The Capn's Arbitrary Bowl Prediction Method- The BCS Bowls

Before you read any further be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

Tostitos FiestaNotre Dame (9-2) vs. Ohio State (9-2)
The Songs: These were two songs I didn’t have to seek out. I can hear them in my head whenever I think of college football. Don’t worry, I still took the opportunity to go back and listen to two unforgettable anthems of the gridiron. I can only guess at how many millions of fans across the generations have sung along to these songs, during the great history of both schools. This is truly a fight song match-up for the ages, the kind we don’t see often enough this time of year. We should all appreciate just how lucky we are to get to hear these songs played side by side.
“Notre Dame Victory March” is in many ways the unofficial theme song for college football in general. It has stood the test of time as well as any song in the whole of American music. The melody and lyrics are as rousing as anything I have ever heard. I especially like the fact that the music has slight undertones of Eastern European influences hinting at the ethnic and immigrant populations who supported Notre Dame so fiercely during its formative years. Notre Dame is a unique institution in America, and it has a fight song befitting such a school.
Ohio State and The Best Damn Band In The Land, or TBDBITL for short, are graced with a fight song nearly as famous. “Across the Field” is among the few immortal songs of college football. It’s so popular and easy to like that I have personally head Michigan Wolverines humming the tune. It has almost reached the same level of recognition as “Notre Dame” victor march so that it belongs not so much to a particular team as to college football in general. “Across the Field” receives bonus points, because it is so hard to imitate the sound exactly do to TBDBITL’s rare instrumentation modeled after old British brass bands. That’s part of what gives it such a unique and easily identified sound. I also have to give it extra bonus points for including one of the greatest lines in the whole of the English language “set the Earth reverberating”. It’s such a cool phrase I’ve turned it into sort of a personal motto.

The Game: This is likely to be the closest and hardest fought battle we’ll see in this whole bowl season. It will be one for the ages, and I’m too scared of ruining the event when it actually happens to make any specific predictions. In the end it comes down to the song with the broader appeal and longer history.

The Prediction: Notre Dame-31 The Ohio State University-30


Nokia SugarWest Virginia (10-1) vs. Georgia (10-2)
The Songs:
Everyone get out your pencils and dial your bookies, because I am about to make a huge upset prediction. If you don’t believe that West Virginia will beat Georgia, then you have not truly listened to their fight songs. All the evidence is there you just have to hear it.
UWV plays “Hail West Virginia” like it wants to not only win, but to rub your face in it too. The song as such a brash, unapologetically forward sound you can easily see them playing it more to gloat than to celebrate. This is the sound of a school that doesn’t just savor victory, they lust over it. Do not come between the Mountaineers and their goal if you know what’s good for you.
UGA, the school not the dog, promotes a song called “Glory” as their anthem of choice. It is a good song and one sure to inspire a lot of people and raise a big cheer. There’s a good reason for that, it’s because this song is better known as “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. This song has been around since the Civil War (on the side opposite of Georgia I might add), and it has worked long and hard to earn its reputation and credibility within the heart’s and minds of the American people. To allow the University of Georgia to rip the song off –making only one change, a horrific watering down of the lyrics- and apply it to their victory efforts would be a grave injustice.

The Game: Don’t ask me to explain how the score I predict will actually come to pass, because I can’t. I don’t think any reasonable prediction of how the game actually progresses producing the result I predict in all likelihood. My rule is that if you can’t get your own fight song, you get shutout in my prediction.

The Prediction: West Virginia-17 Georgia-0


FedEx OrangePenn State (10-1) vs. Florida State (8-4)
The Songs:
The Nittany Lion Blue Band has a real pleaser in “Fight On, State”. For starters it’s a jazzy number with the modern sound, fans love. Second it has plenty of tempo changes which make it great for priming a home crowd. Most importantly you can hear the joy of the musicians playing it through the music. That kind of good attitude is infectious. This song is so jubilant it nurtures victories like the sun nurtures flowers, with a constant bombardment of warm, positive energy.
Florida State’s fight song sounds like it came straight from the sound track of a 1940’s movie. The tempo shifts are a little abrupt, and I am not convinced the key is good for singing. I would rather her something with a little more saber rattling behind it too. This song sound like it is just glad you chose to listen to it. The band plays with such restraint you wonder if the retirement community down the street asked them to keep the volume down. I just feel like I should be watching a movie instead of a football game.

The Game: Penn State has this one in a walk. Florida State shows some real spirit, and the players may just have a real fire in their belly, but on this occasion it’s all for not. The superior Penn State team controls the game in all aspects and never lets FSU get close.

The Prediction: Penn State- 45 Florida State-20


The Rose Bowl Game Presented by CitiUSC (12-0) vs. Texas (12-0)
The Songs: I will try to keep this brief, since I know more people will be interested in my thoughts on the game than my thoughts on the fight songs.
Southern California sings “Fight On!” a pretty zippy and perky little tune that stands out from the rest of their musical repertoire mostly based on cinematic music from sword and sandal epics. The bright notes of ‘Fight On” have an odd way of inspiring the dewy eyed optimism of a college student whose definition of bad weather is 70 degrees and mostly sunny. This is a fight song for those who are comfortable in their situation, not for those who want to fight and scrap for whatever they can get. The songs simple lyrics and very brief playing time reflect a general philosophy that if you can’t get it easily, it isn’t worth having. I do admire the studio orchestra quality sound their marching band produces.
Texas has “Texas Fight!” on which to hang their unsightly cowboy hats. While I think the costumes the Texas marching band has to wear are a crime against both the young musicians and their audience, I admire the pluck with which they play this quirky fight song. It reflects a certain blue collar appeal. There’s something brawny and masculine to the song that suggests a willingness to stick your nose where it don’t belong. However the song is also a little scattered in its focus, implying a slightly unbalanced view of the world. That certainly raises questions of stability and reliability. I am unimpressed with the lyrics, but I love the attitude. This song is a little like a cowboy in a movie. He may get shot down and die alone, but until he does he’ll go where he wants and do what he wants and dare anyone to try and stop him

The Game: Here’s the prediction we all want to see. Who’s going to win one of the most eagerly anticipated games in college football in years (or in a year at least)? After listening to the fight songs I can say it comes down to a few things. USC, as I hear it in the song, is certainly confident and capable, but they may be a little soft. Texas is certainly brash and tough, but that could all be for not if they aren’t focused. It’s a competition between speed and talent or power and will. In my experience I believe that a superior will can overcome many obstacles, but natural talent is rarely one of them. Everything about USC that I can hear in their fight song is just too bright and elysian to be spoiled by the audacity of Texas. This is a game that goes back and forth for a long time. It will be high scoring and fun to watch. In the second half USC takes the lead and holds it. Texas comes close, but USC prevents a miracle and pulls the win out of the toughest game either of these teams have played all year.

The Prediction: USC-45 Texas-38

So after 28 bowls and 56 songs, you now have all the predictions you'll need this bowl season. I sincerly hope you have as much fun using them as I did creating them.

A dazzling display of teaching and technology.

This week I got a little bit of a gift (in keeping with the season I suppose), because I had the privlege of watching several very high quality people give presentations on the different methods of employing technology in education they had practiced themselves. I was dully ipressed with the broad array of lessons and projects the students undertook. They used technology in a variety of ways and found so many special tool that I wished I made notes of all of them. I thought everyone who presented did an incredible job, and i really wish they had been alloted more time so I could have heard more from all of them. I was especially interested in the different methods the presenter had found to encourage students to interact or communicate in new ways. The ideas presented varied from an online international poetry guild to a large scale role play exercise meant to generate debate and conversation on a number of controversial issues. Those who used these applications seemed to find the level of enthusiasm from the students quite high, and their investment in the work they put into it just as high. It made me think that it seems to be a common misconception that web creations are some how not as "real" as corporeal items. A website isn't as good as magazine article. Wikipedia isn't as good as the Encyclopedia Britanica. I think this has commonly translated into a resistance to web based lessons by older generations of teachers, because they never felt the material was as serious once you involved the Internet. For the students I heard about, and those I have seen in my own experience, the work they create on the web is every bit a significant a that which they turn in on paper. I felt encouraged by these presentations. They seemed to confirm my longstanding theory that computers can model anything, and that a good teacher can draw a lesson from anything. I want to extend my thanks here to all who presented and to those who organized the event. I had a great time, and I feel I learned something too.

Comic Shop Musing 12/17/2005

As the wheels continue to turn at the publishing houses of all those monthly titles I have recommended, I thought I would turn my attention elsewhere for just a little while. (By the way, how's everyone enjoying all those comics I sent you out to buy. They are good stuff aren't they. Well except for the fact that it's been forever since a new issue of Planetary came out, but you can't do much about that. Oh, who am I kidding? I know no one who visits this blog would think enough of me to spend money on comic books just because I say so. I suppose I'll just have to live with the fact that I seem to be the only blog on the entire inter-web not yet featured on CNN. Anyways . . .) I thought what with it being the season of crass commericalism and gift exchanges, that maybe I could do my part to send some of those dollars the way of the comic vendor. Now obvioulsy unless you're involved in a three-dollar limit Secret Santa, then you probably don't have much reason to buy anyone an issue of a monthly title as a gift. And take it from a guy who's in the process of hunting down some issues of Sea of Red he missed, finding several issues of a particular title and buying them in a group can be hard to do , and it doesn't always work out all that well. Thankfully you have other options. The publishers of the various comicbooks go to the courtesy of collecting their tittles into convenient trade paperback form, whenever they complete a major storyline or just when they find they have a large number of issues that could be bulked together for some good reading. I have always enjoyed trade paperbacks and I own a sizeable collection of them. Still I, and all the other comic book fans on your gift list, would always enjoy having some more. So I have decided to share with you a review of some trades I recently acquired, as well as suggestions for a whole slew of poosible gift ideas. Most of these trad can be had for $25 or less, so they'll fit in your budget. Plus, the recipient of any of these gifts is likely to start reading them as soon as he opens the package, so that means they'll be out of your way as you put the finishing touches on the roast beast.

