Saturday, February 11, 2012
Spurs Update
The Spurs had their first 2-days off in a row of the season Thursday and Friday.. That's pretty unbelievable, but true. When we set out on our rodeo road trip, it's inevitably a sudden & rough time for the team, although we've traditionally done very well on this trip each year. But with this season's ultra-condensed schedule the extra days off are a blessing, because we finally get some practice time!
Wednesday night the Spurs visited the surprisingly good Philadelphia 76ers. They've done great stuff so far this season, coming in at 18-7 & 3rd in the East. The game started slowly, as both teams missed shots. The energy was high, however, as was the spirit of the Philly crowd. 76ers were cold for several early 1st Q minutes, and we led 12-6. The pace would speed up, and Gary Neal & Lou Williams would trade a bunch of buckets.
26-24 after 1 Q, and then 32-26 after Tiago got busy in the next 3 min. With a 36-28 lead, the Spurs would then go cold for 4 minutes (38-36 Philly). Tony & Timmy would combine for the next 12 pts. of the half, and our halftime lead was 48-45.
(Image Source - Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Andre Igoudala scored 6 in the first 5 min. of the 3rd Q, as Neal, Blair, and Tiago again helped Tony & Timmy launch us to an 11-pt. lead, which was 8 after 3 Q (75-67). Tiago & Tony showed more pick 'n' roll mastery, and Gary Neal nailed several key shots to carry our 6-to-12 point lead throughout. Sixers would come to within 5 with 1:46 left (95-90), but wouldn't score again. The 100-90 Spurs WIN was our first win there in 4 trips. And a great win it was! This Philly team plays very well together, and will certainly be a factor in the East playoff race.
TP again had a monster game, 37 points & 8 assists. That's 100 pts. & 24 assists in 3 games, and this recent performance has led to him being rewarded with his 4th all-star appearance. Kudos Tony!! Neal had 18, Duncan 16 & 11, and Splitter 15. Possible 6th-man of the year, Lou Williams, led Philly with 22. (Boxscore)
Supposedly, Manu will be back tonight in New Jersey! WooHoo!
Wednesday night the Spurs visited the surprisingly good Philadelphia 76ers. They've done great stuff so far this season, coming in at 18-7 & 3rd in the East. The game started slowly, as both teams missed shots. The energy was high, however, as was the spirit of the Philly crowd. 76ers were cold for several early 1st Q minutes, and we led 12-6. The pace would speed up, and Gary Neal & Lou Williams would trade a bunch of buckets.26-24 after 1 Q, and then 32-26 after Tiago got busy in the next 3 min. With a 36-28 lead, the Spurs would then go cold for 4 minutes (38-36 Philly). Tony & Timmy would combine for the next 12 pts. of the half, and our halftime lead was 48-45.
(Image Source - Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Andre Igoudala scored 6 in the first 5 min. of the 3rd Q, as Neal, Blair, and Tiago again helped Tony & Timmy launch us to an 11-pt. lead, which was 8 after 3 Q (75-67). Tiago & Tony showed more pick 'n' roll mastery, and Gary Neal nailed several key shots to carry our 6-to-12 point lead throughout. Sixers would come to within 5 with 1:46 left (95-90), but wouldn't score again. The 100-90 Spurs WIN was our first win there in 4 trips. And a great win it was! This Philly team plays very well together, and will certainly be a factor in the East playoff race.
TP again had a monster game, 37 points & 8 assists. That's 100 pts. & 24 assists in 3 games, and this recent performance has led to him being rewarded with his 4th all-star appearance. Kudos Tony!! Neal had 18, Duncan 16 & 11, and Splitter 15. Possible 6th-man of the year, Lou Williams, led Philly with 22. (Boxscore)
Supposedly, Manu will be back tonight in New Jersey! WooHoo!
A Concert Opening
The date was August 4, 2007. The location was "The Backyard" in Austin, TX. The event was Dream Theater's Chaos in Motion Tour. After Redemption, and Into Eternity wrapped up their sets.. this is how Dream Theater opened up the show:
Source
...And it t o t a l l y b l e w m e a w a y. I spent 4+ years trying now & then to find a great video of it, but for some reason, "2001 Space Odyssey", "Dream Theater Intro Chaos concert", and the like, weren't good search terms. It wasn't until yesterday that I stumbled upon the term "Also Sprach Zarathustra" attached to one of the vids I found.
Long story short, who would've thought that the little 2-minute amazing fanfare we've all heard, and thought of as the theme from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001 - A Space Oddyssey," is actually called "Sunrise". It is from a tone poem written by Richard Strauss in 1896, titled "Also Sprach Zarathustra," and was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name. (Source)
Anyway, it was one of the greatest concert openings I've ever witnessed, and the entire show was one of the best I've been to as well. Here was the entire set-list. (Note the little arrows next to each song.. Those weren't there the last time I visited this page, a few years ago.)
This was the Encore ("Schmedley Wilcox"):
Source
I distinctly remember the little "Rush - Xanadu" tribute in there. DT can cover anyone, almost better then they can play their own stuff. And, I had always thought that "Finally Free" would be a super 2-minute piece to close a show.
That was my 5th DT show. #6 was opening for Iron Maiden in June of 2010, so yeah - I can't wait for #7. Sadly, I've already missed this year's tour.
Source
...And it t o t a l l y b l e w m e a w a y. I spent 4+ years trying now & then to find a great video of it, but for some reason, "2001 Space Odyssey", "Dream Theater Intro Chaos concert", and the like, weren't good search terms. It wasn't until yesterday that I stumbled upon the term "Also Sprach Zarathustra" attached to one of the vids I found.
