Daydreaming

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Chet Huntley

Chet on Guatemala.


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A Tennessee Tale

Chris Hedges with an informative and powerful alt-history of two nineteenth-century Memphis figures.

Well worth your time.







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Oregon Top Ten?

I find this hard to believe.  I've watched the Ducks play and they don't remind me of a Top 10 team at all.

They've only lost twice, but man they win ugly.  The timing is somewhat dubious as well, because their best freshman point guard, Dominic Artis,  is out with a recent foot injury.

All of that said it looks like they're deserving of a March Madness berth.  Top 10?  No way.


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Condensed

Best page of links you will ever see here.








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No Hero

The Onion has taken the lead this time in swift-boating John Kerry.

The Onion always pulls through when you need it the most.




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Hero

This is good to hear.  I've been worried.

A funny piece savaging the worst of the pro-gun crowd.




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This is Art

A promotional by Portland artist Charles Lucas.


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Greenlick

A tempest in a teapot is brewing over Oregon's promotion of Mark Helfrich to its head coaching position.









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Twitty

For my readers, with respect.


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Earl Weaver and the Man

Loved the way Weaver argued calls, kicked dirt, and roared like the old school manager he was.

Went out while on a cruise.  Good enough.


ED:  And Stan Musial goes at 92.




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Moping Around

Ha! Ha!

The African Cup started today with two games.  Not a single goal was scored in either match.

Won't happen, but it would be hilarious if the entire first round went scoreless.  Be fitting, what with futbol being so...so...lifeless.

Jolly ho!  Off to a rousing start, aren't we?

On the other hand, Oregon whupped up on UCLA in L.A. and now sits atop the Pac-12 with Washington.

Hmm...Maybe I'll watch the NFL tomorrow.   Not feeling very energetic of late.


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In His Old Age

Gettin' old.


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Lies Always Make Sense

From Iraq's WMD to the NRA's dedication to saving the U.S. from an awful tyranny, to Manti Te'o's inspirational and phony dead girlfriend, a gullible American public always gets what it deserves.

But the cosmic joke is not merely an American phenomenon, for what we really have is a human comedy that is as frequent and dependable as death.

Myths are such powerful forces in humans' lives, such integral aspects of our social and historical fabric, that we would be lost without them.

The very existence of God tells us this.

But don't take my word for it, read Bill Plaschke.

And when you're done with that, try this.


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Monster #10

Buddy Dooley
Monster #10 (2013)
6" x 5" Paint

The tenth and final Monster by Dooley.  I think I'll have a little talk with Dooley one day.  I'd like to know why he did this.


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Can Kelly Win in the NFL?

Can Chip Kelly turn the Philadelphia Eagles around?

The L.A. Times' Chris DuFresnse says yes.

He says the NFL can use a shot in the arm given its stale conservatism and reliance on the status quo.

NFL analyst Heath Evans disagrees, calling Kelly's hire the "worst in NFL history."

Evans' words are hyperbolic given the NFL's often dull history.  I mean there is a lot of competition out there from over the years.

What do I think?  Two answers: I don't know and it depends.  One thing I do know, however, is that Evans' article is filled with factual errors regarding the Oregon program, which he obviously hasn't seen up close.

His argument that Oregon has the advantage of recruiting the "best" players in the land is mistaken.  Oregon, under Mike Bellotti and Kelly, has never recruited a top-ten class.  That honor goes annually to Alabama, Notre Dame, USC and several other programs.

Oregon, in fact, has never had a consensus PAC "best class" of recruits.  That distinction nearly always goes to USC.

Not coincidentally, Stanford's recruiting classes of the past five years have been better than Oregon's.  It is no accident that Stanford finally had the players to defeat the Ducks this season.

What Kelly and Bellotti before him excelled at is coaching.  They took middling athletes, with few exceptions, and coached them up.

Kelly's system, particularly, thrived on speed, which is only one advantage in the development of a football program.  Others are size, quickness, technique, attitude, smarts, work ethic, etc., etc.

Will Kelly succeed?  I don't know.  I do know that he will make the professional game a little more interesting for those of us who find it to be somewhat stale and generally way too conservative.

Don't think for a moment that Pete Carroll in Seattle and Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco weren't paying attention during their PAC coaching years when Kelly's teams regularly beat them.

They have integrated elements of Kelly's method into their pro systems with positive results.


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Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Hadn't listened to this in awhile.  I'll share.


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Monster #9

Buddy Dooley
Monster #9 (2013)
6" x 5" Paint

If you're not laughing you are crying.


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Keep Moving

It is about time Chip Kelly made up his mind.

A personality cult had seized the football program at Oregon, and that was not a good thing.

Despots and control freaks are a drag.

