As a new director of the Oxford Duplicate Bridge Club, I decided that besides the website for the club (located here) I would have an annual event for team play. I made a flyer for it and everything. At first, I decided to hold it on a Sunday and May 18th was the only Sunday in May that would be appropriate as the 11th would've been Graduation weekend (in a college town, you can't really do anything during that weekend) and the 25th is the beginning of the SEC baseball tournament (in Alabama, but most of the bridge players here are Ole Miss fans).
Then I found out that the larger nearby club has a game on Sunday (a regular club game), and that it would be difficult to convince the players from that club to participate in our special event. So I relented and moved it to Saturday as they do not have a game on Saturdays. However, there is another event in Winona, MS concerning the Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney awards on Saturday, May 17th. This time, I have no other time to move to. We'll see how many teams sign up to play. Meg and I want to play, and personally I would enjoy having George/Tina as teammates (who wouldn't, they're really good) or Ann/Sylvia (who do very well at our club for being 299ers). I also think David H. would be good, but he has no regular partner. We'll see how that goes.
Also, the system that David H and I were going to play will have to wait as both of us are finishing our college courses this next week with final exams and whatnot. Boo.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Self-Service Coffee and a Hidden Air Mattress
So, Double Decker has come and gone. Initially, Meg and I expected to house my mother and Emmy (her maid of honor) during the weekend, but they both canceled. Instead, though, I got an email from David Duckworth saying he and his brother are coming and would like a place to crash. So, we entertained the Duckworth boys.
David's brother, Patrick, goes to MSU in Starkville (so did I for 4 years) and he hasn't had a true Oxford experience yet. So, David came up with a checklist of things unique to Oxford to see and do before they left. This list included:
1. Drive over Thrill Hill
2. Get Chicken-on-a-stick from 4 Corners Chevron
3. Drink with Faulkner
4. See the Doorknob at the Center of the Universe
We did get to do 3 of the 4 (we just forgot #1). For those of you who don't know, let me explain.
Thrill Hill is the hill on Johnson St. going towards Lamar Ave. When you drive over it at a sufficient speed, your stomach lurches and some get a thrill from it ;)
Chicken-on-a-stick is a popular "drunk food" here in Oxford as it is offered 24 hours a day at a particular gas station. Other gas stations have food as well, but they don't stay open 24 hr/7 days a week. And it is greasy and yummalicious.
William Faulkner is buried in the cemetery in Oxford and those who knew him would tell you that he was a bit of a drinker. Ok, he drank a lot when he wasn't writing is the story told to me and my friends by someone we can't remember anymore (maybe Charter told me). Anyway, so we took a bottle of Maker's Mark whiskey to his grave, shot straight from the bottle, and poured some on the grave to share with Faulkner.
The Doorknob is a place near Oxford. When going to the doorknob, the destination is not nearly as important as the trip there. Typically, in order to see the doorknob for the first time, you must be blindfolded and hammered drunk (usually you get drunk on the way there). It takes about 15 minutes to get there (or 2 hours if you're Keith Sisson. That was not a good trip.)
I think that this weekend was a success overall. Besides the Oxford must-do list, we went to the festival for food and drink (we drank at the Jubilee as it is one of the only bars on the Square with cards and board games), we played Guitar Hero II and Rock Band (we even went to GameStop to play the drumset there and sing), we went to the Farmer's Market and got Mexican cokes (cokes made with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup) and Pan Dulce, and we went to a good ole-fashioned college party where beer pong and flip-cup were played where there was much consumption of alcohol by those not running in the 10K the next morning (read: Meg and myself).
On a more personal note, I ran the farthest I've ever run at the 10K this weekend (6.2 miles) and I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for Meaghin postponing her marathon training and running with me. xxx
If you weren't aware, I decided to move my bridge posts to a specifically bridge blog. You can find it here: Walking the Dog
David's brother, Patrick, goes to MSU in Starkville (so did I for 4 years) and he hasn't had a true Oxford experience yet. So, David came up with a checklist of things unique to Oxford to see and do before they left. This list included:
1. Drive over Thrill Hill
2. Get Chicken-on-a-stick from 4 Corners Chevron
3. Drink with Faulkner
4. See the Doorknob at the Center of the Universe
We did get to do 3 of the 4 (we just forgot #1). For those of you who don't know, let me explain.
