Inside Tim's Blog

Just an update that I am no longer updating this blog, as my main site can be found at http://www.xanga.com/TimsHead.

Thanks for reading!

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by True Temper™, the official grass whip/swing blade of the TimsHead household.

On 'HeadHood Heavy Rotation: My Canvas, Miche Fambro; Music Snobs Unite! (A Xanga Mix), jefferson_at_kmart; The Definitive Dreams So Real Revisionist Remix (A TimsHead Mix).
Celebrating: Fans of soccer and the formidable FIFA World Cup, as the world's most passionate sports tournament in begins this week in Germany.
Not Celebrating: Those concerned about potential racist attacks by neo-fascists in Germany during the World Cup.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. LII: In a case of life reading a press release from art, the release of the (unnecessary, critically panned) remake of The Omen on 06.06.06 created countless trumped-up news stories about the number of the beast. But almost nobody would have cared or noticed if the movie hadn't been relentlessly hyping the date.
Lost: Keyboard whiz Billy Preston, who was known in some circles as the Fifth Beatle for spicing up such hits as "Get Back" and "Let It Be," scored his own hits such as "Will It Go 'Round In Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing," and penned the Joe Cocker smash "You Are So Beautiful."
Found: The companion Web site for Why Cats Paint. If you haven't read the book, it's some superb subdued satire.
Elevator Up: To Grarls Barkley, whose catchy single "Crazy" is the most common track on Xanga Music Xchange discs thus far (making it this year's version of Athlete's "Wires") as the tune's artsy Rohrshak-test-meets-psychodelia video earns spins on whatever passes for music television these days.
Elevator Down: The fortunes of U.S. tennis, as all the Americans disappear in the French Open early and often. (Sorry, Lynn!)
Huh? Headline of the Week: Seagull hit by ball, lives to squawk about it.
Strangest Hit: Someone found their way here through querying anderson cooper+wunderkind. Ha!
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report: As of Thursday morning, the Nautical Disasters had seen its bats come alive, yet still remained in seventh place in the Stout Fellows League.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: A busy Saturday is a good Saturday.
Franklin Planner™ Quote of the Week: Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact. -- George Eliot. (Actually, that describes some of my blog entries ...)
Looking forward to ... : Reunion Weekend activities for the college, then a planned trip to a conference in the Hudson Valley later next week.

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Staples™, the official source of Xanga Music Exchange 2.0 supplies for the TimsHead household.

Added To 'HeadHood Jukebox: More Xanga Music Xchange 2.0 discs: Untitled by jazzpurple and Music Snobs Unite! (A Xanga Mix) by jefferson_at_kmart.
Celebrating: Sam Hornish Jr., whose bold, thrilling last-second pass resulted in his first Indianapolis 500 win.
Not Celebrating: All those impacted by a massive earthquake in Indonesia that may have killed more than 5,000 and left tens of thousands more homeless.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. LI: Four words scarier than the unnecesary remake of The Omen: Paris Hilton. Record studio. Be very afraid. Worse yet, the pseudojournalists at MTV News passing along such cringeworthy details as the alleged recording will mix reggae, pop and hip-hop elements ... and a cover of Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" ("Do Ya Think I'm Skanky?" would have been more appropriate.)
Lost: Legendary pool champion and personality Steve "The Miz" Mizerak. Interesting tidbit: When he wasn't winning billiards titles or appearing in commercials and movies, he taught history to junior-high students.
Found: Not that much interest in Barry Bonds' creaky pursuit of Hank Aaron's home-run record. While sportswriters made a big to-do of the steroids-implicated Bonds passing Babe Ruth for second place on the homers list (and who celebrates second place?), the aging slugger is finding few fans outside the home folks of San Francisco.
Elevator Up: To ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, the sports talk show that broadcast its 1,000th show on Wednesday. When intelligent, articulate and funny co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon are on, this is by far the best show on the network (or, perhaps, any network).
Elevator Down: Daewoo founder Kim Woo-choong, found guilty on charges that include fraud and imbezzlement. He'll get jail time and a US $21 billion sanction. Have you ever bought a Daewoo product? 'Nuff said.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Man severs penis to prove faithfulness. (HHoTW Rule #3: Bizarre items about naughty bits draw attention.)
Strangest Hit: Someone surfed here via the term northwestern soccer hazing pictures album. Sorry dude ... that would be this site.
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report: As of Thursday morning, the Nautical Disasters continued their ugly season submerged in seventh place in the Stout Fellows League.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: How nice it is to see some places still care about their employees.
Franklin Planner™ Quote of the Week: Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Looking forward to ... : Seeing sizzling singer/songwriter Miche Fambro at the Music Hall this weekend.

