Watching the race in Bristol... IN Bristol!

Tony Stewart dominated early but Kyle Busch finished first. In the final laps, Kyle and Jeff Burton were battling in a clean conclusion to the race but Jeff came up just a little short. This week, my team battled my friend Joel's team. I was concerned because Tony is on Joel's team and it looked like Tony was going to run unchallenged. Mechanical problems related to his fuel system pushed him to the back and my guys got the win.

At the finish, Jimmie Johnson finished sixteeth, Jeff Burton took second, and Kyle Busch won. Juan Pablo Montoya, on my bench, finished thirty-second.

#2 Overdue 415 vs. 290 #3 Desert Denny
#5 Blue Bayou 362 vs. 475 #1 Bear Down Racing
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy 407 vs. 316 #4 halffastracing

Note: Team #2 has changed names from 3C Slippery Notes to Overdue

#1 Bear Down Racing was 3-1; won; now 4-1
#4 halffastracing was was 4-0; lost; now 4-1
#5 Blue Bayou was 3-1; lost; now 3-2
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 2-2; won; now 3-2
#2 Overdue was 0-4; won; now 1-4
#3 Desert Denny was 0-4; lost; now 0-5

Going to B.Y.O.B. with Linda

Linda and I took advantage of the Bring Your Own Bucket night and enjoyed The Ultimate Gift. A lesson filled story of a legacy passed down from grandfather to grandson, the film was entertaining and thought provoking.

Watching the race in Atlanta

This afternoon, Jimmie Johnson outdueled Tony Stewart in the final laps to capture his second consecutive victory of the year. This week, my team battled my friend Bill's team. Early on, we were both running well. Kyle Busch ran into a few problems in the pit and was quickly down a couple of laps. I was looking at a loss until Kevin Harvick's car lost a cylinder and Kurt Busch had pit troubles too.

At the finish, Jimmie Johnson finished first, Jeff Burton took fourth, and Kyle Busch finished thirty-second. Juan Pablo Montoya, on my bench, had his best Cup finish of the year finishing fifth! I think I'll be starting him soon...

#1 Bear Down Racing 427 vs. 342 #6 Red Neck Racing Academy
#4 halffastracing 410 vs. 287 #3 Desert Denny
#5 Blue Bayou 431 vs. 380 #2 3C Slippery Notes

#4 halffastracing was 3-0; won; now 4-0
#1 Bear Down Racing was 2-1; won; now 3-1
#5 Blue Bayou was 2-1; won; now 3-1
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 2-1; lost; now 2-2
#3 Desert Denny was 0-3; lost; now 0-4
#2 3C Slippery Notes was 0-3; lost; now 0-4

Exploring an oxymoron

According to The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition:

A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect: “She is just a poor little rich girl.

Some other common examples are deafening silence, military intelligence, and bagpipe music. (Those last two are in jest...)

Last night, Linda treated me to an evening at the Temple for the Performing Arts to see The Male Intellect: an Oxymoron. The one-man show explored and discussed a lot of the differences between how men and women see things. Set up as a man who'd been granted his request for more space and got more than he'd intended, the actor tries to figure out what he did "wrong" and how he can get a little less space. Along the way, he also shows us several of the lessons he's learned from other men. His "feminine side" speaks to him from time to time as well. As the story unfolds, I think a lot of us saw ourselves and others in the characters and had a good laugh at some of the antics. It was a nice evening out.

Watching Dan Rather via RocketBoom

This evening, I was going about my normal internet reading and viewing and found an entry on RocketBoom that features Dan Rather commenting on The News. Over the past couple of years, I've been paying some attention to the impact of internet delivery so this piqued my interest.

As newspapers, television, and all other sorts of people try to provide us with additional content, we need to understand what we're getting. We may be able to find deeper details than can be economically justifiable to those who deliver content in print or over the air. We may find additional, high quality sources of information by people upholding the ideals of trained journalists. We also run the risk of getting equally well crafted misinformation. While there certainly have been some spectacular stories where our professional journalists have doled out some bad information, I personally believe that they continue to strive to provide a high quality, fair and factual account about what's going on in our world and continue to turn to them. That said, I also like to see what others have to say but take that with a grain of salt.

You can check out Dan's comments at the RocketBoom site. Do be aware that he let slip a slightly colorful barnyard reference.

Three-peat at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The facility was rebuilt but the results were the same. For the third straight year, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag. This week, my team faced Desert Denny at her home track, normally a difficult task. An unfortunate accident involving her best driver proved the difference.

Jimmie Johnson finished first, Kyle Busch finished ninth, and Jeff Burton finished fifteenth.

League notes: 2003martin6 is now known as "3C Slippery Notes"
mr0bill is now known as "Red Neck Racing Academy"

#2 3C Slippery Notes 258 vs. 490 #4 halffastracing
#3 Desert Denny 344 vs. 456 #1 Bear Down Racing
#5 Blue Bayou 390 vs. 293 #6 Red Neck Racing Academy

#4 halffastracing was 2-0; won; now 3-0
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 2-0; lost; now 2-1
#1 Bear Down Racing was 1-1; won; now 2-1
#5 Blue Bayou was 1-1; won; now 2-1
#3 Desert Denny was 0-2; lost; now 0-3
#2 3C Slippery Notes was 0-2; lost; now 0-3

Saturday Night Gaslight

Saturday evening, Valerie was in town and, having recently enjoyed the opening night performance, I treated her to Gaslight.