Thrill Hill is the hill on Johnson St. going towards Lamar Ave. When you drive over it at a sufficient speed, your stomach lurches and some get a thrill from it ;)
Chicken-on-a-stick is a popular "drunk food" here in Oxford as it is offered 24 hours a day at a particular gas station. Other gas stations have food as well, but they don't stay open 24 hr/7 days a week. And it is greasy and yummalicious.
William Faulkner is buried in the cemetery in Oxford and those who knew him would tell you that he was a bit of a drinker. Ok, he drank a lot when he wasn't writing is the story told to me and my friends by someone we can't remember anymore (maybe Charter told me). Anyway, so we took a bottle of Maker's Mark whiskey to his grave, shot straight from the bottle, and poured some on the grave to share with Faulkner.
The Doorknob is a place near Oxford. When going to the doorknob, the destination is not nearly as important as the trip there. Typically, in order to see the doorknob for the first time, you must be blindfolded and hammered drunk (usually you get drunk on the way there). It takes about 15 minutes to get there (or 2 hours if you're Keith Sisson. That was not a good trip.)
I think that this weekend was a success overall. Besides the Oxford must-do list, we went to the festival for food and drink (we drank at the Jubilee as it is one of the only bars on the Square with cards and board games), we played Guitar Hero II and Rock Band (we even went to GameStop to play the drumset there and sing), we went to the Farmer's Market and got Mexican cokes (cokes made with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup) and Pan Dulce, and we went to a good ole-fashioned college party where beer pong and flip-cup were played where there was much consumption of alcohol by those not running in the 10K the next morning (read: Meg and myself).
On a more personal note, I ran the farthest I've ever run at the 10K this weekend (6.2 miles) and I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for Meaghin postponing her marathon training and running with me. xxx
If you weren't aware, I decided to move my bridge posts to a specifically bridge blog. You can find it here: Walking the Dog
Thursday, February 21, 2008
A New Distraction
So, among all the other things to do with my time, I met a couple of really good musicians who are looking for a singer/guitarist. I've been listening to their music for about a week now non-stop, and so far I've learned that I'm not very good at creating melodies. I'm going to kind of "audition" tonight to see if I can join them in their quest for fame. They are so good, though, that I'm worried about not being a part of their quest. I guess I'll find out today.
The UMAIT tournament is right around the corner (March 1st), and I'm short a moderator and about 10 judges. It's not that important to have judges with the stronger moderators, but it would've been nice. I think you have to hound these faculty members, and I'm just not that guy. I also have to hound the schools who haven't sent me their registration materials to make sure they are still coming. The only other things that aren't ready for that tournament are the questions. About 50 Toss-up questions need to be written, and who knows how many Bonus questions. That's what I'll be doing for the most part of my job in the next week.
I think I'll do a bridge blog entry later. I've been missing the bidding systems I've obsessed about over the past 4 years. I figured I can share.
The UMAIT tournament is right around the corner (March 1st), and I'm short a moderator and about 10 judges. It's not that important to have judges with the stronger moderators, but it would've been nice. I think you have to hound these faculty members, and I'm just not that guy. I also have to hound the schools who haven't sent me their registration materials to make sure they are still coming. The only other things that aren't ready for that tournament are the questions. About 50 Toss-up questions need to be written, and who knows how many Bonus questions. That's what I'll be doing for the most part of my job in the next week.