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Smart Start™, the official granular cereal of the TimsHead household.

Added To 'HeadHood Jukebox: Mix discs galore, most via the Xanga Music Xchange 2.0! Two from ClosetGeek, Happy Feet Tunes and Just Some Favs; two volumes of handicap13's Oh What A Feeling: A Vital Collectin of Canadian Music; and three untitled discs from Yohan via the Plastic.com (currently offline) Music Exchange.
Celebrating: Somehow reaching the 50th edition of the Thursday Tipsheet, and that it still has readers.
Not Celebrating: Fans of the defending NBA champs San Antonio Spurs, bounced out of the playoffs by cross-state rivals Dallas Mavericks.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. L: A bevy of television series finales crowded the May sweeps schedule to the point it's hard to keep up with the departing and departed. The once-groundbreaking Will and Grace finally bowed out (a season or two after fully jumping the shark), That '70s Show fired up its farewell blunt (leaving Ashton Kutcher free to pursue his movie career and/or Demi Moore full-time), Charmed pulled its last vanishing act and Alias made its final last-minute escape. Meanwhile, plenty of TV shows that we hope would depart will return on the fall schedule.
Lost: Former Congressman, Treasury Secretary and vice presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen. For all his accomplishments, I'll always remember him for telling Dan Quayle during the 1988 vice presidential debate: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy. Such a great sound byte that it has its own Wikipedia entry.
Found: Some pretty neat artwork by one of my pals from the CASE Design Conference in Seattle.
Elevator Down: Lost star Michelle Rodriguez, headed back to jail for violating probation after her drunk-driving arrest in Hawaii.
Elevator Up: To that spunky horse Barbaro, whose career-ending, life-threatening injury has made him more famous and adored than any horse in recent memory.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Wine keeps Hungarian apes feeling fine. (Alcohol + a funny-sounding country + primates = HHotW gold.)
Strangest Hit: Either the query trying to find someone in Toronto (sorry, wrong side of the lake) or the visitor from Togo (!) searching email guestbook of flamingo.
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report [updated]: As of Friday morning, the Nautical Disasters continued to grind it out in seventh place in the Stout Fellows League.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: Sometimes you have to play the heavy when ushering Commencement ceremonies.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other. -- Margaret Wheatley.
Looking forward to ... : A three-day Memorial Day weekend with no major plans. Other than sleeping in, which deserves a w00t!

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Stafford, the new official dress shoes of the TimsHead household.