Long story short, who would've thought that the little 2-minute amazing fanfare we've all heard, and thought of as the theme from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001 - A Space Oddyssey," is actually called "Sunrise". It is from a tone poem written by Richard Strauss in 1896, titled "Also Sprach Zarathustra," and was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name. (Source)
Anyway, it was one of the greatest concert openings I've ever witnessed, and the entire show was one of the best I've been to as well. Here was the entire set-list. (Note the little arrows next to each song.. Those weren't there the last time I visited this page, a few years ago.)
This was the Encore ("Schmedley Wilcox"):
Source
I distinctly remember the little "Rush - Xanadu" tribute in there. DT can cover anyone, almost better then they can play their own stuff. And, I had always thought that "Finally Free" would be a super 2-minute piece to close a show.
That was my 5th DT show. #6 was opening for Iron Maiden in June of 2010, so yeah - I can't wait for #7. Sadly, I've already missed this year's tour.
Friday, February 10, 2012
U.S. Homicide vs. Suicide Rates State by State
Click to enlarge! Via - (NSFW)
SOURCES: Suicide data from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report Volume 58, Number 19, May 2010, Table 29.. Available HERE. Homicide data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, Expanded Homicide Data 2007, Table 20.. Available HERE.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Congratulations, Dream Theater!
It's about friggin time!!!!1!It has come to my attention via Dream Theater's Facebook page, that they have been nominated for a Grammy award for their latest amazing release, A Dramatic Turn of Events. More specifically for the masterpiece "On the Backs of Angels". (Video Source)
Image Source
Apparently I'm a little late with this news, but for some reason, DT didn't announce this on their Facebook page until now. If they did, I missed it. There's an article at their website about this nomination dated Dec. 13, 2011! Ugh!
Anyway, also nominated for the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category along with Dream Theater are Megadeth, Foo Fighters, Mastodon, and Sum 41.
Foo Fighters have already won SIX Grammy's. This I didn't know until right now. They write some seriously great music, but wow. All the more reason to give the nod to DT this time around. I like Dave Mustaine and Megadeth, but haven't they produced about 73 albums, now?
Here are a few articles:
• Grammy Dot Com's News: Precious Metal
• Ultimate Guitar Dot Com, Via Blabbermouth
• Grammy Dot Com's Interview with DT
One final thought: This really, really sucks for Mike Portnoy! I love the guy and all his work, but this has to seem like an unnecessary kick to the face while he's already down. Geeez! They should seriously invite him, too, to the ceremony..
Some Newer Stuff - For Henry
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Breaking The Law
Via - (NSFW)
As a golfer I find this absolutely hilarious! I halfway expected to see him dig a hole or take a dump in the sand trap, or on the green. You know, the course marshals go nuts if you drive the cart within like 50 yards of the green.. or if you don't use the 90° rule with the cart. Etiquette says you rake sand traps to pristine condition.. fix your fairway divots.. repair your ball-marks on the green..
This little guy is like, "I feel good!" (Source), and, well Google, of course..
Good stuff!
Spurs Update
My Spurs began their rodeo road-trip last night in Memphis. This would be our 2nd game there in a week, and 3rd vs. the Grizzlies this season. Memphis came out looking a little more like they wanted to play basketball, unlike last week. After the Grizz held the early 10-9Image Source (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
lead, we went on a 9-0 run to lead 18-10. Seven different Spurs scored in the 1st Q to give us the 26-18 lead. That lead would then grow to 14, before going on a 2-minute dry spell, and Memphis would surge to within 6 at the half, 52-46. A Jeremy Pargo 27-ft. three at the buzzer helped.
Duncan and Blair would score the first 6 of the 3rd Q, followed by an RJ three a minute later, but then we would go scoreless for a while, as the Grizz tightened-up their D, and dominated us on the offensive end - outscoring us 18-2 over that 7-minute stretch. This was also a 31-14 Memphis run, going back to our 49-35 lead with 3:31 left in the 1st half. But Pop let 'em continue to a 73-67 deficit after 3 Qs.
Then obviously Pop told the guys to step it up on D, because Memphis would be stuck on 73 for HALF of the 4th Q. By this point Tiago Splitter had made 8-straight Spurs points, as apparently Pop heard Sean Elliott continuously declaring that the ball needed to go into him. The ongoing battle between Duncan & Gasol was becoming the feature of the game by this point. Duncan then tied it at 73, and James Anderson hit a three to put us up by 3. After back-to-back Rudy Gay & OJ Mayo jumpers, Tony & Timmy went to work yet again - the two of them scoring the Spurs' next 11 points, and our lead was a commanding 87-81. But Conley would sink a long three off the glass with a minute left (87-84).
During the last minute of the game, it seemed like the Grizzlies got a half-dozen attempts on their end of the floor, due to a reviewed OB call, a Duncan foul, a reviewed jump-ball call, and 3 Spurs blocks on 4 Memphis shots. Danny Green would finally secure the rebound, and nail both FTs for the 89-84 WIN.
Duncan had 19 & 17, and 5 blocks, in 32 minutes. Tony led us with 21 & 7 assists. This time Rudy Gay would score 18, but on 9 of 26 shooting. Gasol had 22, and Conley 19. Here's the ESPN boxscore, and here's the video recap. (Source)
Wednesday we're in Philly for game-2 of the road trip! I've been looking forward to this one for a while.
How to Tie Your Shoes
Source / Via
I checked, and I've actually always done it correctly. The key is if you start by putting the right lace behind the left one (closer to your toes), then you need to follow by wrapping the loop clockwise. So if you start by putting the left lace behind the right one, then you need to wrap the loop counter-clockwise.
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