The Cap'n Recommends:

Walking Dead Vol.1 Days Gone Bye- The basic premise of this series is the same as every zombie movie you've ever seen. Some mysterious condition arrises which first kills people then turns their corpses into animated, flesh eating scavengers. Meanwhile an intrepid band of dissimilar humans finds themselves having to cooperate to survive. The story appeared so cookie-cuttter common that I passed it over when it first came out. It wasn't until I had heard the glowing and repeated praise of the series by my local comic vendor that I decided to buy a trade and give it a try. Walking Dead stands apart from other tales of the undead, because it recasts the story in two important ways.
First writer Robert Kirkman, an avid zombie fan himself, has made an open decleration of his intent to make this an ongoing story for as long as possible. That means that that unlike so many movies, real time and attention is devoted to the characters and their problems. We begin to see the possibilities of living in a zombie filled world for the complex and intriguing possibility it is. The horror of this series doens't come from gruesome scenes of mayhem and gore, although artist Tony Moore is an expert and that very thing. The terror comes from watching the slow but steady erosion of the world we know and love. Now we are left with a world of pure necessity where people have to do all they can just to get by.
The other key feature is the degree to which this is a story about the characters more than the world they live in. For the most part, zombies stories have been more intersted in the dead than the living. Kirkman and Moore reverse that by giving us a family as the central characters. They are so identifiable and so likeable that we come to care about them deeply and personally. Just as the horror comes from waching the slow and agonizing death of our modern world, the drama comes from watching the slow corrosion of the morals and values of these characters. We watch as their plight becomes more desperate and their behavior becomes more ativistic. I have only just begun to follow the story, but I am sure we will witness a point where it becomes hard to tell the foul, loathsome scavengers who savage our concept of humanity, and the zombies apart.
I gladly recommend this volume, which I already own, and any of the subsequent volumes I plan to purchase soon.

The Goon: Fancy Pants Edition- This tale also features plenty of zombie fighting but this is of a different variety. The Goon is a creation of pure pulp joy. He's the archtypal 1930's roughneck, who splits time between secretely running a criminal empire and using his sizable brawn to protect his city from the mechinations of the evil Zombie Priest. The series' talented writer/artist/creator Eric Powell easily leaps between genres combining elements of horror comedy, western, and crime into his stories. It's a real fun romp to read his stories.
This particular volume is a hardcover collection of stories from various parts of the series two incarnations as both an independent publication and from Dark Horse publishing. They put the stories into a chronological order though they weren't originally released that. That makes this particular tome a great buy for someone interested in a fun and original story, but not interested in piecing a story together one month at a time.

The Cap'n Suggest:
While I have read some of these stories I currently own none of them (something I hope to correct in the near future). I believe they all provide qualiy entertainment, and any or all of them would be a fine gift.

• Bill Waterson's The Complete Calvin and Hobbes- We all loved this strip back when it came out in daily form. Waterson achieved some of the highest levels of achievement in the comic art form ever seen in a newspaper since Will Eisner's immortal work on The Spirit. The three volume hardcover collection comes with a steep $150 pricetag. So you ma want to reserve this for someone extra-special or maybe a gift to a family of comic lovers (is there such a thing?).
• Any of Alan Moore's classics from Watchmen to From Hell to V for Vendetta . Moore is a grand master of comics storytelling and any comic fan you know would love to own any of these works.
• The entire Crossgen library can be found pretty cheap these days. The publisher was forced to close its doors too soon do to poor management, but the creators who worked their created some very memorable tales. Thankfully, the company was very efficient at collecting their series into trade paperback form. Another bonus, is that the Crossgen covered just about everything genre except superheroes, so they are good for non-traditional comic fans too.
• Brian K. Vaughan's Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days explores the potential convergance of super-heroes an politics through stories that reflect the world we live in through a very different lens.
• Charles Burns' Black Hole is a series that defies description, but it's been widely praised in the mainstream media as well. If the person on your list ever loved the dark underbelly of anything, then Black Hole is for them.

What's that? You want to know, what are these graphic novels you keep hearing about? That is a whole different blog entry people, and there's only so much time in the day.

The Capn's Arbitrary Bowl Prediction Method Part 2

Before you read any further be sure you check out Part 1 of this series.

Pacific Life HolidayOregon (10-1) vs. Oklahoma (7-4)
The Songs:
The Oregon Marching Ducks deliver a top quality fight song. Though it isn’t as up-tempo as I like, it certainly has all the other elements. “Mighty Oregon” has the swagger of tradition military marches with slight modern overtones. The band plays it with a strong, full sound allowing each instrument to be heard. The song conveys a real sense of pride just through the music, and the lyrics are really good stuff. I can see overly emotional mother’s blowing their noses and dabbing their eyes as they watch their darling child in the trombone section take the field as the band plays this tune. The best part is that this song is just good enough to make up for the Oregon marching band and football team’s atrocious uniforms.
Depending on your perspective “Boomer Sooner”, the fight song of the Oklahoma University is either the greatest fight song ever or the worst. I subscribe to the later camp. This hyper-repetitive overly forceful song is about as much fun as being shaken by the drunk sitting next to you in the bleachers whenever Ok. U. scores a touchdown. As evidence I cite the songs lyrics in their entirety.
Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,Boomer Sooner, O-K-U!
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,Oklahoma, Oklahoma,Oklahoma, Oklahoma,Oklahoma, O-K-U!
I'm a Sooner bornAnd a Sooner bred,And when I dieI'll be Sooner dead.
Rah, Oklahoma! Rah, Oklahoma!Rah, Oklahoma! O-K-U!

The Game: I think this will be a genuinely enjoyable bowl game. Two driven teams and a stadium full of passionate fans will almost certainly make the game sight atmosphere electric. This game will take all four quarters to decide as the two teams take turns having the lead then giving it up. While Oklahoma pounds away at the Oregon defense with their one trick pony running attack, the Ducks respond with a more versatile and more nuance offensive scheme. As the workhorses of the Sooners’ offense wear down, Oregon takes the lead to an insurmountable level. The game is sealed with Oregon holding onto the ball to run out the clock in the last few minutes of the game.

The Prediction: Oregon-34 Oklahoma-21


Gaylord Hotels Music CityMinnesota (7-4) vs. Virginia (6-5)
The Songs:
Minnesota seems to be reaching a little above their station with the “Minnesota Rouser” they use as a fight song. It’s very light and flighty. It hardly seems like real fight song material, it’s really better suited for Golden Gopher pep rallies and other small gatherings. If all the college football songs threw a fraternity party, “Minnesota Rouser” would be the guy who pretended to be from an Ivy League School that just happened to swing by the notorious party school for the weekend.
Solid work by the drum line gives the Virginia Cavalier’s “The Cavalier Song” that extra boost to be a better than average fight song. The melody lacks much nuance, but it captures the positive energy a football anthem needs. A crowd of thousands could get behind this song cheering and clapping along, giving the team that positive charge needed to win some football games.

The Game: This will look like a Minnesota route at first, but sometime in the second half the Gophers will try a play they don’t have the talent to pull off. Virginia will be waiting for this to happen. The Cavaliers will seize the moment and take full advantage of this momentum change to win the game

The Prediction: Virginia- 21 Minnesota-17


Vitalis SunNorthwestern (7-4) vs. UCLA (9-2)
The Songs:
Northwestern has such a catchy fight song I found myself clapping my hands just listening to it. I enjoy the whole package. Solid lyrics, good music, classy band performance are all present in “Go U Northwestern”, and the piccolo trills in the background are a great touch. This is a real crowd pleaser of a song. My only concern, why does a school of such academic repute have to resort to using initials in song titles? Come on now Northwestern you are better than that.
University of California- Los Angeles has two versions of the same fight song. One they call “Sons of Westwood” and the other is called “Mighty Bruins”. Neither of these versions really seems capable of carrying a distracted stadium and frustrated team on its back all the way to a victory. They both have plenty of energy, and drive. The musical arrangement lacks a strong central instrument though or quality melody to top it all off. It’s too punchy for its own good. This is a good example of a song that became overassertive in a town obsessed with grabbing all the attention you can.

The Game: Since both teams seem so high energy I predict a shootout. As UCLA pounds the ball down the middle, they make steady and deliberate progress down the field. Northwestern responds with their own arsenal which is more complete if slightly riskier. Overall I see the better combination of weapons wining this game for the Purple team from the shores of Lake Michigan.

The Prediction: Northwestern-42 UCLA-33


IndependenceSouth Carolina (7-4) vs. Missouri (6-5)
The Songs:
Not enough college marching bands have truly outstanding nicknames. So you have to enjoy the marching band from South Carolina for taking on the mantel of “The Mighty Sound of the Southeast”. Now that is a nickname. The fight song has a title perhaps more fitting for the line at the DMV than collegiate athletics with “Step to the Rear”. There is a certain exuberance to the tune that makes me think of the theme songs to old Hanna-Barbera cartoon shows I would watch on Saturday mornings. (By the way, there is no way this song sounds like any other cartoon company’s theme song. It doesn’t have the overproduced nursery-rhyme sound of Warner Bros. Nor does it have Disney’s unmistakably childish tone clearly designed to market well to the 10 and under crowd.) The band’s confident play brought a smile to my face and made me forget about the other USC for a few seconds. However having looked at the lyrics that supposedly go along with this anthem, I have no idea how any person could sing those words and stay even remotely close to the melody supplied. I did learn that the red in SC’s uniforms is properly referred to as garnet.
Back in Columbia, MO, Missouri, or as they apparently prefer to be called Mizzou, stick to the traditional march style fight song. The band lands the big notes like punches. In fact if this song was a heavy weight fighter it could win a belt with all the force it’s packing. I admire having that kind of force and bravado. The song “Fight Tigers” speaks of a confident team that’s going to do everything it can win the game. Unfortunately for Mizzou, they have an Achilles heel, oom-pah. As a former tuba player my ears will always notice when the low brass have been given the undignified oom-pah part. Essentially using oom-pah in a fight song, is like using the spread offense, it shows a lack of innovation or an inability to do anything more impressive. Underneath the flashy surface you have a real weakness if you are relying on the oom-pah.