Added To 'HeadHood Jukebox: The Pop Goes LA mix (plus bonus material!) from squiddichino, and Garage Sale Mix Disc #1 from Boowasborn courtesy of the Xanga Music Xchange 2.0.
Celebrating: About 1,200 students at my college -- and thousands upon thousands elsewhere -- preparing to receive their degrees at Commencement ceremonies.
Not Celebrating: Fans and players in the Northwestern women's soccer program, which was suspended from play after photos of hazing ceremonies appeared on the Internet (and, later, the hard drives of many teenage boys).
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLIX: The eyes of the media world turn to the box-office opening of The Da Vinci Code, as the ballyhooed book gets a big-budget film treatment starring noted (over)actor Tom Hanks. The work of fiction's big-screen debut continues to stir up charges of blasphemy, and protests are possible outside your local overpriced cineplex. But you'd think people would realize it's just a (critically panned) movie and (overrated, many would say) book, not a religious statement.
Lost: A bit of faith in the stock market, after renewed inflation fears (and a herd mentality) cause the biggest stock drop in three years earlier this week.
Found: A whole bunch of nice new friends and acquaintances through my conference in Seattle and Xanga meetups in Vancouver.
Elevator Down: To the keepers of this blog for not posting a Thursday Tipsheet for the first time in nearly a year.
Elevator Up: To Rick (handicap13) by filling the void by offering a Sunday Summary in its place.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Crime-fighting cat now trying therapy. (HHotW Rule #1: It's hard to beat anything featuring an animal attributed human behavior.)
Strangest Hit: A visit via a Google.ca query for jocelyn dubord picture. Dubord is one of our hockey players but, sorry, no pictures available.
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report: As of Thursday morning, the Nautical Disasters sat sullenly in seventh place in the Stout Fellows League (after briefly moving up to sixth).
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: Vancouver is one awesome city.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: We are links between the ages, containing past and present expectations, sacred memories and future promise. -- Edward Sellner.
Looking forward to ... : Ushering Commencement activities this weekend and watching several students I taught walk for their degrees.

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Del Monte, the official bananas of the TimsHead household.

Added To 'HeadHood Jukebox: Big Audio Dynamite, Planet B.A.D. Greatest Hits; School Daze Mix, mystery person from handicap13's music exchange; Sunburst Songs, Vol. 1, JP aka Anejo Mockingbird.
Celebrating: Mario Williams, the former North Carolina State defensive lineman who became the surprise #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.
Not Celebrating: Texans fans and pundits who can't understand why Houston didn't instead draft the once-in-a-generation and very marketable skills of former USC running back Reggie Bush.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLVIII: If ABC, a part of the Disney Empire, is so family-friendly, whose bonehead idea is it to televise the National Spelling Bee in prime time, packaged as the original reality TV? While the popularity of the spelling bee continues to rise -- despite its inherent boring nature -- does anyone else see anything wrong with humiliating kids who miss a word in front of millions of viewers on a major network?
Lost: Former Wall $treet Week host and financial guru Louis Rukeyser, and Earl Woods, father of golf's Tiger.
Found: Too many similiarities to other sources in the work of former whiz-kid writer Kaavya Viswanathan. The 19-year-old Harvard student has subsequently seen her publishing contract with Little, Brown and Co. canceled.
Elevator Up: To 13-year-old golfer Dakoda Dowd, who was able to play in an LPGA tournament to fulfill a dream for her terminally ill mother. While Dokoda didn't make the cut for the event, the family's story won countless fans.
Elevator Down: Rolling Stones guitarist and jurassic fossil Keith Richards, on the mend from injuries reportedly suffered by either falling out of a palm tree or tumbling from a personal watercraft. Well, I guess either is safer than doing heroin.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Men glued to toilet seats at Wal-Mart, Denny's
Strangest Hit: Someone surfed here via a search for i know it's late now i know i ought to go (lines from "Drive" by Bic Runga, during the lyric game).
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report: As of Thursday morning, the Nautical Disasters dawdle in seventh place in the Stout Fellows League.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: Oh Lord, it's hard to be Hummel.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: All of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon -- instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. -- Dale Carnegie
Looking forward to ... : The CASE Design Conference in Seattle and a weekend in Vancouver. w00t!

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Firefox, the official browser of the TimsHead household.

