Stick Time: A CRYBART Digital Short

Back For A Second Season!

Man, it seems like it's been a long time since I've last posted. This past week was easily the busiest of the term. I had 3 midterms which all went well, some surprisingly so, and then I had some assignments due. On top of that, I had the busiest week I've ever had over in the football department. We've got our new wave of interns, so that was kind of hectic. I am in charge of getting the new interns' projects they did in the last couple of weeks all ready to go out, and I am still learning Photoshop, so that has been time consuming. I was also in charge of faculty for the Spring football game that was yesterday, so all week I was getting everything settled for that (which was much more than I thought), and then all the coaches are going away for a month to recruit next week, so I had to get a bunch of stuff ready to go for Coach Greatwood. However, today was nice, because everything really culminated yesterday, so today I had nothing to do. Next week I have a midterm, but it shouldn't be too bad after that. Anyways, I've got a lot of stuff I want to write about, but we'll see how far I get.

First of all, Matt had another track meet Friday and ran very well, beating his personal bests in the 400m and 800m, so congrats to him. You can check the times on my sidebar.

Two days ago, I was leaving Autzen and waiting at a stop light behind a couple cars. The light turns green, but I hadn't started moving yet, and my car jerks. It was the type of jerk like I had killed it really bad, and I didn't doubt it because I need an oil change pretty bad (tomorrow). I turned the key to start it again, but it was still running. Then I realized that I had been rear ended, and turned around to see what was going on. This car was pretty much in my bumper, and the girl who was driving had her head in her hands, so I knew that's what happened. We pulled into a lot, and I got out to look at the damage. I was already late for class, and this just wasn't what I needed. So I head around the back of the truck fearing the worst, thinking about what I need to do insurance wise, and when I get around, there was nothing. No dent, no paint scratches, no sign of an accident. Then I head around to the front of her crappy little Saturn or something, ask her if she's alright (she was), and check for damage on her car. Damage. She had a nice dent with a nasty paint chip, and her hood was knocked out of place a little. I kind of laughed on the inside. I guess what had happened is she had driven right into the iron plate that the hitch ball is connected to (which I assume is connected to the truck's frame), and when her plastic front hit that plate, I won. So we just left, and now she's got a front hood to fix. Not sure if that's how you do it, but whatever.

As I was saying, I have been doing a lot of Photoshop stuff, so I wanted to post it up here. First is a mailout that I did with my buddy Franklin. I think it turned out awesome. Click to see the big version. This was really my first endeavor into real Photoshop, and I think it turned out really good. If you were a recruit, what would you say if you got this in the mail? I would probably put it on my wall, but hey, that's 'cause I made it.

Next, at dinner tonight, Jake, Ryan, and I decided we want to start making little short movies. We all had tons of fun doing movies in high school, and we miss it. With Andy Smaberg as our motivation, we're starting our own production company (if it even merits that name). Tonight we're going to film our first one, and I'll get it up here as soon as I can. This picture is our logo. We're "Crybart". Inside joke, if you don't get it, that's the point. Click to enlarge again.

Um, I guess that's really all I got. Look for the first Crybart production soon.

NCAA bans texting

They're at it again. In the same vein of not being able to talk to recruits during a certain time of the year, the NCAA is set to review a proposed rule change on Thursday that will make text messaging recruits illegal. With a limit already on phone calls and visits, it's no surprise that this was coming, but it seems pretty late. Text messaging has blown up in recruiting the last few years, and now I'm sure every college coach knows how to text. I know ours do a ton. But that seems to be the way the NCAA "banning committee" works: something cool comes out, they ban it. I'm surprised it took this long for text messages though, because there is some stuff we (UO) do that get banned right after we do them. Either way though, text messaging = no more.

The NCAA really doesn't want anyone to have any fun do they? What is this, the NFL? Next, recruits will have to wear certain socks to official visits. But hey, can't spell insane without NCAA.

[via Ducks Blog]

Dwight Schrute, as played by Jim Halpert

This is a clip from Thursday's "The Office". I know I've been posting a lot of videos lately and not a lot of actual posts, but this week is midterm week, so deal with it. Plus, these videos are way more funny than I am. Enjoy.

Tim Duncan vs. Joe Crawford

If you didn't see what happened the other night between Tim Duncan and NBA referee Joe Crawford during the Spurs - Mavs game, take a look at this. If you did see it, take another look:

Will someone explain to me what Joe Crawford was thinking? Now, I heard he has some history with Duncan, but does anything Duncan could have done evoke this kind of response? I argue HELL NO! I think Joe Crawford was out of his mind, maybe had a fight with the wife, maybe his kid told him he hated him, but still. Tim Duncan is a player with a seriously high level of integrity in the NBA. Joe Crawford is an official with the same kind of integrity, but this incident, and the way Crawford appeared to react (with such intent) makes me question him, and only have more respect for Duncan.