The Game: While Mizzou does claim an early lead, it is pretty apparent that they are getting by more on a gimmick filled offense than true talent or strategy. South Carolina has the higher spirits throughout the game, and they pour every ounce of that passion into a well designed game plan. The coaching staff may make some questionable calls, but ultimately it works out pretty well for the Gamecocks who take the lead in the second half and do just enough to hold on for a win.

The Prediction: South Carolina- 28 Missouri- 20


Chick-fil-A PeachMiami (9-2) vs. LSU (10-2)
The Songs:
This is a match-up of some big time football programs, but do they have an equally high caliber of song? Before we resolve that debate, as well as determine whose anthem is better, I have to say a few words about band nicknames. As I mentioned before, it seems as if college bands don’t form their own personalities anymore. They just leach off of the culture and traditions of the football team or school at large. I am pleased to report that here we have two examples of bands at least trying to separate themselves. One of them is the band form the University of Miami -which resides in Florida and is not to be confused with Miami University in Ohio. (By the way the confusion of the name is because both schools draw their titles indirectly from the same tribe of Native Americans. I don’t know if there ever was any tribe that actually stretched from Ohio to Florida, but that’s beside the point). The Hurricane band has adopted the nickname “The Band of the Hour”. They also have a few of their own traditions like their “Famous First Rehearsal”. These things are a good start, but ultimately much more of the band’s identity comes from the football program rather than themselves. The LSU band has a terrific nickname. They are “The Golden Band from Tigerland”. They’re costumes are some of the most colorful and outrageous in the world of marching music. Plus, they can trace their history of being a top level show band back to wacky Louisiana governor Huey Long. (Aside: Whatever happened with that remake of All the King’s Men they were going to make with Sean Penn and Jude Law? Did it suck and they decided to push it early 20006 to hide it amongst all the other dregs that are released the first four months of the year? Or are they worried they weren’t going to compete against giant apes and gay cowboys this Oscar season so they decided to push it back to fall 2006? Either way isn’t this just going to make Sean Penn even crazier? Anyways . . .) Those marching tigers sure know how to put together a band show, I’ll tell you that.
Going back to the songs, this competition isn’t very close. Miami’s very simple fight song has a great opening hook and nothing else. It seems to repeat the same to lines of music over an over. It never comes at you with much force or seems to declare the school’s dedication to victory or other sentiments typical of fight songs. LSU on the other hand sports the very catchy “Hey Fightin’ Tigers”. It’s full of cheer and it has a great bass line and a very marchable beat, and a great swinging sound. Overall it’s everything you expect from the Golden Band from Tigerland.

The Game: Miami will show some razzle at points; they may even pull out some dazzle. They will look flashy and fast, but it just won’t add up to much production. Oh, and they’ll have no kicking game. When your fight song doesn’t have a chorus I just assume your team has no kicking game. LSU will play like they have something to prove. Whatever it is they’ll prove it and look great doing so.

The Prediction: LSU- 35 Miami-14


Meineke Car CareSouth Florida (6-5) vs. NC State (6-5)
The Songs: I can’t even think about the songs right now. I’m sorry but how does Meineke Car Care get a bowl? Who let George Foreman’s muffler dealing cronies sponsor a college football bowl game? Have they been fired yet? Seriously I want someone to investigate this before we see the Verizon Wireless “Can You Hear Me Now?” Bowl.
Now about those fight songs, North Carolina State’s marching band seems like a great unit. They are “The Power Sound of The South”, and they play the tune “The Red and White from State” as their fight song. The song intimidated me as I listened to it in my chair. It is such a rush of adrenaline and music that I felt attacked by the song. The drums pound out notes at a machine gun pace, as the other instruments blare like sirens. I feared that I was about to listen to hundreds of college students collapse from exertion as soon as they stopped playing. That kind of unbridled power and energy makes me worry for the other team.
The University of South Florida’s fight song doesn’t seem very passionate or in fact much of anything at all. It’s a fairly simple march and not much of one at that. The songs lazy tempo make it sound like the musicians are already tired and dragging their feet. I don’t know how the crowds at Raymond Jones stadium ever get the enthusiasm to cheer on anything.

The Game: This will be a real lopsided game. NC State will mop the field with the Bulls of South Florida. They obviously will have the advantage in speed on both sides of the ball, and I don’t hear any possible advantage for South Florida. It won’t be pretty. If USF scores at all, it will be when the Wolfpacks’ prevent defense give them some pity points late in the fourth quarter.

The Prediction: North Carolina State-38 South Florida-3


AutoZone LibertyTulsa (8-4) vs. Fresno State (8-4)
The Songs:
Why is Tulsa’s mascot the Golden Hurricane? I can understand Miami being the Hurricanes, but Tulsa? Their fight song certainly doesn’t suggest anything like a hurricane. It is airy, but in the light and gentle kind of way. I think every instrument plays a trill at some point during this perky little number. The music may not raise a cheer, but it certainly raised a smile.
The school in the valley stands by a pretty simple a straight forward number. Fresno State’s Bulldog Marching Band honks out a fairly dull “Fight Varsity”. The chords are powerful, and there is something to be said about being direct, but I felt more moved to shrug my shoulders than stomp my feet.

The Game: As I see it, the game features good execution and steady play by both teams. Both teams refuse to back down, and the game could conceivably come down to the last possession. However I see the swifter feet and better passing of Tulsa getting touchdowns while Fresno State has to settle for field goals.

The Prediction: Tulsa-21 Fresno State-9


EV1.net HoustonTCU (10-1) vs. Iowa State (7-4)
The Songs: Sadly very little distinguishes these two fight songs. I don’t mean that in a derogatory. Both of these schools have quality tunes. I just find their similarity and shared lack of distinguishing or outstanding characteristics upsetting because it makes my job that much harder. Both songs are fairly basic marches, with your standard “Rah, school! Go, fight team!” lyrics. The music features some pretty nice soaring horns and hefty drums in both songs. There’s nothing objectionable in either song, and there’s plenty of spirited fun in both. So I have a really difficult time making a decision. Iowa State’s song is more complicated, but TCU’s song is a touch livelier. In the end I will give the advantage to the Horned Frogs over the Cyclones, just because I enjoy a marching band that can swing.

The Game: This is a close game and a hard fought battle. Both teams play well on both sides of the ball. A relatively low scoring first half erupts into a dazzling offensive display in the second half. Iowa State stops a big drive, then turns the ball over resulting in the score that gives TCU the lead which they hang onto, until the game ends. Both teams form a genuine respect for each other, and everyone feels proud about the game they played.

The Prediction: TCU-27 Iowa State-21


AT&T CottonTexas Tech (9-2) vs. Alabama (9-2)
The Songs:
The Red Raiders of Texas Tech like to do a lot with a little. Their marching band takes a fairly simple marching tune, and adds a lot of life to it. “Fight Raiders” doesn’t have much memorable material to it, but the band’s performance adds a several new dimensions to the tone of the song and my sense of the team. They attack each note fiercely, indicating an aggressive offensive attack. The drums speed along at near super-human speeds, suggesting a preference for a fast paced game. And the whole band really punches out each melodic phrase with a force normally reserved for operatic grand finales, hinting at a hard hitting attack. All of these are very positive signs for a football team.
Alabama’s “Million Dollar Band” plays “Yea, Alabama” with a certain subdued confidence. The easy going tempo and peppy melody belie the power that hides behind each note. This fight song invites you to underestimate it, knowing that once you do it can take surprise you with unexpected intensity.

The Game: I think Texas Tech fans will look back at this game and wonder how they lost it. Alabama will look inept when they have the ball on offense, and Texas Tech will look like they are having their way with the Crimsons Tides defense. Yet, somehow the Raiders will keep getting stopped short of scoring. Still the Raiders will lead for a long time and stack up a lot of yardage. Somewhere I the second half ‘Bama will turn little mistakes by the TTU defense into big gains. And very quickly Tech will see their large lead slip away, and will spend the closing minutes struggling to come back for the win.

The Prediction: Alabama-21 Texas Tech-20


OutbackIowa (7-4) vs. Florida (8-3)
The Songs:
Most people have a hard time thinking of anything interesting about Iowa. It’s one of those plane unobjectionable states in the Midwest U.S. that grows a lot of corn and doesn’t make the news very often. I will always remember it as the birth place of Riley Finn, but most people don’t memorize the biographies of Buffy the vampire slayer’s boyfriends. The Iowa Hawkeye marching band has a pretty good fight song to be proud of. Their Iowa fight song is a jazzy little number that is bound to get the Kinnick Stadium faithful dancing in the bleachers. Songs like this generate a positive and optimistic atmosphere that promotes victory.
Gator fans may have a lot to be proud about, but that doesn’t mean they should have a great fight song too. “The Orange and the Blue” has a lovely cheerful melody, and when played by a quality band, it adequately serves as a fight song. The actual music is fairly rich with each voice having an interesting part. I suppose it would work well for some schools, but the University of Florida should expect better. What this song never does is take the music and the passion up to a higher level. This song would be fine for a lukewarm fan base, but we all know that football fans run closer to boiling. This is a fight song that holds a place, instead of doing a job.

