now I’m getting excited for July, since the movie opens on July 13 and the final Harry Potter book gets released on July 21.

See the trailer here.

R.I.P. Johnny Hart and Brant Parker

I can’t believe I missed it, but thanks to a nice tribute strip from “Non-Sequitur,” I finally found out that Johnny Hart, the creator of “B.C.” and the co-creator of “The Wizard of Id,” died of a stroke on April 7, 2007 at the age of 76. Hart’s long-time collaborator, Brant Parker passed away shortly thereafter, on April 15, 2007 at the age of 86. Parker died of complications resulting from Alzheimer’s disease and a stroke suffered in 2006. Hart debuted “B.C.” in 1958, and joined with Parker to create “The Wizard of Id” in 1964.

Both “B.C.” and “The Wizard of Id” will continue for the foreseeable future. Hart worked on “B.C.” until the day he died, but had been aided by family members over the last few years. The family will continue to produce the strip. “The Wizard of Id” was taken over by Jeff Parker, Brant’s son, in 1997. Jeff Parker and members from Hart’s family will continue to collaborate on the strip.

As a little bit of trivia, Hart’s anteater character from “B.C.” was the inspiration and model for the UC Irvine mascot.

P.S. – A belated “Happy Earth Day!” (which was yesterday) to all. I spent mine taking walks with my family and watching the Discovery Channel/BBC’s “Planet Earth” marathon. Just so you know, I think “Planet Earth” really has to be seen in HD to be truly enjoyed (sadly, I do not have this capability).

Good Samaritan of the (Yester)Day

Every Saturday, a majority Americans spend a good portion of their day locked in a seemingly constant struggle. They pray, curse, fidget, stall, hunt, and race for the most coveted of all Saturday possessions – the parking spot. It’s a ritual repeated over and over, and it’s not for just any parking spot. It’s for THE parking spot – the one closest to their shopping destination, with the least amount of walking distance and most convenient route to the desired location. I was among those repeating the ritual this last Saturday…

I went to the Best Buy yesterday near my apartment and was looking for a space on the bottom level of the parking structure. I have a regular routine I use to find a space, but decided to alter it and start down a different aisle because there was some traffic where I normally start. BIG mistake. I ended up behind a guy who didn’t know what the hell he was doing trying to find a parking spot, inching along and braking anytime he saw a person walking to their car. I finally got fed up and drove around him, turning down my normal aisle from the opposite end.

I had my window down and was following a gentleman in his late forties who seemed to be headed out (tip: it’s always best to follow men, since they usually know where they park, take direct routes there, and don’t fiddle around a lot once they get in their cars). He turned to me, pointed to the next aisle over, and said, “I’m over there.” I figured he was just being nice and letting me know I could move on. Then he said, “If you want to go around, I’ll wait for you.” Huh?!?

Who does that? I’ve only encountered maybe two other people in my lifetime who said anything like that. I asked him which car he was in, then drove down the aisle to turn into the next one. I’d spoken to him at the end of one aisle, and as I rounded the corner and saw three or four cars looking for spots, I figured there was no way that he was going to wait for me. I drove down to where I thought he said his truck was on my left and didn’t see him in it. Meanwhile, there were cars looking for spots driving opposite me.

Just then, the guy appeared from my right, smiled at me, got in his car, and I ended up getting his parking space. It seems he’d just walked across the aisle to clear out any cars that might be waiting for him, so he could give me his spot, as he promised. Wow. I was floored. It’s made more amazing that this happened in Southern California, near one of the biggest and best shopping centers in the area. It would only be more amazing if it was Christmas…

Pay it forward, as they say…

Remembering Columbine

Today marks the sixth anniversary of the school shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, and the fifth day of mourning for those lost in the Virginia Tech incident on Monday. Thirteen people were gunned down at Columbine, and thirty-two were killed at Virginia Tech. While shocking and disconcerting to all of us, I think we tend to maintain a level of detachment from the events because very few of us are linked to anybody who was involved in either incident or anything remotely similar. However, the six degrees of separation maintain that we are all linked, and unfortunately, sometimes it’s true.