Duncan handled this situation, which is ridiculous by the way, with a great attitude as far as the NBA should be concerned. He didn't argue, didn't try to "show up" the refs at all, just simply walked out, calmly. I'm sure he knew it was ridiculous, but even so, he was poised. No action was or should be taken against Duncan. Really, what did he do wrong anyways?

I'm going to go ahead and agree with Jim Rome on this one:

Since when has the NBA turned into the No Fun League? It's even beyond that. This is confining the expression of the players. Any competitive person knows that many actions in the heat of competition are irrational and driven by the intensity. From what I see, Tim was relaxing, just laughing with his teammates like everybody does. Maybe he was mocking the refs, but since when has that been outlawed? David Stern apparently agrees, because Mr. Crawford has been suspended indefinitely. As far as I'm concerned, that punishment has merit.

Ash and his 300 vs. The Army of Darkness

A mash-up of Army of Darkness and 300.

The Landlord

Short film by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay titled "The Landlord".

Click here to view the video in its original size.

Toyota Prius Can't Pass Georgia Emissions Test

The Toyota Prius was launched in 2004, so now in 2007, early buyers' tags are expiring, so it's time for a trip to everyone's favorite place: DEQ. Ah, DEQ. The place that made me sell my Acura because it just wouldn't pass. No matter how many damn times I took it through, no luck. Too bad. Aside from the fact that I didn't really fit, I loved that thing. It was my first car, and I had lots of good memories with it: my front window being broken out at Lloyd Center, it getting stolen in front of my apartment, and of course, who can forget all those times I forgot to shut the lights off at Putnam and made Frank, the campus monitor, come out and give me a jump after school. Those were the days. But I digress.

So Prius owners in Georgia are having troubles of their own with DEQ. Troubles like, say, none of them pass. NONE. Every single Prius that has gone through DEQ in Georgia has failed. But wait, before you go calling Toyota all kinds of names, maybe you should hear who really deserves the scorn: Georgia. Those bastards! Here's the story:

The Prius is designed to idle with its engine off, to save gas. So, when the DEQ tries to test its emissions, it has none. So, because Georgia has equipment that isn't up-to-(hybrid)-date, it issues the Prius a failing grade due to an incomplete test. And rather than saying, "oh yeah, our equipment doesn't support hybrid cars, we should probably upgrade", Georgia still requires Prius owners to pay the $25 "aborted test" fee that gives them this sheet that says they didn't pass which they then have to take to 1 of 5 waiver centers to get approved for new tags. 1 of 5 in the entire state of Georgia. Hopefully located next door to the DEQ, but probably not.

Like the guys over at Autoblog said: "Don't ya love bureaucracy?"

[via Autoblog]

Website?

I've been thinking about setting up a website, one of those crappy free ones, of course, so it would be "somehostname.com/mysitetitle", but a website nonetheless. However, while I was setting it up today, I asked myself: "What the hell do I need a website for?" I mean, seriously, what do I need a website for? I have a blog already, and I can pretty much do everything I need through that. But I have this idea in my head that a website would be cool and I don't know why.

The only things I can think of that I may be able to use it for are a place to host photo albums for family and anyone else who cares to look through, and I guess just a general place to store information, as I can't do that with a blog. But even still, what information do I even have to store?

I guess the long and short of it is, I want to start up a website, but I don't know what I would use it for. I know a few of you guys have websites, any suggestions?

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters Movie Review

This was one of my most anticipated movies of 2007, so going in I had high hopes. I didn't exactly know what to expect, because I tried to stay away from reading reviews before I went, as hard as that was, but that let me make my absolute own decisions about it. After reading some reviews, I realized that they are absolutely pointless, because this is not the type of movie that should even be reviewed; not enough people know what it's about. Anyways, my thoughts:

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. That's not to say I didn't like it, because I did, I really liked it. But it just didn't live up to my expectations which, like I said before, were high. Probably too high. But there's so much they seem to pack into every episode, and the movie just didn't have the same humorous punch that the episodes do. It had a lot of funny points, but I guess I was looking for an hour and a half of laughing.

My likes: it was "side-splittingly" funny at points. A lot of points. Especially the intro. For fans of the show, like me, it made great references to old characters and was just as fun as watching 7 episodes of the show in a row, but with a really loose plot. On that note, I think only fans of the show should see it. I feel bad for people who go in not knowing what its all about, and are just confused the whole time. A seriously funny movie though. I will buy it on DVD and watch it tons, and probably pick up lots of things I missed the first time.

My dislikes: while it was really funny at points, there were times when it wasn't. Being a 15 minute show on TV, I'm not used to it not being funny. Also, they focused too much time on stupid, pointless, secondary characters. The show is best when it involves lots of the Aqua Teens and Carl. They were there, but they could have been used so much better. I mean, these characters are hilarious, so exploit that!

