Ok, so I think the Kansas Jayhawks did actually win the National Championship

After more than two and a half weeks, I am finally willing to acknowledge that the victory in the National Championship was not a dream and it ACTUALLY HAPPENED. Unbelievable!!! Go Hawks!!!

So there has been much discussion/gloating/etc post-game and I thought I would share a bit of the shenanigans:

First off, a little family related celebration. From the fine publication that is the Topeka Capital Journal, a picture of my little brother Grant (see arrow) on the night of the championship:

This picture was taken in downtown Lawrence on the day of the 12 minute 'congratulations for winning the championship' parade:

This photo was taken the same day in downtown Manhattan, KS (home of the rival Kansas State Wildcats):On the scale of 1 to funny, I'd give this about a 2. But, this next video is a little better. Since Mario Chalmers hit the big 3 at the end of regulation in the National Championship, it has been referred to as "One Shining Moment". The following is a tribute to our other (and more hated) rival, the Missouri Tigers and some of their shining moments over the past few years:

Ahhhhhh.....it is a good time to be a Jayhawk.....

So there was a lot of discussion following the game regarding Roy Williams (current UNC coach and former longtime KU coach) wearing a KU Jayhawks sticker on his shirt at the National Championship game. Ok, so I can understand how UNC fans might be a little disappointed considering his UNC team 'got their tails whooped' (as he would say) 2 nights earlier. BUT, the gesture went a long way with many KU fans. This barbershop owner in Lawrence DID have a portrait of Roy in the bathroom (called it Roy's Room) until the sticker incident:

When Roy left KU 5 years ago, I was definitely bummed. I had seen him speak a couple of times and thought he was not only an amazing coach, but an amazing human being. Very humble, hard working, genuine guy. I couldn't fault him for going back to his alma mater, but I still felt a little slighted by the guy who I had worshipped for 10+ years.

It passed after a year or so and when Roy finally won his first national championship at UNC, I was happy for him. Many KU fans, however, seemed to foster a deep rooted hatred for the guy for many years. I am HOPING that this gesture will finally 'bury the hatchet' so to speak. In the meantime, we can continue to laugh at his expense. Here are some photos of Roy celebrating the victory:




Kansas Jayhawks #1. Believe it. And good thing we won it this year because our entire team just declared for the NBA draft. Peace.

Calling All Cars!

Friends, I don't ask you for much*, but I am asking for your support at an upcoming event. It's over a month away and I am going to be reminding you nearly every day until it happens, but please save the following date: Wednesday, May 21st.

A pal of mine from the old days of 2006, Shawn (aka Norm Jr. aka Grizzly Adams aka Sir Sleeps A Lot) and his band, The Definite Articles, are playing at the Rickshaw Stop. But wait, there's more! It is their CD release party....and rumor has it they will also be selling flash drives of their EP - never done before in the history of music!**

The Definite Articles have been compared to The Arcade Fire, Final Fantasy and Elvis among others and I would describe them as indie cello rock. I think the sound is really f*cking amazing but you can check it out for yourself here. Listen to "Sea Things" - it is just blowing me away right now. Beautiful melodies, transitions, progression, strings everywhere. Listen to it. Seriously. It may change your life.

I feel like this show is going to be one of those events where you will be able to tell your grandkids........"I was at the Definite Articles first CD release party." Of course, your grandkids will probably be like, "The Definite Articles? Oh man, that's OLD PEOPLE MUSIC". But, hey, screw them. I mean, what did those stupid grandkids ever do for you anyway..... ungrateful little sons of..............I digress.

Mark your calendars. Be there or......just be there.

* Unless you are Nathan and Sarah........whose house I have been squatting at for nearly 2 months. I ask them for quite a bit, like rides to the grocery store and for my allowance and stuff.

** Ok, I'm sure someone has probably already done it, but it seems like a pretty ingenious idea to me.

Laziest Bloggity Blog Ever

Sheesh maneesh. I have been horrible. The good news for the few bloggity blogs 5 regulars out there is that I will be forced for once to be brief in describing the highlights of my past 3 weeks of continued unemployment. Ah, who am I kidding? I can't be brief!!! This is going to be one long f*cking post. Might want to cancel that meeting you have this morning.....

So, in the past 3 weeks, I have...............................

Attended a Nada Surf/Sea Wolf concert at The Fillmore. Sea Wolf is one of those indie bands that just pretty much kicks a bunch of you know what. When my bro worked at musicplustv.com, he and I filmed an interview with lead singer Alex Church at the Treasure Island Music Festival. I was "associate producer" which meant I pretty much stood around and tried not to make any noise. Die hards can check out the interview here.

If you have 3 minutes and 36 seconds, check out their single, "You're a Wolf" here - one of my favorite songs of 2007. Hey, you can listen while you read! Do it. Photo from the Fillmore show:

And Nada Surf, what a great story. Thought they would be a one hit wonder (they sang that song "Popular" in the early zips), but they came back from the abyss and have produced 3 solid albums. Live show was fun - they had a lot of fan participation and even invited a few friends on stage near the end......