The audience was probably nearing three quarters capacity for the venue and it showed in the response to some of the events on stage. There was actual open, sustained laughter at some of the humor and, when a telltale item was left where it could reveal a plot, there was an audible gasp of recognition and murmur in the crowd; I saw two people pointing it out to others in their parties. The effect that the audience has on itself was quite clear. We get some of that at the movies but it felt more pervasive and open at the play; curious.

The players were also sharper in their delivery of some of their lines. While they were done well on opening night, the rhythm flowed more naturally.

After the show, we both felt it had been an evening well spent.

Midnight Run

Friday night, Linda came over and joined me in watching Midnight Run, a personal favorite. Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter and Charles Grodin his captive on a trip from New York to Los Angeles where Grodin's character is to testify against a gangland figure. Along the way, largely thanks to Grodin's endless pointed questions and observations, they learn a great deal about one another and De Niro's character faces some of his own personal history. The script is quick and has kept me entertained for several viewings. The language that the bounty hunter uses may be a bit much for some but I can accept that of the character. On balance, the show is certainly worth it for me.

For those thinking this might have been about Turkish prison, that's Midnight Express... completely different story.

Thursday Theatre

Thursday evening, Linda and I went the Performing Arts Hall of the Harmon Fine Arts Center at Drake to see a play by Patrick Hamilton, Gaslight. This play, written in the 1930s, was adapted in films produced in Britain and the United States in the 1940s. The story is about a couple who are struggling with issues related to her apparent mental deterioration and his efforts to help. We soon have reason to question what's really going on.

The play was attended by around thirty people, many appearing to have connections to the players or the university. The set was well designed, costumes appropriate, and the actors did a fine job with the material. While the story took a somewhat sinister turn, there were certainly moments of good humor.

We also learned that the Drake Drama Department put on six plays this school year, generally on a monthly basis. Given the inexpensive admission and quality of the performances, this is yet another gem that only shines for those who seek it out. I hope to take advantage of their offerings in the future.

Joel and I RECEIVE notice...

A few months back, Joel and I gave notice at our preferred pizza place that, due to scheduling issues beyond our control (mostly), we would be switching to Tuesday nights. Wednesday night, we learned that our long time server was calling it quits and heading for Milwaukee for other pursuits. Joel made sure it wasn't because of something we'd said or done (there have been a few occasions that make that question appropriate ... but we're not going into that here and now.) No, she said she was at a point in her life where a fresh start made sense. Unbeknownst to us, she'd grown up in the area and was looking forward to returning. Seeing that our opportunity to sway her to stay had passed, we wished her well and enjoyed our pizza.

The movie selections were limited and I had had a longer than usual day so we headed back to Joel's. Marlene wasn't home yet so we settled in to watch Robert Redford and company in Jeremiah Johnson, a tale of a man who tries to get away from it all in the Rocky Mountains in the 1800s. Good story, well told.

Wild Hogs and BYOB

Last night, Linda and I went to see the new motorcycle road movie "Wild Hogs" and reap the benefit of Bring Your Own Bucket night. If you Bring Your Own Bucket (up to three gallons), the theatre will fill it with popcorn for fifty cents. Nice!

The movie was a cute story of four men who've been riding motorcycles around Cincinnatti but haven't really lived the biker life. Donning their leathers emblazoned with the Wild Hogs logo, they set out for the Pacific coast. Each has come to the point in his life where it's about time he did ... at least for a week or so. On their trip, they have various encounters and learn some things about themselves and each other. All in all, a decent night at the movie.

Let's Go Bucs!

Linda and I returned to the 95KGGO Arena to see the Bucs take on the Green Bay Gamblers. Once again, we were treated to a whale of a game. It started out well with the Bucs taking the lead. Before the first period was over, Green Bay had tied things up. The second period opened with a fight and two players sitting out for a while. Goals came often and, at the end of the second period, the Gamblers were up 4-3. The game was physical and well played. The Gamblers played a particularly in-your-face style hockey, challenging the Bucs at every turn. The Bucs did tie the game in the final period and both teams held on to the end. The five minute overtime included penalties for both teams and looked like either would be able to score... but noone did. During the shootout, the Bucs scored twice to cinch the win.

NASCAR League Team Change

Well, another weekend is upon us and that means another NASCAR event. Today, I caught word that Juan Pablo Montoya (J.P.) will be starting third in the NASCAR Busch series race in Mexico City. That race is a road course race, something that I'd kind of thought that he could do well given his Formula 1 experience. The question was how would he translate that to the heavier "taxicabs" of NASCAR. That question appears to have been answered. My main reason for picking up the veteran Ricky Rudd had been for his road course capabilities; he's one of the best. With Mr. Montoya showing his abilities, I've had to rethink my selection and have come to the conclusion that I could go with the Texaco/Havoline Dodge on my team. I now have the 5, 31, 42, and 48 cars in my stable of drivers. I think that J.P. has potential to be a bigger hit on the circuit this year than Ricky; certainly more in the years yet to come.