The Game: Florida shows a lot of talent and skill in executing a well-designed game plan. They could beat a lot of teams playing that well, but this is Iowa. The Hawkeyes just have a slight edge in all the major categories. Iowa’s team plays with more energy and more power while the Gators try to get by on sheer talent. In the end, Iowa’s superior execution translates into a fairly simple ration, for every 7 points their defense surrenders, their offense scores 10.

The Prediction: Iowa-30 Florida-21



Toyota GatorLouisville (9-2) vs. Virginia Tech (10-2)
The Songs:
Louiville’s “Fight! U of L” packs plenty of punch. You can hear the pride come through the melody and infect your spirit. The Cardinals sound like the kind of program with enough spunk and drive to take on any team. The drum line adds another special element. Their unusual syncopated cadence to what is an otherwise mediocre march creates a sense of the unexpected or the unknown. No matter how prepared the opponent thinks they are, Louisville will always figure out some way to best them.
VA Tech is not known for their marching band or their musical traditions. After listening to “Tech Triumph” it seems clear that having a top quality fight song was never very high on the school’s priorities. I don’t mean to disparage the school, but this song simply doesn’t work as a fight song. It’s pretty much a circus march, the kind they used to play as they paraded into town back when circuses still did parades and they didn’t tour in a fleet of 18 wheelers. Also it goes on way to long. The Hokies just don’t seem to use their fight song as a source of inspiration very often.

The Game: This game will actually be a little embarrassing for both teams. Virginia Tech will not play up to their full potential and will ultimately look either sloppy or lazy or maybe both. Louisville will in turn be one of the goofiest teams to watch this bowl season. 4 out of 5 of their plays will either be near disasters or botched play calls, but that fifth play will be a big one and will keep them moving forward down the field. It ultimately comes down to the fact that no matter how well prepared the Hokies are, there is no good defense for chaos.

The Prediction: Louisville-27 Virginia Tech-17



Capital OneWisconsin (9-3) vs. Auburn (9-2)
The Songs:
Wisconsin’s fight song “On Wisconsin” is a classic college football song. It remains one of the few songs that can still inspire images of the band marching down the field. It does everything you could want lifts spirits, raises the heart rate, and fills all the children of the dairy state with a sense of pride and accomplishment. The anthem genuinely could inspire a team to victory. The song is so great that the state of Wisconsin made it the official state song. In fact it became the official state song mostly because most people though it already was.
Down in Alabama, they know a thing or two about college marching bands, and Auburns band doesn’t disappoint. The rendition of “War Eagle” I had is genuinely rousing, if a little trite. The soaring notes do remind me of a flight of an eagle. There’s really only one problem, but it’s a big one. Auburn’s mascot is the tiger. How did an eagle get involved in this? I am deducting major points for being confused about what animal you cheer for.

The Game: These songs are both proud and loud, so I predict a hard hitting low scoring affair. The Wisconsin team will have their work cut out for them in overcoming a team as passionate and dedicated as Auburn. Will execute well and play out their game plan to perfection. There’s just one problem, it’s not the right game plan! Wisconsin eventually get a mismatch or opening it exploits to take an insurmountable lead in the second half.

The Prediction: Wisconsin-24 Auburn-14

On to the BCS Bowls.

The Capn's Arbitrary Bowl Prediction Method Part 1

Arbitrary Bowl Prediction Method (Supplied by Music)

Everyone has some hobby or interest of which they prefer others, even close personal friends, never know. These range from our silly/embarrassing pastimes, like shrinky dinks, to our borderline pathological fixations, such as that collection of memorabilia from Days of Our Lives. One way or another we know that if the public discovered our hidden hobbies our street cred would plummet. For my part, I have a long running interest in the topic of gambling. To be sure, I have never wagered money on any sporting event, game of chance, or other proposition; I’m far too risk adverse for that. I enjoy thinking about things like how point-spreads are drawn up or which casino game favors the player over the house. It’s all thought experiments for me. Despite my purely intellectual interest, I still try to keep it on the down low, because I don’t want to look like a shifty degenerate. Remember I’m trying to educate our nation’s youth as a profession. I don’t think having a reputation as my local school district’s Jimmy the Greek would help me earn the trust of students and their parents.

My interest in the subject continuous though. One of the most fascinating topics in the realm of gambling is the sports handicapper. This person helps the mass amounts of desperate sports gamblers, by providing them with special insight into sporting events, often for a charge. These “professionals” of the gambling world often have success stories they can point to, but the truth is all gambling requires some losing, and eventually everyone regress to a .500 winning percentage. For me all methods of handicapping games serve one purpose: the information is to help you to rationalize placing a large bet. Most people are unwilling to gamble unless they have some assurance that they aren’t just throwing their money away, so they turn to handicappers to give them a reason to make the wager. Except the truth is that at least half the bets you make will be lost money.

Experts who have studied gambling often advise that there are only two “wining” strategies to gambling –and here “winning” means psychologically healthy and not likely to lead you down a path to utter financial ruin. You can either allocate a limited amount of money and keep making bets, risking only money either previously allocated to betting or money earned off of old bets, until you’ve used it all up. You won’t ever earn money doing this, but the odds of actually earning money on bets in the long haul are exceedingly slim anyways. At least this strategy allows you to enjoy the thrill of gambling as long as the probabilities allow. The other strategy is to acknowledge that you will finish roughly at break even and select only a limited amount of bets to make. If you win a little, great, if you lose a little, tough, either way you won’t ever have risked your whole future on some trivial wager.

For some people out there, though they feel compelled to gamble and they’re just looking for an excuse. These are the people handicappers assist. I have decided to offer my own handicapping strategy, to be employed for the first time this college football bowl season. I will predict the winners and final scores, based on a comparison of the school’s fight songs. These predictions are made before I see any Vegas spreads, so I want to be clear I’m not trying to actually make any predictions that could be useful to gamblers. The idea of this piece is to satirize the work of sport’s handicappers (because, trust me, any reason they give you to justify making a bet will be just as arbitrary as comparing fight songs.) Also for anyone who reads this who has an interest in gambling the psychologically healthy way, and does so through proper legal means, then I thought I could provide a sufficiently amusing method on which to base any wagers you may make. Hey, it should be funny to talk about at a New Year’s Eve party.

(One last note, the songs I judge these schools on may not be considered the definitive fight songs of their respective universities. I am merely working with whichever piece of music I could conveniently find online that was distinct to your school. This means that I threw out all the “Let’s Go Blue!” and “Hey! Song” cheers that are used by almost every marching band. If you are associated with a given school whose musical repertoire has bee misrepresented, then please correct my error in the comments section, and feel free to disregard my prediction for the game.)
In writing this piece I principally use the archives at these two websites:
http://www.1122productions.com/fightsongs/
http://www.fightmusic.com/index.html

So here are my college football bowl picks…

New OrleansSouthern Miss (6-5) vs. Arkansas State (6-5)
The Songs: It is only fitting in a bowl game featuring two nearly indistinguishably mediocre teams with identical barely winning 6-5 records that the two songs should be so similar. In fact I had to listen to them each twice to make sure they weren’t the same song with different lyrics. Both Arkansas State’s ominously titled “Loyalty Song” and Southern Mississippi’s “Southern On Top” – a title that is both rife with double entendre and cartographically wrong- are up-beat Sousa-esque marches so common to the 1930’s. When listening I tended to envision old British brass bands playing the songs instead of Southern-style marching bands, not a good sign. Still “Southern On Top” has a little bit more swing and flavor to it, so it will get a marginal edge.

The Game: I am anticipating a bit of a lackluster game, one of those fumble-filled, lazy-offense, “we have off-setting penalties on the play” kind of games. At some point midway into the second quarter the TV audience will begin to suspect that the players only managed to muster up the gumption to go 6-5 because they had hoped for a nice winter vacation someplace scenic. Unfortunately, they got Lafayette, Louisiana. I mean for cripes sakes it’s the New Orleans bowl, and they can’t even play it in New Orleans, so you just know the whole affair will be played under the shadow of one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. How exciting can that be?

The Prediction: Southern Miss-17 Arkansas State- 13


GMACUTEP (8-3) vs. Toledo (8-3)
The Songs:
The University of Texas-El Paso is cheered with a song called “Miners’ Fight”. I am uncertain whether it’s actually supposed to have that apostrophe, but I’m keeping it in because it makes me think that some West Texas school might actually have deep ties to the labor struggles of the early 20th century. Such thoughts amuse me. “Miners’ Fight” is rather boisterous and fun, with shades of a country-western influence. I can almost imagine it being in the soundtrack for a cowboy flick. Not a good cowboy movie mind you, but maybe some made for cable adaptation of a Lois L’Amour novel
Toledo’s “U of Toledo” is lacking in comparison. It has a certain energy that may get the student section out of their seat when the band marches into the Glass Bowl. However it sounds uncannily like a certain “Buckeye Battle Cry”. Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but it does seem likely that this minor titan of the MAC may be trying to leach off of the notoriety of their more famous in-state neighbor.

The Game: As I hear the vitality of both these songs I envision something of a minor shoot out, a fast paced game, but nothing outrageous. I predict one team will have a strong running attack and the other a good day in the air and neither defense doing much about it.

The Prediction: UTEP- 35 Toledo-28


Pioneer PureVision Las VegasBYU (6-5) vs. California (7-4)
The Songs: Brigham Young’s “Cougar Song” is a colorful little ditty with some apparent ragtime influences. I can see it working well at pep rallies, and coming out of a high school marching band. In the world of serious college football, though, it lacks a certain gravitas. It may make the fans sing, but it won’t intimidate any opponents.
California’s “Fight for California” is rather robust, with a full orchestral quality to it. It certainly sounds like a grown-up’s fight song. However I must deduct points for the lyrics. The first verse reads as follows-
Our sturdy Golden Bear is watching from the skyLooks down upon our colors fairAnd guards us from his lairOur banner Gold and BlueThe symbol on it tooMeans Fight! for CaliforniaFor California through and through.
The second verse does no better, beginning with “Stalwart girded for the fray”. This stilted language would stifle the enthusiasm of any crowd. I guess the Blue Boys on the Bay just had to prove they were as bright as their rivals from Stanford.