I was never a big fan of Chip Kelly, though I admired his results. His players seemed to love him by most accounts, so what I think doesn't matter.

I get the whole "that is a silly question" shtick that was his calling card while dealing with the media, but some tact in places would have been admirable in itself.

I lack that at times myself.  We all do.  But...

Kelly goes out a winner, but sanctions await the university's football program thanks to one of the dumbest moves an Oregon coach has ever made.

Paying Willie Lyles beaucoup bucks for nothing was absolutely as dumb as the media.

SI's Stewart Mandel on what lies ahead for Oregon.


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Sissy and Levon

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Monster #8

Buddy Dooley
Monster #8 (2013)
6" x 5" Paint


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Aaron

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Chomsky

Chomsky is 84.

He doesn't cover a lot of new ground here, yet what he says is as crucial as ever.


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The Black Mamba

Electric!


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Another Useless "Historical" Film?

We'll see.


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Monster #7

Buddy Dooley
Monster #7 (2013)
6" x 5" Paint


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Sonny Boy Williamson

A tasty selection from Charles Lucas.


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Monster #6

Buddy Dooley
Monster #6 (2013)
6" x 5" Paint

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Rethinking Economics

A daring essay by Andrew Levine.

And another by Greg Kaufmann.






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Now What?

With the college football season about to end  I'll soon have to transition into another form of sporting distraction.

It isn't easy for me because I'm not really a fan of millionaire basketball players (NBA). Professional football (NFL) puts me to sleep most of the time, though I attempt to watch the occasional game.

The 47th Super Bowl is around the corner.  I watched the first two or three, then lost interest for years and years.  I've watched a couple of those in the past decade, but can't remember who won or even played in them.

I don't care much for the hype around the Super Bowl.  It's loud and obnoxious, and of course it is at bottom meaningless.  That is the story of entertainment in general. An action movie and the Super Bowl have a lot in common; they're usually both immediately forgettable.

True artistry is difficult to find anywhere, particularly in sports and movies.  Particularly when you're older and your interest has ebbed because you've become a jaded personality.

I once loved college basketball, but I've sort of lost my day to day passion for that game as well.  I still like March Madness, but I don't follow the conferences like I used to.

The college game is really diluted these days.  The best players turn pro out of high school or after a year or two in the college game.

Kentucky started four freshmen and a sophomore last year and won the NCAA Tournament.  Then those players and the team's sixth man all turned pro.

I'd be very disappointed if I was a Kentucky fan.

I'm skimming the OSU/UO b-ball game tonight.  It's halftime.  Neither team looks very good.

I guess Arizona is the best Pac-12 team this year, coming back up from a few down years.  Back in the day, when Lute Olson led the program, the Wildcats were fun to watch.  They were always very good.

Today I couldn't tell you the name of one single player on the current Arizona team.  Same with UCLA.

Oh well...


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Monster #5

Buddy Dooley
Monster #5 (2013)
6" x 5" Paint

Dooley just puts it out there, never mind the world.

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P.S.  He says there will be ten monsters and then he'll move on to something else.  So bear with him, forgive him, and do what you must do.

Fiesta Madness!

(Bruce Ely photo)

Rogue Barner Ducks in a crowd of KSU fanatics!

Great game.  I'm happy.

Next up for Oregon.  Sanctions, a one year bowl ban, and a new coach!


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Pollack's History

Here is an interesting excerpt by Norman Pollack from his book-in-progress.

While I agree with Pollack that Obama seems a willing functionary of our militarist economy, I'm not equally certain that he is necessarily content with his role therein or believes his own rhetoric.

Where many others would deliberately deceive, Obama is simply overwhelmed by the vagaries of power.  Our choice often appears to be between the deceivers and the inept.

Perhaps it can be no other way.


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The Best

(Football's best uniform)

Somebody should throw an unsportsmanlike-conduct flag on CD later today during the Fiesta Bowl.

He, along with a majority of other old-fashioned football pundits, doesn't like Oregon's Nike-made unis.

Throw the flag while he tailgates with a plateful of scrapple and black-eyed peas--and God knows what kind of insane and distasteful Starbucks' concoction to wash it down with--in front of his TV and berates my favorite college football team for its supposed bad taste in apparel.

He should be reminded that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  In the culinary as well as the football arts.

Don't ever forget the pink pillbox hat!!

There are, however, reasonable voices amid the protesters.

That's fifteen yards and no dessert for you, CD.


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Clowney--ing Around

A Michigan running back gets clowned good here.

One of the best defensive plays you will ever see anywhere.  The speed with which this happened, in the S. Carolina/Michigan Outback Bowl yesterday, is remarkable, and rare.

I watched a lot of college football this season and this takes the RBP Best Moment Trophy.


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