On 'HeadHood Heavy Rotation: The Fray, How To Save A Life; Gemma Hayes, Night On My Side; Idlewild, Warnings/Promises.
Celebrating: Fans of playoff action in the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. OK, I'm not really paying attention to them, but I assume somebody is.
Not Celebrating: Elton John, after critics sank their fangs into the Broadway debut of his musical vampire production Lestat.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLVII: The wall between politics and pop culture is already porous, but it seems even more so after the Bush Administration reached through the TV screen to name Fox News commentator Tony Snow as its new press secretary. Snow's background does includes writing speechwriter for Bush's father ... but Hardball's Chris Matthews is also a former presidential speechwriter and I don't think anyone would like to see him as a press secretary. (Or a senator from Pennsylvania, as is his rumored ambition.)
Lost: Author, activist and urbanist Jane Jacobs. Since The Death and Life of Great American Cities was a huge influence on my interest in neighborhoods, this is sad news.
Found: By Venezualen scientists, a way of preparing beans that won't give eaters flatulence. I smell Nobel Prize.
Elevator Up: To Matisyahu, the unlikely success story of a reggae rapper who is also a Hassidic Jew. And he's got serious skills, too.
Elevator Down: Former baseball star, current announcer and overall troglodyte Keith Hernandez for making derrogatory on-air comments, including I won't say women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout. Hmm. The 21st century is on Line 1, slugger.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Police arrest nude man stuck in chimney.
Strangest Hit: Someone surfed her by searching for shared hotel room with female co-worker. Your guess is as good as mine.
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report: As of Thursday morning, the Nautical Disasters sat forlornly in ninth place in the Stout Fellows League.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: Used book sales are better than dealing with textbook companies.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible. -- William Faulkner.
Looking forward to ... : Making it to the other end of this very busy week.

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Dockers™, the official cushioned dress socks of the TimsHead household.

On 'HeadHood Heavy Rotation: Shelby Lynne, I Am Shelby Lynne; Shawn Mullins, Soul's Core; Patrick Park, Loneliness Knows My Name.
Celebrating: Phil Mickelson, who stayed cool and won his second Masters and third major tournament in three years. Once considered the best player never to win a major, he may now be pushing Tiger for the title of the best golfer, period.
Not Celebrating: Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire soon-to-be-ex-minister of Italy, who loses his country election, and with little dignity.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLV: With all the real problems in the world today, the media must have something interesting to say. Well, this isn't it: Gwenyth Paltrow gives birth to baby Moses. OK, what else? Child protection officials visit Britney Spears' home. That's nice. No one cared that welfare officials visited my former neighbor about 8,000 times and she continued popping out kids. Maybe some real news? Michael Douglas says he never dissed Brangelina. There's some hot, vital information for you. Not! Oh wait, here's something ... Madonna marriage may have had bumpy period. I guess no one cares about reporting news that actually matters to real people any more.
Lost: June Pointer of the Pointer Sisters, the sibling singers whose hits included "Fire," "Slow Hand" and "I'm So Excited."
Found: The motherlode of music by buying 23 CDs for $60 in one night.
Elevator Up: To the college women's lacrosse team, who have won two of their past three games in impressive fashion, despite having me as their faculty mentor.
Elevator Down: French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, whose political career is on life support after massive protests convince President Jacques Chirac pulled the plug on de Villepin's controversial employment reforms.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Man hit with $218 trillion phone bill. (Credit ClosetGeek for the link.)
Strangest Hit: Someone visited via a search for do you come from a contact or noncontact culture. I have no idea what that means.
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report: The Nautical Disasters are mired in eighth place in the 10-team Stout Fellows league. Since I sat in ninth until late Wednesday, this is actually an improvement.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: A great concert is worth losing sleep over.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: There ain't no free lunches in this country. And don't go spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals. You've got to say, "I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it." -- Lee Iacocca.
Looking forward to ... : Flowers blooming, the women's lacrosse team playing my other alma mater on Friday and maybe some relaxation this weekend.

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Mach 3 TurboTM, the new razor of the TimsHead household. (Bought on clearance. Shavers with only three blades are obsolete now?)