The Game: California has more talent and a better game plan which means it takes an early lead and seems to have the game well in hand. BYU refuses to give up though. With the plucky resilience of a shrilly barking puppy fighting a pit-bull, the Cougars begin to gain some leverage off of the mental mistakes and distracted play of an annoyed and frustrated opponent. Eventually the metaphorical stick up California’s metaphorical butt costs them, causing one of those fourth quarter momentum changes that turns the tide for BYU.

The Prediction: BYU- 24 California-21


San Diego County Credit Union PoinsettiaColorado State (6-5) vs. Navy (7-4)
The Songs: Colorado State brings a fight song that seems genuinely geared to starting fights. It has the classic tone of a good fight song; one that makes you grit your teeth and envision fisticuffs at midfield. The song is so tough it apparently doesn’t even need a title. My belly started to boil at the first strains of this song, a fight song with some hair on its chest.
The Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy use “Anchors Aweigh” as their fight song. It has an unmistakable masculinity and confidence to it. Steady and straightforward, this is undeniably music to march to. However I have a hard time listening to it and not envisioning Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in sailor suits. The fact that the song reminds me more of archived new footage from World War II than touchdowns is great for a military academy, but not so much for a football team.

The Game: Navy’s fight song speaks of a ball-control oriented run game, a tactic that has apparently worked well enough to get them into a bowl. Colorado State plays in the same conference as Air Force, another service academy, so I’m sure they’re used to this. They CSU fight song makes me think of hard-hitting action and smash-mouth football. So I suppose this will be a real slug match. In the end Navy’s song gave me a sense of some kind of offense strategy, whereas Colorado State could only inspire me to think of overly aggressive linesmen.

The Prediction: Navy-14 CSU-13


Fort WorthKansas (6-5) vs. Houston (6-5)
The Songs:
Does Kansas really have a fight song? I don’t mean to be flippant, but none of the music I could find from the Marching Jayhawks really suggested that “Go! Fight! Win!” spirit typically evoked by a school’s fight song. Their “I’m a Jayhawk” cheer is an unmitigated unapologetic rag tune, whose lyrics are one long comparison to other schools in the Big 12 conference. The most famous “song” associated with the school is really just a chant, their oddly Gregorian “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, K-U”. It made my skin crawl but it didn’t inspire me very much. Official sources indicate that “Fighting Jayhawk” is the school’s official song fight song, and I must say, it’s something of a disappointment. After a bright fanfare to open, it reduces into a plodding quasi-march. If the band tried to play this in a parade they’d slow the whole affair to a snail’s pace and the Shriners would beep their tiny horns impatiently at them as they idled behind in their miniature traffic jam. Over all I found a plethora of music, but none of it what you’d expect from a fight song. Actually I found that oddly inspiring in itself for some strange reason.
The University of Houston likes to keep it simple. They have one (1) fight song, and it is clearly meant to be a fight song. The plainly titled “Cougar Fight Song” gets your adrenaline pumping and seems perfect for launching the players into a fast paced attack. Most of this affect comes from the very up-tempo battery in the background. The snare drums rapidly drill out so many notes over the top of the band that it makes me question the legality of whatever stimulant they are using. I like the passion, but I cannot help but question the stability of a program whose fight song borders so closely on fervor.

The Game: In a game where both teams show significant weakness –for Houston its ball control, for Kansas its offense in general- I envision the game winning play being one of those quirky little plays. The kind that sends the TV broadcast team back to the replay about a half dozen times. The kind of play that makes people openly question whether what the players did is covered by the rulebook. And if it is should it be? Something about the Kansas’s refusal to have a proper fight song makes me think they win and probably on a special teams play.

The Prediction: Kansas-19 Houston-13


Sheraton HawaiiNevada (8-3) vs. UCF (8-4)
The Songs:
Nevada’s song doesn’t bring much to the table. The song consists of a melody seemingly played by every brass instrument in the state, and a drum line smashing out sixteenth notes. I can’t even tell if they have woodwinds. Then again maybe that’s a good thing since I’ve never been such a fan of woodwinds. I think I may start a petition to see if they’ll change their fight song to “Viva Las Vegas”. Then again, maybe UNLV already has dibs on that one.
Central Florida, conversely, tries to have everything at once. Each instrument in their band seemed like it was trying to play a different song louder than the musicians around them. It has sections that sound like a Hollywood fanfare, a la USC’s “Tribute to Troy”, patches that sound like an old back east school song, and little bits that try to be a march. It sounds like a fight song drafted by a committee (And not a good kind of committee either. I’m talking about the kind of committee you read about in Ayn Rand novels. These are the kind of committee who want to ruthlessly destroy individual identity and who seem intent to make bad things happen, the kind of committee that is full of one dimensional characters, who expound in awkward dialogue and who wear their simplistic motivations on their sleeve when not just saying them out loud. I’m sorry my inner book critic seems to have taken us on a bit of a tangent). Essentially, it’s a song with an attention span problem and an inability to make up its mind.

The Game: While the Golden Knights of UCF should win this easily, I see them playing a very unfocused and distracted game. There head just isn’t in it and neither is there heart. After all, the team is comprised of young men, many of whom are playing in their first bowl game, even more of whom are taking their first trip to Hawai’i. I know the same could be said of Nevada’s team (except it really couldn’t because Nevada plays in the same conference as Hawai’i which means there players have likely been to the islands before), but Nevada’s song screams focus and discipline. This game won’t even be close.

The Prediction: Nevada-35 UCF-17


Motor CityMemphis (6-5) vs. Akron (7-5)
The Songs:
Memphis has a loud proud sound, perfect for a Southern marching band. Their fight song is ideal for leading a parade, full of warmth and good cheer. I had kind of hoped for something a little more Dixieland. It is the University of Memphis, isn’t? Where’s that Beale Street influence? It doesn’t have to be bluesy, just bring a little more swing. In the absence of that I’d like something to make me clap my hands and stomp my feet. To be sure, Memphis has a good fight song, I just wanted more.
Akron has such stereotypical fight song it’s almost comical. I found myself tapping my feel in rhythm with the strident horns and steady drums of “Akron Blue and Gold” for a team whose moniker is the Zips and whose mascot is a kangaroo (for reasons I don’t think any of us can fathom) they sure have a big league swagger to their song. (Aside: U of Akron plays its football games in the Akron Rubber Bowl, which it boasts is tied for the largest stadium in the MAC conference and second largest college football stadium in the state of Ohio. Just for perspective’s sake let’s compare. The largest stadium in the state –and not just college, I mean pro-football, hockey, basketball, this has greater capacity by far than any other venue for human gathering in the entire state- is Ohio Stadium or “The Horseshoe” of The Ohio State University. The Rubber Bowl seats 31,000; the ‘Shoe seats 102,000. I think that nicely illustrates the difference between mid-major college football and big time college football. Anyways…) I don’t know if I’ll ever be intimidated by anything from the Rubber Capital of the U.S., but this fight song has certainly set itself apart.

The Game: The Memphis Tigers and Akron Zips both sound like their very capable on offense and prefer an up-tempt game. They both will make some serious mistakes, but since they’ll be equally haphazard in their success, I don’t think either team will use this to their advantage. This should be a classic “light on the defense” bowl game shootout that’s fun to watch. Detroit’s weather won’t even be a factor since the game will be played indoors.

The Prediction: Akron-40 Memphis-38


Champs SportsClemson (7-4) vs. Colorado (7-5)
The Songs:
This is a deceptively tough match-up of two very good songs hidden down here in a lower tier bowl. Clemson’s “Tiger Rag” is classic Southern football fight music. It is a combustible mixture of high energy and happy spirits. This song makes me want to dance in the aisles of the bleachers. I can easily envision thousands of fans shaking their groove things to this. If I heard the “Tiger Rag” when I took the field, then I’d feel pretty confident I could win the game.
Colorado’s “Fight CU” is just as strong in the opposite direction. It harkens back to gridiron memories of black and white footage you see on ESPN Classic. If I just went by the song alone I would swear to you Colorado has been a dominant football team for the last eighty years. From a school spirit perspective this is a top tier fight song, but the music seems a little hollow, and in a match-up this tough that’ll cost you.

The Game: This promises to be a highly entertaining and hard fought game. It is Clemson’s spirit against Colorado’s might. It’s passion versus discipline. It’s jubilation against grit. I predict it will take not just lots of great plays from both teams, but extra game time to settle this one.

The Prediction: Clemson- 30 Colorado- 27 OT


InsightArizona State (6-5) vs. Rutgers (7-4)
The Songs:
One powerful image filled my head as a listened to the Sun Devil Marching band play “Maroon and Gold”. My mind was drawn to a memory of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western where the audience watches the camera cut between extreme close ups of a sweaty bandito as the annoying buzz of a fly drones on in the background. After just a few seconds of this the audience grows restless “Why doesn’t some one swat that fly already” we think. Then relief, the fly zips into frame perches itself upon a particularly grimy patch of perspiring flesh, and the bandito’s hand sweeps down to squash the pest. BUT NO! The fly escapes. There are two reasons I find myself thinking about this as the fight song of a proud academic institution plays. First, there is a definite drone to the woodwind parts in “Maroon and Gold”. Second, nothing defines the state of Arizona more for me then sweaty banditos.
The pride of New Jersey Rutgers Marching Band turns in a classic back East style fight song in “The Bells Must Ring”. I love the certainty of the title, it speaks of confidence. The song itself is vigorous and peppy, perfect for cheerleaders in sweater sets. I also grinned when the band broke into a chant. I have a soft spot for chants and inexplicable lyrics like “Red team upstream” only endear me further.