I think I'll do a bridge blog entry later. I've been missing the bidding systems I've obsessed about over the past 4 years. I figured I can share.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Antiheroes in Film Through the Years
An antihero is defined as a protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities. I've noticed that a lot of the movies I like have an antihero in them, so without including the movies where the villain is the main character (like Friday the 13th, etc.), here is a list of 50 Antiheroes through the years. I know there are others, and responses letting me know what others is greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
1. Philip Marlowe - The Big Sleep (1946)
2. James Bond - Dr. No (1962)
3. The Man with No Name/Blondie - A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
4. Luke - Cool Hand Luke (1967)
5. Harry Callahan - Dirty Harry (1971)
6. Jack Carter - Get Carter (1971)
7. Popeye Doyle - The French Connection (1971)
8. Michael Corleone - The Godfather (1972)
9. Jake Gittes - Chinatown (1974)
10. Randle McMurphy - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
11. Josey Wales - The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
12. Travis Bickle - Taxi Driver (1976)
13. Max Rockatansky - Mad Max (1979)
14. Snake Plissken - Escape from New York
15. John Rambo - First Blood (1982)
16. Jack Burton - Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
17. John McClane - Die Hard (1988)
18. William Munny - Unforgiven (1992)
19. William "Bill" Foster - Falling Down (1993)
20. John Spartan - Demolition Man (1993)
21. Eric Draven - The Crow (1994)
22. Leon - The Professional (1994)
23. Dawn Weiner - Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
24. John Smith - Last Man Standing (1996)
25. Mark Renton - Trainspotting (1996)
26. Martin Q. Blank - Grosse Point Blank (1997)
27. Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski - The Big Lebowski (1998)
28. Derek Vinyard - American History X (1998)
29. Lester Burnham - American Beauty (1999)
30. Tyler Durden/Narrator - Fight Club (1999)
31. Leonard Shelby - Memento (1999)
32. Lisa Rowe - Girl, Interrupted (1999)
33. Porter - Payback (1999)
34. Richard Riddick - Pitch Black (2000)
35. Logan/Wolverine - X-Men (2000)
36. Joe Blake & Terry Collins - Bandits (2001)
37. Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
38. Michael Sullivan - Road to Perdition (2002)
39. El Mariachi - Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
40. Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
41. Beatrix Kiddo - Kill Bill (2003)
42. Frank Castle - The Punisher (2004)
43. John Creasy - Man On Fire (2004)
44. Bruce Wayne/Batman - Batman Begins (2005)
45. John Constantine - Constantine (2005)
46. V - V for Vendetta (2005)
47. Merv - Sin City (2005)
48. Danny Archer - Blood Diamond (2006)
49. Nick Naylor - Thank You for Smoking (2006)
50. Slevin Kalevra - Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
1. Philip Marlowe - The Big Sleep (1946)
2. James Bond - Dr. No (1962)
3. The Man with No Name/Blondie - A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
4. Luke - Cool Hand Luke (1967)
5. Harry Callahan - Dirty Harry (1971)
6. Jack Carter - Get Carter (1971)
7. Popeye Doyle - The French Connection (1971)
8. Michael Corleone - The Godfather (1972)
9. Jake Gittes - Chinatown (1974)
10. Randle McMurphy - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
11. Josey Wales - The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
12. Travis Bickle - Taxi Driver (1976)
13. Max Rockatansky - Mad Max (1979)
14. Snake Plissken - Escape from New York
15. John Rambo - First Blood (1982)
16. Jack Burton - Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
17. John McClane - Die Hard (1988)
18. William Munny - Unforgiven (1992)
19. William "Bill" Foster - Falling Down (1993)
20. John Spartan - Demolition Man (1993)
21. Eric Draven - The Crow (1994)
22. Leon - The Professional (1994)
23. Dawn Weiner - Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
24. John Smith - Last Man Standing (1996)
25. Mark Renton - Trainspotting (1996)
26. Martin Q. Blank - Grosse Point Blank (1997)
27. Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski - The Big Lebowski (1998)
28. Derek Vinyard - American History X (1998)
29. Lester Burnham - American Beauty (1999)
30. Tyler Durden/Narrator - Fight Club (1999)
31. Leonard Shelby - Memento (1999)
32. Lisa Rowe - Girl, Interrupted (1999)
33. Porter - Payback (1999)
34. Richard Riddick - Pitch Black (2000)
35. Logan/Wolverine - X-Men (2000)
36. Joe Blake & Terry Collins - Bandits (2001)
37. Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
38. Michael Sullivan - Road to Perdition (2002)
39. El Mariachi - Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
40. Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
41. Beatrix Kiddo - Kill Bill (2003)
42. Frank Castle - The Punisher (2004)
43. John Creasy - Man On Fire (2004)
44. Bruce Wayne/Batman - Batman Begins (2005)
45. John Constantine - Constantine (2005)
46. V - V for Vendetta (2005)
47. Merv - Sin City (2005)
48. Danny Archer - Blood Diamond (2006)
49. Nick Naylor - Thank You for Smoking (2006)
50. Slevin Kalevra - Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
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