On 'HeadHood Heavy Rotation: Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism; Death Cab for Cutie, Plans; Death Cab for Cutie, The Photo Album.
Celebrating: The Florida Gators, winning the national men's college basketball championship by defeating UCLA, 73-57. Just a shame such an exciting NCAA tournament ended with such an anticlimactic yawner which scored the second-lowest TV ratings in 31 years.
Not Celebrating: UCLA fans who received a congratulatory email from Amazon.com for winning the national championship ... even though the Bruins lost. Oops! (Thanks to skeetle09 for the lead.)
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLIV: Anyone remember when ESPN cared about sports journalism? Not any more, with the new alleged reality show, Bonds on Bonds. Yes, that Barry Bonds, the one who is probably chasing the home run record after years of steroid use. Yet the show on ESPN2 is essentially an hour-long infomercial over which Bonds has total creative control, edited to make him look as human, sympathetic and wonderful as possible. This is the same Bonds who is often arrogant toward reporters and wants sportswriters to sign releases in case footage of them asking questions is used. I guess in the future, all controversial figures will get their own show where they can ignore and create their own version of reality.
Lost: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Pitney, who sang or penned hits that included "Town Without Pity," "Only Love Can Break A Heart" and "Hello, Mary Lou." The 65-year-old dropped dead after a concert in Wales, after what fans said was one of his best performances ever.
Found: This year's hysterical Google April Fool's prank: Google Romance™, coupled with Soulmate Search™ and Contextual Date™. (Props to infra..., er, Squiddichino for the fabulous fun.)
Elevator Up: To Katie Couric, who could have stayed in her safe seat at NBC's Today Show, but instead boldly jumped to CBS to become the first woman to own a solo anchor chair for a major-network TV evening news show.
Elevator Down: Tom DeLay, the once-powerful Republican HouseMajority leader dogged by scandal to the point of stopping his re-election bid. On the bright side, this is probably the last time he'll appear in this category.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Vain wild turkey seeks leftovers at cafe
Strangest Hit: A search for drinking+college+graduation+sayings brought someone to my blog. Finally ... found through a search for an area of expertise!
Stupid Fantasy Baseball Report [*new*]: The Nautical Disasters are in fifth place. The team was in second until Freddy Garcia decided to pitch like Jerry Garcia.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: There's nothing weak about women's college lacrosse.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all. -- George Bernanos.
Looking forward to ... : Death Cab for Cutie and Franz Ferdinand at Cornell University on Sunday. w00t!

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Chock Full o' Nuts French VanillaTM, the new official full-bean coffee of the TimsHead household.

Added To 'HeadHood Jukebox: Imogen Heap, Speak For Yourself; Idlewild, Promises/Warnings.
Celebrating: Emil Olmert and his centrist Kadima party winning a history-making Israeli election, poised to form a coalition government to seek peace and negotiated settlement conditions with the Palestinians. Whether this finally turns the temperature down on the ever-simmering corner of the Middle East remains anyone's guess.
Not Celebrating: Duke University, dealing with a different kind of march madness -- suspending its whole men's lacrosse team after allegations that members may have harassed and raped a dancer hired to perform at a party.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLIII: Realizing that perhaps there's only so much one can do with crappy reality TV and snarky comments by C-list celebs like Mo Rocca and Michael Ian Black, VH1 recently unveiled its first scripted comedy. Or, since it's the Tori Spelling vehicle So NoTORIous, we should say alleged comedy. Spelling plugged this everywhere for the supposedly novel twist of playing herself with characters based on her real friends. Groundbreaking? Meh. Ask Garry Shandling or Jerry Seinfeld, who did the whole concept much earler and much much better.
Lost: Legendary country singer and entertainer Buck Owens, who gave the world the Bakersfield sound and many hit records, in addition to countless cheesy guffaws from his Hee-Haw years.
Found: A new home for disgraced political lobbyist Jack Abramoff for almost six years, perhaps a bit less with good behavior.
Elevator Up: The mouse that roared: Underdogs George Mason and affable coach Jim Larranaga, whose unlikely win over powerhouse Connecticut to reach the NCAA Final Four may be the biggest upset in the basketball tournament's history.
Elevator Down: Victor Willis, the original policeman in the Village People, under arrest for drug possession and -- believe it or not -- misidentifying himself to ... a policeman. I suspect the real cop wasn't dancing or singing Y-M-C-A.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Man accidentally divorces wife in sleep. Aftab, you've got some 'splainin' to do ...
Strangest Hit: Had a visitor come via a search for interesting topic+presentation. There's irony for you.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: There a lot more embarrassing stories involving toilets and vacations that anyone should expect.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. -- Agatha Christie.
Looking forward to ... : A weekend with a forecast that finally resembles spring.

snapshots of culture

~une~

I always enjoy the college's juried art exhibition. Not only does it bring out the best work from students, but it also features a nice (and short) awards presentation. The headline would be that our boy Ian (aka, Jackie's man) won a presidential purchase award, a Student Association citation and juror's prize. In all my years of attending, I've never seen that happen before, but there was something unquestionably compelling about his found-art, painted broken windowpane.