2 nights later, I went to see Tokyo Police Club at The Independent. Although their new music/album lacks the raw power of their previous 2 EPs, I thought they sounded great live. Especially for guys that look like they could still be in middle school. Big props to my friends Isabel and Matt who toughed it out on a Monday night to join me for the show and the MOST DELICIOUS SALADS in San Francisco at Fly Bar....seriously if you haven't had the 5 parts bacon, 1 part spinach salad, you are missing out!!!

The day before the TPC show, I attended a truly San Francisco event with my friend Gloria from Charlottesville (good timing on the visit Gloria!!!) The 8th annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race for adults. I think the photos do most of the explaining, but in summary: 400 adults, in costumes racing down THE crookedest street in San Francisco (for all you tourists, it is not Lombard but VERMONT in Potrero Hill) while 1,000 spectators look on. Wow. Next year you can be damn sure that I will be on a big wheel.....

After my weekend of musica and big wheel fun, I headed for San Diego to hang out with my double Js friend Renee. Got to "surf" one day although I think that you call what I was doing "fall" - I blame the crappy conditions. Also put on one of the most pathetic shufflepuck performances in the history of barsports one night when out with her baby's daddy Brenton and his friends. Needless to say, I bought most of the drinks that night. Renee attempted to get me hooked on this horrible television show on Bravo (oh wait, that's redundant) called Rich Housewives of New York or something. The premise is these ridiculously spoiled socialite women who basically plan parties, play tennis and bitch about absolutely nothing. It would be worth watching if ANY OF THEM were hot. Ok, maybe not. They are complete retards.

During the weekend, I watched my Hawks play their way into the Final Four (more on that later) and attended a wine party thrown by the PDiddy of San Francisco, Lyle Poindexter (yes, this is his real name). Normally, I would think a wine party would not be my scene, but it was a blast. Maybe it was the fact that we had to try 15 different wines? While definitely feeling it, I miraculously gave a duplicated wine the same score at positions #2 and #13.....yeah, let's see YOU try that after 12 glasses of wine! Some samples from my comment sheet:

"if my grandmother were alive, she might like this wine. but, she's not. she's dead. thanks for me reminding me"

"very grapey with hints of red wine"

"this wine is so oaky it reminds me of West Virginia......which reminds me of Deliverance.....which reminds me of that scene with Ned Beatty and the hillbillies.......which......you know what, this wine sucks"

Fun times, indeed. The next week saw me travelling back to Virginia to hang out with my friend Miriam. The first time I rolled through Charlottesville, it was freezing and gray. This time, it was......um, well, exactly the same. I think there is some kind of wierd Michael Andrews/Charlottesville jinx going on. All of our outdoor activities plans (tennis, hiking, etc) were scrapped, but we did get to go to:
1) Thomas Jefferson's house (Monticello)!

2) The gift shop at Thomas Jefferson's house (I think we actually spent more time here than the actual house)!
3) Perform the musical "Singing in the Rain" starring Miriam's friend Christina as Gene Kelly!

4) Watch the Kansas Jayhawks demolish North Carolina and then Memphis! YEAH!!!!!

5) Get our picture taken by these flowers!

6) Go to the climbing wall!

7) And.....and.......and.....

Yep. Did I mention that I got to stay in the dorms again and eat at the dining hall? I had nachos, pizza, salad, cereal and 3 different types of pasta for lunch! One night, the guys and I on the floor stayed up until 4am playing video games, playing poker and rating the girls on the floor. It was awesome. Ok, there may be SOME embellishment here...

So, last but certainly not least. Kansas Jayhawks NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy CRAP!!!!!!! I still feel like it is all a dream. Except it is getting to be a really long dream. And frankly, parts of the dream have been kind of lame and unnecessary - like why would I get a cold after the game? I am just hoping it wasn't like that one season of Dallas where Bobby Ewing died, but it ended up all being in his wife's head and then he came back.

So, the main thing I will say about the Championship.......man, it takes a lot of luck to win the whole thing. We could have very easily gone home if Davidson would have made the three pointer at the end of the game OR if North Carolina would have kept their rally going in the second half of the semifinal OR if Memphis wouldn't have completely choked and missed all those free throws OR if Mario wouldn't have made that incredible three pointer at the end of regulation. Florida coach Billy Donovan said it best after his team won in 2006 - if you played the games again, you probably would get a completely different outcome. No doubt. But, I will take it. The National Championship that is. Kansas Jayhawks #1.

Whew. I've got to start updating this more often so it doesn't become such a marathon. Updates on my job search upcoming - I actually had an interview last week. WHOA.

Rock [something that rhymes with hawk] Jayhawk, Go KU.....

Wow. I am way behind on posts and need to catch up something fierce, but I had to drop by to say.......WOW. Mario Chalmers for President.

For the first time in 20 LONG years, my beloved Jayhawks have actually done the unthinkable, winning the NCAA tournament. I have woken up the past couple of days thinking that this whole past couple of weeks were just a long, detailed dream. I am starting to believe that it may not be a dream afterall......

Much more to follow, but here is a picture of some of the 75,000 people that poured into Downtown Lawrence the night of the victory:

Unbelievable.