March Madness: So, Neil has evidently spent the entire year preparing for March Madness 09, and has emerged thus far in Round One as Professor Brackets.
Neil has picked every win thus far, including a few upsets of varying surprisingness, a feat unmatched by anyone else at HRF or President Obama himself, who would find himself hovering around 27th place, if he was involved in our pool. You guys at the bottom of the standings are in good company.
It has dawned on me that it would be very politically unsavvy if I had organized this thing, promoted the heck out of it, and then won it myself (awarding myself the top prize) so that is probably why I picked Utah, Tennessee, and Illinois to win so far. Just being politically sensitive, not bad at predicting the future. Yup.
But seriously, Professor Brackets? A lot can change in just a few hours, so don’t forget about adjectives like Pyrrhic or nouns like hubris.
I won’t make a habit of this, because I am brutally, egregiously unqualified to do so, but a word about actual basketball. The University of Michigan, perhaps the only school in the tournament to have serious representation in the CVs of HRF staff, surprised a lot of people by 1. being in the tournament in the first time in 11 years, and 2. winning that game last night. So that was exciting! Congratulations (at least) to Sofia, JaVon, Andrew, Mike and Elisa. President Obama picked Clemson to win over the Wolverines; I’m hoping he gets all his mistakes for 2009 out of the way in his bracket, and Leno, and spends the rest of the year being totally correct about everything.
Carly’s Corner: I don’t know if it’s fair to write both March Madness coverage and Carly’s Corner (attention hogging is unbecoming) but I do have two things to share with you this week. First, the Fleetwood Mac song Second Hand News (I suppose it is the first Spring song). Listen to the way he sings the guitar line. Genius! Sorry for the lousy quality, but you can hear it almost daily being blasted by Liz and me and sometimes joined by Gabor or Sharon.
Second, this internet video, Let’s Paint, Exercise, and Play Ping Pong, a rather incredible instructional video about doing everything all the time. It’s instructive. Yes we can paint, exercise and play ping pong. Yes we can!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Greats of Math
You may wish to visit Wollman Rink in Prospect Park this weekend as it is the last weekend of the season to ice skate there. The other nicer Wollman Rink in Center Park is open for a couple more weeks. This guy Wollman must have been awesome at ice skating.
After reading East of Eden a few weeks ago, my first foray into fiction-reading in years (fiction? It’s like they just make it all up!) I am now reading The Grapes of Wrath, considering writing a collection of biographies called The Greats of Math, and thinking about American mythology around going west and manifest destiny. Also planning a trip to the American west. Thoughts?
Madness: A little history: Carly’s Corner began when March Madness ended last year, because it is crippling insecurity couched in egomania and also because I received such flattering feedback on my weekly March Madness updates, which were fun to write and to read. As the Madness gave way to the Corner last year I was going through difficult times myself (and March Madness helped), but I didn’t imagine the everyday happenings of adulthood would get as difficult as they have been in recent weeks. I guess that’s one of those grim tricks of adulthood. In any case, it might seem fluffy to promote participation in a college basketball tournament, but I guess the thing is that life never stops surprising you with terrible surprises, and once this fact is absorbed, having fun with people you like actually registers as more important than it might initially. And I like you guys. And the NCAA Tournament is truly surprisingly fun: without caring about basketball or college, it is still fun to make picks, to monitor your points, to read my smack-talking commentary. NCAA games can be streamed LIVE! For free! At your desk during the work day! Or better yet, viewed at a local watering hole, with friends. And I’ve been waiting a whole year, but this is something I both saved and continue to be proud of, though it was short lived. Won’t you register and make your picks at the links I sent out earlier this week? I can help! Laughter of a sad person, tears of a clown.
Winter Songs: It’s still winter today, at least, though with the daylight of spring. Twin pleadings: Spare me a little, a Christine McVie song, Save Me a Place, nice one from Lindsey Buckingham.
After reading East of Eden a few weeks ago, my first foray into fiction-reading in years (fiction? It’s like they just make it all up!) I am now reading The Grapes of Wrath, considering writing a collection of biographies called The Greats of Math, and thinking about American mythology around going west and manifest destiny. Also planning a trip to the American west. Thoughts?
Madness: A little history: Carly’s Corner began when March Madness ended last year, because it is crippling insecurity couched in egomania and also because I received such flattering feedback on my weekly March Madness updates, which were fun to write and to read. As the Madness gave way to the Corner last year I was going through difficult times myself (and March Madness helped), but I didn’t imagine the everyday happenings of adulthood would get as difficult as they have been in recent weeks. I guess that’s one of those grim tricks of adulthood. In any case, it might seem fluffy to promote participation in a college basketball tournament, but I guess the thing is that life never stops surprising you with terrible surprises, and once this fact is absorbed, having fun with people you like actually registers as more important than it might initially. And I like you guys. And the NCAA Tournament is truly surprisingly fun: without caring about basketball or college, it is still fun to make picks, to monitor your points, to read my smack-talking commentary. NCAA games can be streamed LIVE! For free! At your desk during the work day! Or better yet, viewed at a local watering hole, with friends. And I’ve been waiting a whole year, but this is something I both saved and continue to be proud of, though it was short lived. Won’t you register and make your picks at the links I sent out earlier this week? I can help! Laughter of a sad person, tears of a clown.
Winter Songs: It’s still winter today, at least, though with the daylight of spring. Twin pleadings: Spare me a little, a Christine McVie song, Save Me a Place, nice one from Lindsey Buckingham.
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