But there were wonderful little human snapshots throughout the evening. Two involved the presidential purchase award, where our college president buys artwork for permanent display ... at the price the artists suggest when they submit them to jurying. As the president talked about creativity, a girl off to my right had this kind of mocking sneer on her face. Until the president announced that she was buying one of the girl's pieces. The student blurted: Holy shit! Screw reality TV ... that crap could never produce something this authentic and entertaining.

The president also announced that she was buying a piece from a sweet-looking girl standing in front of me during the ceremony. The girl went up, got her check, and came back shaking, putting her hand over her mouth, on the verge of tears. How much did you ask for it? one of her friends asked, to which she replied, still shocked: A lot! She later said the purchase price would pay about a month of rent. That a work of art had suddenly transformed her life for the better made me incredibly happy for this perfect stranger.

~deux~

Imagine Ani DiFranco and Bjork had a child together (and who hasn't fathered a child with Bjork?) who picks up the violin at an early age and becomes a full-fledged ass-kicker. That person would probably resemble Carla Kihlstedt, the violinist/vocalist who heads 2 Foot Yard, which I had the pleasure of seeing this week.

Teamed with cellist/vocalist Marika Hughes and percussionist/guitarist Shahzad Ismaili -- talented musicians and composers in their own right -- Kihlstedt and company are a formidable force that flourishes in the musical margins. What they produce is actual alternative rock with a bit of chamber music rolled in ... good luck hearing that on your local ClearChannel outlet. You could write a couple of news releases explaining it, but doing so barely scratches the surface.

Their brilliant adaptation of the Carter Family classic "50 Miles" will engage anyone with any musical sensibilities (amazingly, Ismaili played guitar on this one while also kicking the hi-hat and bass drum). More challenging are numbers like "Rooting for the Shy Librarian," an odd but lovely tune that features Kihlstedt's sensual (and somewhat sexy) scatting instead of lyrics. Other songs, like "Fisherman's Daughter," require listeners to make it through a hard shell at first to discover the creamy melodic goodness at its center. I can't adequately describe the music 2 Foot Yard makes, short of saying that I really enjoyed the concert.

... For those who wonder why I think so highly of art and culture, the above is merely a couple of reasons why.

This week's Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by Penny Curtiss Premium, the official potato bread of the TimsHead household.

On 'HeadHood Heavy Rotation: The Fray, How To Save A Life; The Tragically Hip, Trouble At The Henhouse; Gin Blossoms, New Miserable Experience.
Celebrating: Underdogs and upstarts in the NCAA hoops tournament, as big surprises George Mason and Bradley -- and other lower seeds like Wichita State, Georgetown and West Virginia -- make shocking advances to the Sweet Sixteen. (Those who had teams upset by these squads going far in their March MadnessTM brackets are in the Not Celebrating category.)
Not Celebrating: Rioting Parisian students protesting a proposal by the French government to relax job guarantees. Depending on who you believe, the plan will either increase hiring flexibility or firing caprice, and the riots are either about preserving labor rights or a cry for continued entitlement. We report, you decide.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLII: Does anyone else remember when reality shows still tried to depict, you know, reality? The latest installment in mean-spirited exploitation, Fox's Unanimous, shows how far this genre has evolved or, rather, devolved. Here's the recipe: Take nine dim bulbs with various quirks and prejudices, put them in a room and tell them they must vote unanimously to give $1.5 million to one of them. The longer it takes them to decide, the less money remains to give to the winner. And the point of this is ... what exactly? To humiliate, degrade and unravel people for our entertainment? Compared to this, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance looks like Shakespeare.
Lost: The lives of more than 2,300 brave U.S. soldiers and 30,000 Iraqis in three years of action in Iraq.
Found: No weapons of mass destruction after three years of action in Iraq.
Elevator Up: Tennessee's fabulous freshman Candace Parker, who became the first women's college basketball player to dunk in the NCAA Tournament and twice in one game, creating a lot of media buzz.
Elevator Down: To the idea that a woman dunking generates a lot more media buzz than really important women's issues.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Flying Car Leaves Two Police Cars In Flames. (Thanks to Lady_Songbird for nominating something with livestock, violence and law enforcement ... pure gold.)
Strangest Hit: I've had a lot of visits through a search for zamboni+mastercard+commercial, but I don't have the slightest idea what the ad is.
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: You can dress a cat in an orange vest, but you shouldn't expect him to be happy about it.
Franklin PlannerTM Quote of the Week: The human tendency to regard little things as important has produced very many great things. -- G.C. Lichtenberg.
Looking forward to ... : More March MadnessTM hoops hysteria, as the Sweet Sixteen pares down to the Final Four. w00t!