It must be eight or nine years ago that I took my first trip to Snow Valley Basketball School in Montecito, CA (a quick aside – Montecito is about 10 minutes away from Santa Barbara, Snow Valley is held at Westmont College, it used to be run by one of the best teachers I’ve ever known, Herb Livsey, and was one of the best teaching camps in America). I arrived around 10:30 AM on a Sunday morning, extremely early since the camp started at 3:30 PM. I introduced myself to Coach Livsey, and then asked if there was anything I could do to help. He asked me if I might take two young men down to the local bakery for breakfast, since they had spent the weekend there, and the cafeteria wasn’t open. I agreed, and we drove down to the Xanadu Café for breakfast. They were both from Denver, CO, and now that I think about it, must have been going into their sophomore year of high school. One of them was named Greg Barnes.

They were both pretty good kids, but I remember Greg a little more since he had these huge hands that could palm a basketball like it was a volleyball. He was probably 6-2 or 6-3 at the time, weighing in the neighborhood of 165 pounds, and he used to pull that Connie Hawkins/James Worthy/Michael Jordan thing where he’d palm the ball in one hand while holding off his defender with the other. I remember seeing him do that in a game, so I commented to him how dangerous it was and how it limited some of his offensive freedom. He grinned at me, and I didn’t see him do it again the rest of the camp.

He was a pretty good player at the camp, and it turns out he was a pretty good player in the state of Colorado, too. A player I used to coach at UC Irvine, Ross Schraeder, was also from Denver and said that Greg was a stud, both on and off the court. He averaged 26.2 points per game his junior year and helped lead his team to the state semi-finals. Harvard, Notre Dame, and a host of other schools were recruiting him during his junior year, and he was sure to play basketball at the Division-I level in college. Many thought he would be the best player in the state of Colorado his senior year.

Two weeks from today will mark the five-year anniversary of the death of Greg Barnes. Greg Barnes was a sophomore at Columbine in the spring of 1999. He was friends with two of the victims, had both killers in his English class, and was looking out his classroom window as Dave Sanders, a teacher at Columbine, was shot twice in the back while trying to warn students and aid their escape. Greg pulled Sanders into the classroom and tried to stop the bleeding with the shirt off his back while waiting for help. He had to leave Sanders and step over bodies of his classmates as police escorted students off campus.

Greg Barnes hung himself on May 4, 2000, a year after the Columbine shootings. He was found by his father at 12:15 PM, “Adam’s Song” by Blink-182 playing on his CD player. He left no note or reason why he chose to end his life, and students and teachers alike said that there was no outward sign that Greg was despondent at all. There is caution in linking Greg’s suicide to what he witness and endured at Columbine, but the possibility exists. Regardless, his death rocked the Columbine community again.

I’m not saying that because I spent a few hours during one week with Greg Barnes that I knew him. But it is disturbing to realize that you can be that close to something so horrific, and to realize that it could happen to somebody you knew, even if you knew them only in passing. I can’t imagine and don’t want to know what it’s like to be a part of something like what happened at Columbine or at Virginia Tech. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I shudder at the thought of her having to deal with something as insane as what happened on those campuses. I can only hope that people take the time to see what’s going on around them, help those that need it, and realize that we’re all closer to each other than we think.

Remember Greg Barnes:

An article from the Denver Post about Greg’s death.

A nice tribute written by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated.

A remembrance from Meghan McKee, a student at Columbine.

* * *

P.S. – If you’re not already, put on some maroon and orange today as a show of support for the Virginia Tech family.

Today, We Are All Hokies

I have my own thoughts on the Virginia Tech incident that occurred on Monday, but I thought I’d share a couple of things that I found on the Net that were positive.

The “Today, we are all Hokies” tribute on the Facebook social networking site is a nice show of support from college students across the nation. It’s listed under the “Always Remember VIRGINIA TECH” group. Since most of you won’t be view the tribute, I posted a sampling here. They were created by students at their respective institutions.

There are close to 700 pictures up at the group now with more being added by the minute. This morning there were just over 400. They include photos of vicitims, campus vigils, news stories, and other tribute graphics. If your alma mater isn’t represented, it’d be nice to have it added. There are other tribute pages on Facebook as well.