The Game: Both teams come in full of confidence and determination. I even imagine Rutgers takes an early lead and holds it for a time, but then that pesky Arizona State offense refuses to go away. Much like the aforementioned fly, I envision a dink-and-dunk spread style offense, that seems so easy to smack it veritably tempts you to take a swing, except it also leaps away unscathed. The second half becomes increasingly frustrating for Rutgers until a fourth quarter meltdown seals the deal.

The Prediction: Arizona State- 27 Rutgers- 17


MPC ComputersBoise State (9-3) vs. Boston College (8-3)
The Songs:
Boise State’s marching band goes by the moniker “The Blue Thunder”. From the sound of their fight song it sounds like it should be “The Blue Out of Tune Bass Drum Pounding Out Quarter Notes and Uninspired Trumpet Section” This was a very weak fight song that completely failed to rouse any part of me (and I should add the cockles of my heart have been medically determined to be easily roused). Thankfully it is also a quick song, so the fans don’t have to suffer much.
The song “For Boston” speaks of old time college campus and old time football. The Screaming Eagles Marching Band -who don’t seem to scream much, though they do sing a fairly impressive version of the fight song in question- have a nice full sound. The whole thing is just too Rites of Autumn to pass up.

The Game: The Boise State team takes the field overconfident in their deceptively strong record. In truth they’ve grown soft, as a lack of proper discipline and guidance allowed them to rest on their collective laurels. BC meanwhile comes full of Kennedy-esque fighting spirit. They simply sweep the Boys from Boise right off the field on the way to an easy victory.

The Prediction: Boston College- 28 Boise State- 13


MasterCard AlamoMichigan (7-4) vs. Nebraska (7-4)
The Songs:
“Hail to the Victors” IS the standard for all college fight songs. The chorus is one of the best known pieces of sports music, trailing only “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and that little Charge! Fanfare every stadium organist seems to play once every three minutes. The full version is terrific. It begins with a very moving and enthusiastic march. Then it transfers into a darker, more intense strain that prepares you for combat. Finally it closes with the greatest college fight song ever written, the straight up rabble-rousing fist-pumping, adrenaline-rushing thrill that is the “Hail to the Victors” chorus. If you’ve ever seen the 107,000-plus people who fill the Big House sing along to the Michigan Marching Band, then you don’t need any convincing of just how great this song is.
Nebraska can take pride in their fight song as well. “There is No Place like Nebraska” is a sturdy piece of music. It’s the kind of song that makes alumni misty eyed whenever they hear it outside of a game context. Though the lyrics are clearly from a different era, for example, “Dear old Nebraska U/ Where the girls are the fairest/ The boys are the squarest/ Of any old place that I knew”. Stodgy lyrics aside, it’s still just the sort of fight song most colleges would be proud to have.

The Game: What can I say? Nebraska will play hard. They’ll put in a good fight for all four quarters, but they just don’t have the power behind them Michigan does. The exact mechanics of the game aren’t important, this one is just that clear cut. Once again Michigan will be the Victors.

The Prediction: Michigan- 30 Nebraska-17


Emerald BowlGeorgia Tech (7-4) vs. Utah (6-5)
The Songs:
The Georgia Institute of Technology excels, I am sure, at many things. Fight songs do not appear to be one of them. Their ditty of choice “Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech” is certainly gleeful. It’s also plodding, drawn out, and a little limp in the inspirational category. The lyrics are pretty awkward. As far as I can tell they are meant to be sung by a man who swears freely, drinks hard liquor, and is also a model engineer. Remind me never to contract an engineering project to the Atlanta area, if this is true. The song tries mightily, which as we all know is the first step to failing miserably.
The Utah Utes have designated “Utah Man” the song to which they fight. It is definitely simplistic and, as the title suggests, a little chauvinist. Still it is straightforward clear cut and succeeds at its aims. It gives the Utes who listen a certain sense of pride in whatever it is the school is trying to accomplish at that particular moment (here Utes means students, employees, and alumni of the University of Utah, not the actual Native American people who originated the name) .

The Game: Georgia Tech’s tough defense manages to slow down the game enough to keep it close, but Utah’s commitment to their offensive strategy pans out, giving the Double U the win.

The Prediction: Utah- 17 Georgia Tech- 13

On to Part 2.

NBA Team “Solar” Ratings 12/11/2005

We’re entering the “first turn” of the race for that golden ball and net (Aside: Does anyone else think the NBA Championship Trophy looks a little silly? There’s just something about it that confuses the spectator. “Oh, it’s supposed to be a ball going into the net, now I get it. Or wait. Is it bouncing off the rim? Ah, heck!” I like the concept, but the visual misses something in the execution. It looks too much like a ball awkwardly balanced on a telescoping column. Maybe the problem is the base. I think they should take the same basic design and mount it on some kind of backboard. Now that would be cool. Also, why doesn’t the trophy have a memorable name like the Lombardi Trophy or the Stanly Cup, someone needs to fix that. Anyways …) Does having nearly a full quarter of the NBA regular season schedule in the books clarify things? A little, but the playoff picture remains very foggy. Still these rankings aren’t meant to be about prognostication their meant to be about performance. So, to all fans, players, coaches, executives, and mascots of each respective NBA team, I ask, how we looking?

I. Sun-
Detroit Pistons- If you have watched these wonders of Mo-town play, then you don’t need to be told this, but the Pistons are nearly tops in every offensive category that matters. Naturally it’s mostly due to the crushing power of their starting five.

II. Jupiter-
San Antonio Spurs-It’s not so much that the Spurs lead the association in defense; it’s that I’m starting to wonder when any other team last led in defense.

III. Earth-
Memphis Grizzlies- They seem to be dictating the tempo of their games, a huge weapon for a team aiming to go deep in the playoffs.

Milwaukee Bucks- The Men of Wisconsin seem to be the real deal. I trust we all think Andrew Bogut is owed all the credit.

Cleveland Cavaliers- Nike’s new ad campaign features LeBron playing four characters. The Cavaliers new offensive game plan features LeBron making plays like he’s four players.

IV. Saturn-
Los Angeles Clippers- Am I impressed by the Clipps thus far? Very much so. Do I think this will last through the All-Star break? Not so much.

Dallas Mavericks- Hang on, I have to double check that I have this right. Yup, the Mavs have six players averaging more than ten points a game. None of them are shooting less than 45% from the field.

Phoenix Suns- I guess Crosby, Stills, and Nash aren’t satisfied with just hanging around .500 until Amare’s return. Still, I worry all this drive could result in a pretty banged up team by the All-Star break.

V. Venus-
Indiana Pacers- They seem to have been a little shaky of late, having the “True Warrior” sidelined can’t help.

Denver Nuggets- Also down a little right now, but I’m more concerned with the fact that they’re 3 and 7 on the road.

Minnesota Timberwolves- Currently on a five game win streak, KG seems hungry to go back to the post-season and prove something.

VI. Mars-
Philadelphia 76ers- They are currently leading their division and below .500. Ladies and Gentleman, your Atlantic Division.

Golden State Warriors- They’ve scored more than 100 points in half their games, that’s a pretty good sign of a turn around in the Bay.

New Jersey Nets- I’m glad I got to see them play against the Cavs. It reconfirmed my belief that they can take the Atlantic.

Miami Heat – When Shaq gets back, let’s hope that the Heat can start winning more games against the top quality teams

VII. Mercury-
Boston Celtics- If you told me Paul Pierce had been playing as well as he is, I would have thought the Celtics would have at least been in the proximity of .500.

Chicago Bulls- At 6 and 4 over the last ten games, the Bulls have managed to squeak back into the playoff picture.

Washington Wizards- For all their talent and firepower, the Wiz have been pretty bad at playing when behind.

New Orleans Hornets- The effort of Chris Paul and his teammates deserves at least some note when they refuse to fall to the basement of their division.

VIII. Neptune-
Los Angeles Lakers- I know they still aren’t losing officially “losing”, but watching them play, I can’t say they look like they are “winning” that much either.

Portland Trailblazers- Of all the teams in the association only the Blazers seem to have no form of win streak going on.

Orlando Magic- Let’s just say that right now, if you gave them 100 posessions, they wouldn’t score 100 points.

Seattle Sonics- This much we know for sure: you can’t win much if you have the worst defensive team around.

IX. Uranus-
New York Knicks- Has Channing Frye forced Larry Brown to reconsider his policy on giving rookies playing time, or have all the other Knicks forced Larry’s hand?

Utah Jazz- I will now be accepting bizarre conspiracy theories for why the Jazz seem to be a much better team on the road.

Houston Rockets- Currently they still trail a very tough division, which means they have to stay in the lower tiers. T-Mac’s comeback may have them (dare I say it) rocketing back to the top soon.

Sacramento Kings- Is it true they may be moving in the near future? If so my long standing campaign to resurrect the Cincinnati Royals may come to fruition. (Things may get ugly between me and the city of Rochester)

X. Pluto-
Charlotte Bobcats- A seven game skid is no way to react to what was a relatively promising start.

Atlanta Hawks- If I didn’t know better I would think they were shooting for a single digit win season, if only to get their names in the history books.

Toronto Raptors- Some could say “The Raptors are 0 and 2 in overtime games that shows a lack of mental toughness by Toronto.” I say “The Raptors took two teams to over time?! That shows a lack of mental presence by their opponents.”

