Run For the Roses!

Apparently getting to the Rose Bowl wasn't good enough for the stars of the University of Oregon football team. Jeremiah Masoli (quarterback) and Garrett Embry (wide receiver) were caught red handed looting computers and other electronics from the SAE frat house on campus ( see sordid details at: oregonlive.com). The police were "uncomfortable" releasing names just yet but the young man who caught them knew them, spoke to them and chased them down. Is this what we can expect from the $20M invested in the new Student Athlete Academic Center built for the pampered jocks? We should all be howling with indignation. Maybe Phil Knight will get a little indigestion from this one...

I Thought Tatoos were Permanent

I have always had this image of tatoo afficianados as being either big tough guys or a least rangy camel smoking hipsters. With the exception of the full body tatoo this kid looks like a Republican Congressional Page. Am I suffering from cognitive dissonance or is this a clever fake?

Just when I thought I had plumbed the depth of stupid tatoos along comes this young man.

How long do you thing it might be before she dumps him? I usually think it might take a matter of months or even years before people regret their permanent tatoo decisions. I would think the psychological life span of this one might at best be measured in days or weeks.

Turnagain Sound

Last week I travelled on business to Anchorage AK. I had the good fortune of taking a short drive south to Portage lake which took us along Turnagain Sound. We caught the sunset and tide going out on our way back to Anchorage. It was bloody cold but quite beautiful...

Here We Go Again...

The "Followers of Christ". Once again in court for allowing a child to die. First it was Carl and Raylene Worthington accused of allowing their 15 month old daughter to die of pneumonia. Carl was convicted and Raylene got off scott free. Now it's Jeff and Marci Beagley parents of Raylene, who are in court accused of letting their son, Neil, die from a recurring urinary tract infection. The hapless Neil had been raised in complete isolation, never attending school, and never having seen a doctor. Young Neil had never known anyone outside of the church and family. He died in agony at age 16 probably feeling he had somehow offended "God". The parents defense is based in the idea that at age 16 Neil was responsible to make his own decision about whether to see a doctor or not. Does this make you sick or what? I hope the Oregon City court puts these folks in jail where they belong. Followers of Christ? I don't think so...

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2009/12/clackamas_hearings_set_stage_f.html

U of O Taj Majal

In the Oregonian this morning I read with dismay about the opulent new Academic Center for Athletes which is now complete at University of Oregon. I note with some nostaligia that the new center will accomodate some 130 tutors who will be employed to study for the jocks. I remember as a freshman at U of O in 1967 working as a jock tutor myself. I wrote papers and took tests for these morons. They could not graduate without someone covering for them. I am sure there are many exceptions to this rule but they are exceptions none the less.

At right behold the appalling bad taste exemplified by the student lounge complete with Italian leather lounge chairs. I particularly like the rug apparently designed to assist the athlete scholars in learning the alphabet.

The Oregonian also recently noted that Phil had placed 1.5 Billion dollars of Nike stock in a trust fund. He can afford to do pretty much anything he wants. How about scholarships for real students?

I actually used to know John Jacqua and cannot believe he would have signed off on this.

Please click on link below for Oregonian article...

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/01/new_oregon_academic_center_bac.html

Our Mayor at Play

Portland is know for being "weird". Our mayor Sam Adams goes by the nickname of Mayor Creepy. City Commissioner Randy Leonard is called Fireman Randy. Storm Large is as close as Portland can come to Hollywood skank...

Avatar?

I confess I was kind of enthused about seeing this opus. My friend Jim went to see it and warned me that the 3D FX brought on nausea. I also talked to my son's friend Danny and he warned that the plot could also induce nausea. An internet review described the story as " ... a largely humorless movie that plays like the sensitive white man goes native saga, Dances with Wolves in outer space."

I could probably avert my eyes when the 3D starts to overwhelm my inner ear but I am defenseless against the adolescent plot development. I have never enjoyed puking so I guess I will have to give this one a miss.