Also, here’s another beautiful sentiment I saw on Flickr titled "To the parents of the innocent victims on the campus of Virginia Tech:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pultzpics/462431465/

Mascots Don’t Die, Do They?

Ramses the Ram is dead.

It was announced on CBS’ telecast of the USC-North Carolina game Friday, March 23, 2007 that Jason Kendall Ray, a 21-year-old University of North Carolina senior who played the part of Ramses the Ram, had been struck by an SUV while walking back to his hotel. The driver of the SUV stopped, called authorities and tried to help him, and he was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He passed away of his injuries on Monday, March 26, just months from graduating. He was 21 years old.

Jason Ray’s death makes Ramses a little more real to me. How sad that a guy whose job it was to be anonymously famous and spent the better part of three years in a ridiculously hot costume would have to have this happen to him for the world to get to know him. I would hazard to guess that he gave a lot of himself to the part of Ramses over his career and should be commended.

The mascot is one of the institutions of college sports. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re ubiquitous in sports, but are especially endearing to me at the college level. Since I’ve been around college sports, I’ve gotten a better idea about who the people inside the costume are, and they’re usually just some crazy kid with too much energy who wants to dance around and be a part of the entertainment. It’s really a thankless job, since they have to project their personality into what amounts to basically a sauna covered in fur. To see the outpouring of support from fans and other mascots was great. It’s too bad Jason Ray didn’t get to see it when he was alive.

I guess the uplifting part of this is that another student will come from the crowd to don Ramses’ horned head again, and UNC fans will be treated to the antics of another anonymously famous and sweaty uber-fan. But it’s still shocking to me to see the face behind the mask…

Read a tribute on the University of North Carolina Athletics website.

FYI, I started this on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. I got distracted… what can I say?

Free Cone Day!

Yippee! Free scoop day at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream locations from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Find a shop near you: http://www.benjerry.com/scoop_shops/

A Taiwanese Toy Story with SpongeBob’s Overseas Cousin

Found at a rest stop on the way back to Taipei. I don’t know… is elongating the shape of a character enough to get around those pesky copyright restrictions?

BTW, this was called a “disturbing abomination” by a friend of Steph’s.

Happy 60th Birthday, Kareem!

FYI, a nice look at Kareem’s career by the numbers at NBA.com:

http://www.nba.com/features/kareem60_070415.html

I Guess He Looks ~a Little~ Like Steve…

Steve "Steve Chen" Chen (the one smiling, duh).


Steve "Not as rich as the other Steve Chen" Chen (also smiling).

A.K.A. "The Original"

This debuts the first in my series, Steve Chen of the Day. Having written about the possible “confusion” over two people having the same name, it got me thinking about all the other guys named “Steve Chen” out in the world. If you’re going to get confused with guys named “Peyton Manning,” you’re sure as hell going to be confused about all of us…

Steve “Steve Chen” Chen:

One of the co-founders of internet video-sharing sensation YouTube.com. He and his partner, Chad Hurley, sold YouTube to Google, Inc. on October 16, 2006 for $1.65 billion. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at YouTube.

Steve “Not as rich as the other Steve Chen” Chen:

Is… well, me.

Contrast and compare:

Steve "Steve Chen" Chen was born in Taiwan. The Original: parts manufactured in Taiwan, assembled in U.S.

EDGE: Taiwan. They make everything!

Steve “SC” Chen immigrated to the U.S. in 1993. The Original: U.S. citizen since 1976.

EDGE: The Original. Darn immigrants taking jobs!

Steve “SC” Chen's western zodiac sign is Leo. The Original's western zodiac sign is Virgo.

EDGE: Steve “SC” Chen.

Steve “SC” Chen's Chinese zodiac sign is the horse. The Original's Chinese zodiac sign is the dragon.

EDGE: The Original. Fire-breathing, even…

Steve “SC” Chen attended a prestigious boarding school. The Original was bored in school.

EDGE: Steve “SC” Chen. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, fyi.

Steve “SC” Chen was employed at PayPal. The Original has used PayPal.

EDGE: Steve “SC” Chen.

Steve “SC” Chen co-founded You Tube. The Original: confounded, period.