I know that spring is a very strong metaphor in our hearts and minds, but does a high of 28 with occasional snow showers look like a warm transformation to you? April showers may bring May flowers, but March snow showers mainly bring out shovels.

But then spring is all relative. Maybe people in Edmonton or Yellowknife or Anchorage envy temperatures in the high 20s this time of year, and the 40-degree readings that would please our area would be considered a chilly March in Atlanta, Tuscon or Los Angeles.

While the weather won't cooperate, today is the first day back from spring break so students walking around with tans -- while seemingly out of place -- at least remind us there are sunny, sandy and snow-free beaches somewhere. After last week's all-but-deserted campus, having the place teeming with life again energizes us all at least a little.

Spring, in the metaphorical sense, is not about numbers on a thermometer. It's about an intangible reading within ourselves. It's about anticipating that tomorrow will be better (as 34 degrees is an improvement over 28). It's about embracing some kind of rebirth, of shaking off the cold, the slumber, the immobility to move forward. It's about getting outdoors as well as outside our physical, mental and psychological confinements and limitations.

This would, of course, all come easier with good weather. But future projections are not limited to the ones on weather.com, as we all chart our personal forecasts day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. If we don't see spring, that shouldn't keep us from trying to find it in some way.

For me, this meant driving to the mud lots past the west end of campus. At great risk to a perfectly good pair of khakis, I stumbled down a steep bank and through a small thicket to visit Lake Ontario's rocky shore. The water looked grey and choppy, a large layer of ice still ringed the shoreline and a cold breeze danced about my head. But I could feel something in the air. Spring.

This week's edition of Thursday Tipsheet is brought to you by SharpTM, the official TV for March MadnessTM viewing in the TimsHead household.

On 'HeadHood Heavy Rotation: Death Cab for Cutie, Plans; Big Country, No Place Like Home/Peace in Our Time; Del Amitri, Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri.
Celebrating: Fans of the frenzy known as March MadnessTM, the NCAA Tournament where giant and giant-killers collide on the basketball court.
Not Celebrating: Fans and colleges (from Cincinnati to Florida State, Michigan to Maryland) feeling snubbed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee's questionable decisions this year.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself, Vol. XLI: It seems like the main message from recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was: Let the bad times roll! Members of Blondie had an open argument, as the Debbie Harry faction that has an injuction against the other members essentially snubbed their longtime bandmates at the award podium and during a performance. (In the world of punk, aren't injuctions supposed to used to keep musicians away from teenage girls and/or livestock instead?) Meanwhile, the leftover posers of the Sex Pistols -- who were, let's face it, an early, edgier version of O-Town in leather pants -- sent a letter saying they weren't coming and comparing the Hall of Fame to urine in wine. How unfortunate that all this juvenalia overshadowed a nice all-star tribute to New Orlenans.
Lost: Former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, whose reign saw the dissolution of Yugoslavia and unspeakable acts of genocide. Let's just say he won't be the most widely mourned person on earth.
Found: The excellent automatic complaint-letter generator (courtesy of The_Rinking_Game).
Elevator Up: To Jay Leno (of all people). His humor may be lame, but credit him for personally calling to offer apologies to a viewer offended by a comedy skit.
Elevator Down: A long-time-no-see to Saddam Hussein, who seems to think he's still president of Iraq and urged the Sunnis and Shiites to come together to attack the U.S. This is, of course, the same guy responsible for the execution of countless Shiites when he was in power.
Huh? Headline of the Week: Burned man says he was better off naked.
Strangest Hit: Am I a magnet for musical searches? Last week, people came here via queries for Eddie Cohn, Gemma Hayes and Cherish the Ladies' Joanie Madden (the latter with the word lesbian, not that there's anything wrong with that if she is).
Shoulda-Been-Obvious Lesson: People can identify with clutter.
Franklin Planner™ Quote of the Week: [S]ome people with mediocre talent, but a great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent. -- Sophia Loren.
Looking forward to…: March MadnessTM, baby!