A (Partial) Follow-Up

Yes, the rumors are true. My ongoing quest to provide quality educational material over the inter-web strives on. My last post speaking directly to the topic sounded a little downbeat, but I actually reamin fairly optimistic. I and my coworkers are marching onward for the betterment of the students. While difficulties remain, we have decided not to let that deter us from producing the a website of the highest quality. Even if the exact contents are yet to be determined, that doesn't me we can forge some fabulous packaging. I have taken to trying to piece together elements of the visual lay out. If I was more familiar with how one posts visual images on a blog I may share some of my work with you. For right now though I can tell you I feel fairly optimistic as the group has a god cohesive theme in place to define the website. We hope to have at least a partial site up soon ("partial" only in the sense that we have had to scale back some of our original goals, it should still be fully operational and accessible). Watch this space for future updates, as I am sure to link to it in a subtle form of bragadacio. Until then I leave you to ponder over the scatter brained thoughts of my scatter brained life.

Comics and Education Converge!

Lynn Johnston may have just become my hero. She writes and draws the popular daily comic strip For Better or Worse about the various highlights and misadventures of the Patterson family. Like G.B. Trudeau Johnston has used her daily platform in hundreds of newspapers to raise awareness of various issues. She will writes comics about solemn and important topics like the death of a parent with grace and candor. Her willingness to raise these issues has long drawn attention, and her deft skill at dealing with them with sensitivity and insight have long earned her admiration well beyond the comic community. Recently she turned the gaze of her strip on the difficulties disabled children face in education. She even mentioned some of the technology they use to help them handel daily tasks. Hopefully this widespread exposure will help raise awareness of just how many challenges with which the disabled must contend. I always have believed that comics have a special power to get into our minds through their combined visual and lingual presence. When both the words and pictures team up to bounce around your head, it boosts the chances of your subconcious mind remembering and your concious mind being forced to digest it. In my current projects I am trying to do as much as I can to accomodate students with disabilities, but true change won't occur until more people realize just how much we take for granted. If you want to check out the strip go here.

NBA Team “Solar” Ratings 11/20/2005

Since we are officially one eighth of the way through the pro-basketball season, now seems like a sensible time to review my power rankings of the NBA. Given how my preseason ratings seem to have been good for predicting just about nothing to come out of the season so far, you’ll notice a lot of change between this and previous set of ratings Hey, what did you expect. I’m a rank amateur putting together criticism of highly complicated sports franchises, based on little more than box scores and my own limited television viewing. Still I shall endeavor to provide at least little glimpses of information and insight you can’t normally get from most other power rankings.

I. Sun-
Detroit Pistons- Many commentators have determined that it must be some positive influence of Flip Saunders that has the Pistons sizzling on offense. Don’t buy the hype the starting five have always played their hardest when they had something to prove.

II. Jupiter-
San Antonio Spurs- Right now they look like a team that’s trying to cruise to the playoffs on their talent and depth. Not to say it won’t work, but their lack of motivation has earned them a demotion on my list.

III. Earth-
Miami Heat – I thought Shaq’s injury would push them down to the Uranus tier. Give the credit for their survival to Wade and ‘Zo.

Indiana Pacers- They have a mix of great wins and horrible losses, but they’re looking very good for the long haul. I’ll take their wins over the Heat and the Nets over that puzzling loss to the Bucks.

Cleveland Cavaliers- When LBJ has his opponents asking to see his birth certificate like in little league, that to me is a good sign his arrival is on.

IV. Saturn-
Los Angeles Clippers- Their ownership was happy to have a losing team for so many years, that I wonder if the new winning Clips have the ownership saddened. Shades of The Producers.

Dallas Mavericks- Dirk and the boys may be threatening to take one of the top two tiers. Not just for being the only team with wins over both the Spurs and the Pistons, but also the only team who is in the top-five in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

Minnesota Timberwolves- Things on Kevin McHale’s to do list: 1) Buy Michael Olowakandi a nice present, something from Bath and Body 2) Reassure the fourth best player in the league that I am not stupid enough to trade him, so he’ll go back to giving 100% on the court.

V. Venus-
Denver Nuggets- I have been shifting through some plus/minus data and it does seem that one of the best things the Nuggets could do to improve their record is to bench K-Mart. Explaining why the evidence indicates this is a hard task, but my guess is that Martin hasn’t been playing defense. See Denver leads the association in defensive efficiency, but is in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency, suggesting that a score-first power forward that has long been criticized for his lack of toughness may not be their biggest asset right now.

Washington Wizards- I don’t know how much dire the difference between your road and home games can be than when you go from scoring 130+ in regulation at the MCI center than bombing three on the road. Who can say “consistency”?

Milwaukee Bucks- My love for their hot start has been tempered by some shaky performances since. How do you never get the lead against the Kings? This is the NBA we’re talking about right?

VI. Mars-
Philadelphia 76ers- Want to know the secret of Philly’s resurgence after a horrible start? Ball control. Just look at how few turnovers they’ve given up over the last few games, pretty impressive.

Los Angeles Lakers- It’s been a shaking start so far, but I still believe. That and I’ll take any excuse to praise a man called Smush.

Golden State Warriors- This team is making up for its sub-par offense with some suffocating D. I’ve got my eye on whether a major hot streak or major injury comes first.

New Jersey Nets- Carter and Kidd haven’t been nearly as destructive a twosome as they were last April, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for a few more weeks.

VII. Mercury-
Boston Celtics- I’ve watched them twice already and both games they looked great. Except in both games they got outgunned by a superior Eastern team, I don’t expect them to last long at this rate.

Chicago Bulls- They did catch fire late in the season last year, but this opening screams mediocre more than underachieving.

Memphis Grizzlies- You could argue they belong in a higher tier, but I can’t think of the team without the image of Shane Battier’s bleeding head rushing into my mind. I’m sorry but that just shakes my confidence in a team that plays in the same division as three of the most physical teams in the league.

VIII. Neptune-
Portland Trailblazers- I hear the people in Portland want some good news. It seems the new sheriff has brought in a new sense of discipline; the Blazers aren’t giving away as many cheap fouls.

Phoenix Suns- I don’t know what to say here except that everyone in Arizona should just hold out hope until Amare comes back. As much as I have criticized him in the past, it’s clear the offense just isn’t as stellar without him.

Orlando Magic- Their faith in their developing young talent is the only thing that has them up here instead of out on Pluto.

Seattle Sonics- For a team that caused a real stir last season largely off of their determination to go after the boards, it seems all those offensive rebounds they're giving up are really hurting them this season.

IX. Uranus-
New York Knicks- I’m calling shenanigans on their wins so far, they still are dead last in offensive efficiency. Steph says he wants to stop playing point. It seems to me he hasn’t been a table setter yet in his career, so why start now?

Utah Jazz- They never can get all their cylinders firing at once, between injuries and apathy. It makes me wonder if we’re witnessing the beginnings of “The Curse of the Mailman”.

Houston Rockets- You can blame their bad performance on Yao’s fouls or T-Mac’s back. I think it may have something to do with their terrible rebounding of late.

Sacramento Kings- How shocking is it that Brad Miller may be the best player at the center position in the Western conference so far? How troubling is it that even with that on their side the Kings still look dreadful?

X. Pluto-
Charlotte Bobcats- These ‘Cats are doing okay for the players they have. Being last in the league in effective field goal percentage is not a good sign though.

New Orleans Hornets- Two points: 1) I’m still calling them the “New Orleans Hornets” as a gesture of solidarity with the recovering city. 2) Despite the Oklahoma City home crowd and their enthusiastic support, this team is still a long way from the postseason.

Atlanta Hawks- So . . . Joe Johnson. He hardly seems worth a major infight between the team ownership at this point does he.

Toronto Raptors- With the chip Vinsanity left on their shoulder last season officially spent, this team is officially done.

A (Partial) Summation

As I reach a crossroads in my work developing a web site for a high school in my area, I find myself reflecting on my work up to this point as a means of guidance for the future. I would really like to see something strong and positive come out of this. Yet, more than a few complications have prevented the project from developing optimally. As such it seems that I will only have the means and time to create something of partial utility for the school and students. Still I feel even a limited success can have a strong impact. As I have tried to make clear I am a strong believer that a well designed web resource can be an incredible guide and portal to other information and resources. I know one tool that I wish to make available to students is a means of express their own thoughts and reflections on the program of which they can be proud. I think if I set up some type of blog that's held by the community it might give the students a chance to communicate with each other and the outside world in a way that can be comfortable and encouraging. Also, I hope that for all the joy I have taken in creating this blog, the students themselves may take some pride in seeing their work published on the web.

True Accessibility in Technology

We have all heard the warnings on the various TV news magazine programs about why you have to be careful on the Internet. Nothing is as it seems on thw World Wide Web, you can't trust anyone. If someone claims to be a Nigerian prince, or a potential hot date, or a government agency, odds are they are in in reality a con artist out to steal your vital information. We all know why this is an issue in the Internet. The Web is abstract it's "out there" in the ether where no one has to follow the physical rules of our universe. Which means any sleezy character can take on some new fictionalized identity and suddenly become someone new.

I raise this because it demonstrates the commonly held belief that, while the Internet exists parallel to our world, it doesn't actually conform to it. All the rules a different in cyberspace and we are all in some way liberate by this. It doesn't matter if we can't go to a store because the Internet can bring the store to us. If we aren't comfortable meeting people in person, the web allows us to meet them virtually. Once you give someone technology they are reborn out in the ether as a new entity with freedoms and powers they never had before. This all works well in theory, but I recently had my eyes opened to a very important flaw in the Internet's underlying thinking. It claims to create equal oppurtunity through equal access, but the truth is modern computer technology isn't equally accessible.