EDGE: Steve “SC” Chen. I shoulda stayed in computer science.

Steve “SC” Chen sold YouTube to Google for $1.65 billion. The Original has watched 1.65 billion videos on YouTube found through Google.

EDGE: Steve “SC” Chen. I REALLY shoulda stayed in CS.

Steve “SC” Chen is partners with Chad Hurley. The Original is partners with Kindra (Hylbak) Chen.

EDGE: The Original. She’s way better looking.

Steve “SC” Chen has no children (that he knows of). The Original: Danica!

EDGE: The Original. By a landslide!

WINNER? We’ll call it a draw.

Hmm… I Guess He Looks ~a Little~ Like Peyton…

Scott "Peyton Manning" Wiese


Peyton "Peyton Manning" Manning

I do like Jim Rome's suggestion that Wiese change his name to P-A-Y-T-O-N. At least it alleviates some "confusion."

A Problem with Energy-Efficient Homes

Zzzzzzzzz… ZAP!

It Should Be Legal to Be Stupid

In a ruling handed down this week, a judge in Chicago stated that Bears fan Scott Wiese would not be allowed to legally change his name to Peyton Manning. Wiese, 26, signed a pledge in front of a bar full of people prior to this year’s Super Bowl that he would change his name to Peyton Manning if the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears. Clearly, he and the Bears lost. Macon County Judge Katherine McCarthy ruled that Wiese can not change his name because it could infringe on the privacy of Peyton Manning, Colts’ quarterback, and also because “it could be confusing.”

It would figure that a woman would ruin a man’s right to screw up royally. If Wiese was dumb enough to make the bet*, and especially if he’s dumb enough to go through with changing his name, the court should let him. As far as privacy issues are concerned, what about all the paparazzi stalking celebrities? What, are people now going to call the real Peyton Manning looking for The-Peyton-Manning-Formerly-Known-As-Scott-Wiese? Are Scott’s parents going to suddenly be demanding that the real Peyton Manning be helping out with chores around the house?

And what’s with the part about how “it could be confusing?” The real Peyton Manning is pretty recognizable, especially since he’s got a great Mastercard commercial, just hosted Saturday Night Live, is the son of Archie Manning (former NFL quarterback) and brother of Eli Manning (current NFL quarterback), and is probably a lot more recognizable to the average Joe than Scott Wiese. Is Scott Wiese going to be taken as the real Peyton Manning in disguise? If people are going to get these two guys confused, that’s great for Wiese. If you can take advantage of having the same or similar name to a famous person, but not look like him or her, hell, I’d like to re-introduce myself:

Hi. My name is Steve Chen... Co-founder of YouTube. I’d like to make a withdrawal.

* – Just a little side note: it was rather ridiculous to think the Bears were actually going to beat the Colts. As much as I was opposed to the Rex Grossman haters who were calling for his removal, after watching him and the Bears get through the earlier playoff rounds, you had to admit that they lacked the precision on offense to keep up with the Colts…

Geek Moment of the Day

Eep.

“Ew. Ew. Ewwwwwwwww.” of the Day, Part 1

This is in my top 3 reasons I'm thankful I have good genes.


FYI, they are examples of a genetic condition called polycystic kidney disease, and that white thing is a ten-centimeter ruler. Ew.

“D’OH!” of the Day, Part 2

I needed to stop by the local Chevron gas station on my way to work this morning. As I was pulling into the left-turn lane to get to the station, I noticed that there was a car on the other side of the intersection that had its hazard lights on. It was an unfortunate sight, because this was on Bristol Street, which is pretty busy during rush hour, and you know it really had to suck to be the driver of a car that dies on you on a Monday morning.

I thought the driver had just left the car, but as the traffic around it cleared up, a woman popped out of the driver’s seat, her hair wet like she’d just gotten out of the shower. She went around the back of the car, opened the door, and took her little girl out of the backseat. I was still waiting to turn left as she then opened the trunk and pulled out what I thought was her daughter’s backpack, at which time the light turned green and I pulled into the gas station. By the time I’d parked my car and gotten out, she was headed towards the station. I asked her if she needed help, to which she responded sheepishly, “No, thanks. I’ve got it,” holding up a one-gallon gas can…

How much must that suck? She ran out of gas about fifty feet from a gas pump, on a Monday morning on one of the busiest streets around, while rushing to get her kid to school. Ouch.