I've played because, when the game is good, when everyone is doing, not thinking, it happens, little stillnesses in the moments when you see your open man and nothing else, or you feel your shot going in the hoop as it leaves your hands, or you share a laugh with someone you've never spoken to. Race, money, gender, age, they're still there. But the junk we're all saddled with is gone.
-- She's Got Next, Melissa King

It is perhaps cliche or overly sentimental to speak of sports as transcending the everyday, but then a romantic belief in the pure joy of competition is among the U-Haul of quirks in my possession. As are the way a well-turned phrase can make me weak in the knees and a victory by the scrappy underdog can make my eyes moist.

So there is no greater time of year for me than this March Madness we currently enjoy. For even casual basketball fans in Central New York, this week started with gloom over our Syracuse University team, ninth in the 16-team Big East Conference and going nowhere. Or so we thought. From Wednesday through Saturday, the situation went from curiosity to frenzy into euphoria.

It started simply, if spectacularly, on Wednesday as scrappy star guard Gerry McNamara (recently maligned as allegedly overrated) nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Cincinnati 74-73 on Wednesday afternoon (while most of us were working). Next up: Connecticut, the #1 team in the country. They couldn't possibly beat a team that had whipped them in the regular season. Or could they? McNamara hit another last-second three-pointer to put the game into overtime, and SU won 86-84. Many of us tried to track the score online, but when it hit OT I finally gave up and turned on a TV in the media center and invited the crew from financial aid to watch. It's hard to work under such conditions.

By this time, it appeared something magical was happening. I contacted the staff of The Raven, who happily turned our favorite haunt into a sports bar for Friday's contest against archrival Georgetown. SU only led for nine seconds of the game. But it was the last nine seconds, as they staged an incredible rally from a 15-point deficit at the half to win 58-57. Jubilation. Saturday we were back at The Raven, and it seemed like even more sports fans were coming. After many twists and turns, SU hung on to defeat Pitt 65-61 for the Big East championship. Jubilation. An NCAA Tournament bid. For McNamara and teammates, redemption. Four wins, four days -- from losers to legends.

As it happens, I'm also reading She's Got Next: A Story of Getting In, Staying Open and Taking a Shot by Melissa King this weekend. On the surface, it's the story of how King finds what she's been missing in her everyday existence through basketball: passion, comaraderie and insights into the human condition. As she chronicles playing pickup games and later coaching a girl's team, King presents a story about life, not basketball. While I can appreciate it as a basketball fan, her tale will appeal to anyone who has a passion -- writing, cooking, painting, anything.

When I was in Big Lots on Saturday looking (unsuccessfully) for a replacement for the still-busted Lateral Thigh Slider, I found myself face to face with a basketball. Only $7.99 for a Rawlings? Love that store. The new basketball and I took advantage of the nice weather by going out to some courts behind Oneida Hall on the spring-break-silenced campus. It has been a while, as the first shot missed badly. I chased down the rebound, dribbled out and put up a bank shot. It went in cleanly. Words cannot accurately describe the satisfaction.