I recently met with someone working on bringing computer technology to disabled students. He demonstrated some of the difficulties those with handicaps face in using computers. For instance the keyboard I am typing this with relies on an assumption that I am not dyslexic. The screen I am using may be much harder to read if I were color blind. This is to say nothing of the assumption that I have control over my hands or any vision at all. These problems are so rarely recognized by all of us who are currently abled that many of the resosurces we have created to be accessible by computers don't even take it into account. These challenges can be true barriers for a disabled person to the treasure trove computers have opened, requiring additional work and cost to overcome. I raise this issue because I feel compelled to make some statement that it should not be their burden. If those of us who design and distribute computer tech did so with more consideration of making it truly accessible we could save many people a tremendous amount of hardship. Those of us who wish to use technology as a teaching tool could benefit from this as well, as it would allow us to guide our students to various resources with much more ease and confidence that the Internet would provide truly equal oppurtunities.

Comic Shop Musings 10/30/2005

Once again the amazing comic books filling the racks demand my attention and my blog. Being a kind hearted sould, I hear their pleas and champion their cause.

Before Infinite Crisis makes your head explode, (and in case you didn't know- yes, it is that big a deal) I have to take care of some old business. Naturally it will have to do with the other major crossover taking on in the comic world. I have to say I am really impressed with the recent developments from House of M. The latest news from Marvel is huge. Apparently everything since Avengers: Disassembled has been derived from a plot Joe Quesada (Marvel's Editor-in-Chief) and Brian Michael Bendis (Marvel's Writer-of-Everything) stewed up to reduce the number of mutants in the Marvel Universe. Some are taking this news very badly as they had liked the seeds planted by early creative teams on the X-Men titles. The standing storyline had been that the mutants were the next step of evolution, and with evolution being inevitable and all, that means that the whole Marvel universe was supposed to be strapping down for the end of the species homo-sapien as we know it. That's kind of clever in a high-falootin', Isaac-Asimov-y, science-fiction sort of way, but ultimately it's 1) unsustainable and 2) a little off putting. Marvel's ultimate appeal since the 1960's has been that it is a more realistic comic book universe than DC. Do you really think they can maintain interest in a set of titles that eliminate most of their characters and create a world that looks nothing like our own? More importantly, do we really what to spend the next few years watching the hypothetical extinction of our own species in the comics.

On the creative level, I like how Bendis and the rest of Marvel are playing this out. They seem to have really thought out all the logical places this twist would take the Marvel Universe. I also like the implications of fewer mutants and more antagonism between humans and mutants. It gets back to the heart and soul of what the X-men are all about, the feeling of persecution and minority status we all go through at some point. Though I like the results, my criticism of the House of M event as a whole still holds. I didn't need a whole lot of diddling around in an alternative reality to get to this point. I certainly didn't need to be teased with a possible ressurection of Hawkeye and some of the other shenanigans, you get away with you don't have to live with the consequences of your story. Still, I wish Marvel luck with the future.

Next, we have Infinite Crisis. You know what? I am not going to say very much about this. It seems to me that we have enough people talking about it. I am a little surprised that DC has decided to officially declare this a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths. I do think it will be a huge event with some major consequences and a story well worth reading. However I want to hear someone put out an over-under on how many major DC character's will actually die in this one. Whatever it is, watch the under. Comic companies have got a lot more protective of their characters since 1986, DC especially. Back during Crisis on Infinite Earths DC was pretty much playing with house money. They were going to be scrapping their entire universe, and they were desperately trying to cut into Marvel's popularity at the time. Today they are competing toe-to-toe with Marvel and already riding a big wave of revitalization. They don't need a renovation just a good story and some well timed promotion. Plus, the creative minds behind IC aren't going to make their mark by rehashing the original. I fullly expect them to bust out a few more surprises than just "let's kill some characters whose titles aren't selling.

This does make me think about some of the great crossover events I have seen in my time. So I decided to punch out my All-Time Top Five list of intracompany crossovers. I decided to leave aside the intercompany crossovers mostly because the have always been at least one step below their intracompany peers, see the painfully contrived Amalgam lineup. Though some, like "Spider-Man vs. Superman" and "Batman vs. The Hulk" are genuine classics. and others like "The Punisher Meets Archie" and that Spawn issue with Cerberus are way underrated. While I'm vaguely on the topic, what's with Witchblade making her first appearance in some Shi/Cyblade crossover. I still can't believe you can legally do that to collectors. If the Comic Code Authority wasn't policing this stuff, then what good where they?

Anyways . . .

All-Time Top Five Comic Crossovers (within a company)

5. Spider-Clone Saga- I know, I know. It was awful. It was horrendous. It set the character back for years. But hear me out, this story was special in my development as a comic book fan for three reasons. 1) I was personally addicted to Spider-Man at the time, and it showed me that there comes a time when you have to abandon a character on account of the story no matter what your loyalty to the character is. That allowed me to understand how to jump from title to title to take full advantage of the shifting nature of today's comic market. 2) I think the whole comic community was fascinated with this whether you were reading it or not. It was the classic example of a slow-train wreck comic. 3) It was the signal to me and the comic community in general that the heady 90's and their bloated events were over. Frome there the slow rebuilding of the Marvel Universe could begin.

4.DC One Million- Since DC has had about one crossover event every year of at least minor importance these sort of things have been negligible since COIE. Somewhere in the crowd lies this true gem. I loved the concept of introducing a whole new element to the DC universe, the far flung future scape of the 853rd century. This story let Grant Morrison do exactly what he does best, create a huge outlandish idea and then play around with it. It didn't do much to further the universe's storylines, but it did create a bucketful of new ideas for later creators to toy around with. That's more than so many other crossovers.

3. Secret Wars- Secret Wars proved that crossover events could work as a story telling device and a commercial success. Not only did this spawn some crazy sequels and the all-powerful cosmic entity who wore a jheri curl for no good reason, but it also started the sequence of events that led to Venom, Carnage, and pretty much every Spider-Man plotline from 1988 until 2001. Plus, have you ever actually read this series? It's pretty intense and a little crazed in it's own right. If you were reading this title as it came out, you would seriously worry if everyone would make it out alive.

2. Infinity Gauntlet- Again bonus points are awarded for sequels here, no matter how gimmicky. Second, this did have some pretty big ramifications. Third, the cosmic scope of the story and philosophical underpinnings were actually pretty interesting. Fourth, the moment between Captain America and Thanos is an all-time classic in comic book history. Fifth, I have to give credit to Marvel for letting Jim Starlin do what he does best. Sixth, I like numerical lists.

1. Crisis on Infinite Earths- The standard. 'Nuff said.

On one last note, I am pleased to let you know that I have found two other titles I would recommend for your reading enjoyment. Thankfully for all you non-traditional comic readers (read: non-fat white young single white males) and for my reputation as a hip comic fan, neither of them are super-hero titles.

Fell- This is yet another title by one of my favorite writers, Warren Ellis. It's a detective comic in the tradition of gritty crime-dramas like TV's Homocide or The Wire. Each story is an easy to read stand-alone story, with some supplemental material thrown in. This book is a breeze to pick up and enjoy. The hero Det. Richard Fell is a likeable and intriguing protagonist. Ellis has creating a truly fascinating setting the "feral city" of Snowtown. It's great stuff for people interest in some adult level mystery stories.

Sea of Red- Two words to excite just about anyone. Vampire. Pirates. That's a great concept on it's own, but this book, by Rick Remender and Kieron Dwyer, does some interesting things with it. It seems like each issue brings a truly unexpected twist. With the wild attitude of these creators and the fact that none of these are established franchise characters, I am certain this story will be a major thrill ride.

That's all for now, but I'm sure to have more to say soon. Until then watch this space for more on education and basketball.

An Ownership Society

I fear the repercussions of posting my personal information on this blog. Naturally I don't mean accidentally telling you all my cel phone number, or where I buried the bearer bonds. I just worry because I feel I work on some sensitive projects. While spewing my missives into the electronic abyss may help me think about these things, I still must guard against accidentally giving you details of a person or situation of which I have knowledge that those involved may wish to keep private. I have so far tried to be as veiled as possible in my writings while still allowing for those I am try to communicate with know of what I speak.
The question here is one of ownership. I have access to information about others, but I do not own the information. It's simply not mine to give away. Yet so many issues involving information technology revolves around these questions. Can anyone own information posted on the Web? If not, then how can someone feel safe in posting anything on the Internet that may be of value to them, but since its out here in the "free domain" or "market place of ideas", they can't control what happens to it? If someone can own information then how do you protect it? Or, perhaps to dray a sharper point, then why share it at all, given the well known risks of the Internet?
As I have said before information technology can model anything. We can use it to create whatever suits us, and then transform into something entirely different in the next second. Nothing is impossible out here amongst the ether. But then I am reminded of Roger Ebert's criticism, (here I am paraphrasing) "If nothing is impossible, then does anything matter?"
As an educator I think about these things and wonder if this impacts the utility of teaching with technology. I think of the profound transformative effect technology has on everything it touches, and I think how in the midst of this maelstrom we can only guess at what may or may not be of future value to students. So to some degree, educators simply have to find a way to get their students to find meaning in their educational experiences with technology.
Educators agree that students need to have something they can take away from a classroom for their education to have value. Normally that is mean figuratively, but all to often we don't consider the literal implications of such. The papers that hung on the refrigerator door, those trophies from field day, those art projects that all ended up looking like ash trays, those meant something to us as children. Yet a student who's education comes through the form of information and networks, what do they take home?
In our increasing focus on a technology centric education sometimes I have to ponder how you can add substance, real physical presence to what a student learns. On one hand they own their skills and experiences in the truest sense. No one can take away a student's memories and make them her own. The skills and knowledge can only be used by their rightful owner. Still I think we need more. I have recently seen the power of what happens when an educator gives a child something they can literally own as a product of their education in technology. I cannot go into details, but the effects are astounding.
Additionally, I will reveal that I come from a long line of educators. Once my mother gave me some advice. She said "When a student becomes the proprietor of their own knowledge and learning it changes everything about them. It changes how much they'll work for it, how much they want to retain it, and most of all how they improve their behavior because of it."