“D’OH!” of the Day

No offense, but is this really the picture you want on the front page of your website? This pic is on the front of the UC Irvine Athletics website (www.athletics.uci.edu).


It’s a picture of UCI freshman Alisha Misiata, whose NCAA regional-qualifying mark of 47-6 ¼ lead her to victory in the shot put at the Collegiate Classic, held at UC Irvine last weekend. Still, though… it’s not the most flattering picture, and quite frankly, it’s kinda scary.

Where Do I Get One of These? Oh, Wait…

Totally worth the cost of finding one, just for the name alone. And the announcer can’t stop saying it! Oh, wait... I already have one of these.

Quick Big West Conference Post-Season Basketball Update

Unfortunately the 12th-seeded Long Beach State 49ers got run out of the gym in Columbus, OH last Friday by 5th-seeded Tennessee, 121-86 in the opening round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Unfortunately, they set the record for most points given up in an NCAA game by a Big West team, allowed Tennessee to tie for the most points in school history, validated ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb’s opinion that Long Beach State was the most over-seeded team in the NCAA Tourney this year, and by my estimation, gave up the most points on lay-ups, dunks and free throws in the history of basketball.

By the way, I have a whole story about watching this game at Hooters, which is a whole other type of upset.

The 14th-seeded UC Riverside women lost a close game, 57-50 to the 3rd-seeded Sun Devils of Arizona State last Saturday night. The really unfortunate side is that ASU went on a 19-2 run to end the game, after the Highlanders had led most of the game, including going up by 15 at one point. The bright side of this is, after zero NCAA Tourney appearances in school history, Riverside had their second consecutive tourney appearance, they have EVERY player back from the team next year, and they get to keep their coach, who surely would’ve been out of there had they won the game. Fun fact: 14 seeds in the women’s tournament are a combined 0-54 over the lifetime of the tournament.

UC Santa Barbara’s women’s team won their opening-round game of the Women’s N.I.T. at the University of San Diego last Thursday, but failed to win their game in Oregon against the Ducks last Saturday. So the Big West Conference finishes 1-3 this postseason. Such is the life of the “mini-major,” as some beat writer termed the conference. Gotta love college athletics.

Oh yeah... I just read on the website for Cal St. Northridge that their men's coach, Bobby Braswell, received a two-year contract extension from their new AD. I would guess that this is because they weren't sure who they could get who could to do a better job at the school. Not that Bras has done that well... Just read through the spin they put on things. It's quite amazing. By the way, coaching your team to "postseason play in each of his previous eleven seasons," usually means that you've played in either the N.I.T. or NCAA's, not that you made the conference tournament in a conference where currently every school plays in the tournament. I think I'm dizzy.

Mourning Cap.

The Breaking of the Batman. The Death of Superman. The Unmasking of Spider-Man. Now, the Death of Captain America.

Being a comic geek, it’s events like these that define periods of time. You knew that Superman would come back, you figured Bats would, too. But first Peter Parker revealing that he is Spider-Man and now the assassination of Captain America, Steve Rogers, all in the last six months, has now sent me reeling. I don’t forsee Marvel Comics hiding Peter Parker again, and I hope that they don’t try to resurrect Cap.

Captain America died after surrendering to authorities at the conclusion of this past year’s “Civil War” event in which the American government mandated registration for masked heroes. With Cap taking a stand against the government, saying that superhero registration violated civil liberties, he was setting himself up as the goat. Unfortunately, after realizing that he was a symbol of a country he no longer understood and perhaps did not fit into, and after turning himself in, he was gunned down by a sniper’s bullets.

To be honest, I was really shocked last Wednesday when I heard the news after Marvel Comics released “Captain America” #25. I was saddened with the loss of one of the few characters remaining that truly symbolized hope and all that was good about the American nation. I’ll miss Cap, and hope that Marvel doesn’t fuck it up by resurrecting him in a year or five. If one of my favorite characters is to die like that, his death better mean something.