Regardless though, it was a really funny movie, easily worth the price of admission. On the Reganometer, I give this movie an 8 out of 10, and say go see it, but ONLY, and I really mean this, ONLY if you're a fan.

Florida Legislature Forces UF To Idolize Jeb Bush

This story comes from thinkprogress.org. It's a liberal political blog, and while I don't read it regularly, I like it when I do read it. However, my point in mentioning that is that regardless of your political affiliation, this story is ridiculous.

About 2 weeks ago, the University of Florida faculty senate voted 38-28 to deny Jeb Bush an honorary degree. Their reasoning was they didn't like his education initiatives such as getting rid of race-based admission to state schools (essentially affirmative action), using standardized test scores to reward and punish schools, and issuing private school vouchers paid for by the public.

Well, yesterday the (Republican-controlled) Florida House Schools & Learning Council voted to force UF to rename their education building the "Jeb Bush College of Education." On top of that, they must "erect suitable markers noting the college’s new name and include the revised name in all university documents, including catalogues and brochures." The council acknowledged that they got the idea as a response to the denial two weeks ago.

What a bunch of horse shit! First of all, I know honorary degrees don't mean anything, so it's funny that Jeb didn't get one. However, I was under the impression that HONORARY degrees were given out at the discretion of the university to deserving people. I had no idea that a school could be punished for not giving one out, especially not one that was lobbied for. That goes against the entire principle of the honorary degree. And yes, this certainly is punishment. Think about how the attendance is going to drop after people see that big "Jeb Bush" sign, made with a crayon and the inside of a Cheerios box, stapled to the siding. Think about this if it were in any other situation besides politics. The whole thing is absurd. It really is.

[via thinkprogress.org]

Beatles Fact of the Day

It's about time I have another one of these right? I mean, look at my banner; they're basically my logo. Anyways, here you go.

The song "Yesterday" from the Help! album is one of the greatest Beatles songs ever written. It was written by Paul after he woke up one morning with the tune in his head. He sat down at a piano and played the tune, and it was the melody to the song he eventually recorded. It took him about 2 weeks to pen the lyrics, and while he was working on them, he would substitute the words "scrambled eggs" in spaces without lyrics. When it was released, it was the first Beatles song that didn't feature all 4 of them. Only Paul is heard, along with a string quartet. When he would perform this in concert however, it would just be him, a chair, and a guitar. What a sight that would have been. It is also noted as one of the first pop songs to use elements of classical music. Since it's release, it has become the most covered song in the world, with an amazing 3000+ recorded versions of it out there. It was also the most played song on the radio until 1999 when "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" passed it. (Damn you Top Gun). However, at any given time, somewhere in the world, "Yesterday" is probably playing.

Movie Poster Quiz

It's back! It's been a while since the last one, but here's your next round of movie posters. Leave a comment telling me which movies these posters are from.

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Top Gear (with British hosts) may come to the U.S.

Top Gear is the incredibly popular BBC automotive show that had 8 million people watching it's season finale this year, and the BBC has reported that there are plans to bring the show to the U.S. again. They tried it once, but as a replication of the British version with different hosts, and it didn't catch on. This time, the plan is to incorporate American cars and celebrities into the British show format, and hopefully appeal to American audiences better.

While there hasn't been anything confirmed yet, I'm going to go ahead and get my hopes up. I loved the show the few times I saw it on the Speed Channel back when we had the free preview. It's very well done and the hosts are extremely knowledgeable about and good at what they're doing. While the hosts do tend to dog the American auto industry (and Americans in general), maybe getting up close and personal with a few of the greats will change their minds. Or, better yet, why not just syndicate the British version on the Discovery Channel like they used to? I don't care, I just want to watch it.

[via Autoblog]

Happy 17th Birthday, Matt!

My brother, the stunningly handsome Matt Regan, turns 17 today, and that picture is very similar to what I imagine his disposition is at the moment. Who can blame him though, aside from the presents and people saying "happy birthday" to him all day, what does turning 17 get him? Oh, that's right, it allows him to get into R-rated movies without an adult, something he's been doing for years already. But just think for a second: at 2:41pm today, 17 years ago, Matt was born. So if I go back in time 17 years from right now, I'm still an only child. Hmm...

No way. Those would be bad times, because my brother is one of my best friends, I love him to death, and I wouldn't want to spend a day without him in my life. I'm so proud of him for the person he has become and is still becoming, for his achievements and personal accomplishments, and the modesty he carries through it all. I wish him the best always, and if he's reading: I love you Matt! Good luck at the meet on Thursday, and I'll see you the following week in Sandy.

Really!?! with Seth & Amy

Back when this SNL bit aired, I thought it was great. So tonight, the same episode is on, and they just played that bit, and I laughed again. It's pretty darn funny. Take a look:

Ducks Sports Round-up

Well, ever since the impressive basketball season ended, there's been a lot going on as far as Ducks sports go. First of all, huge congratulations to the basketball team for getting to the Elite 8 and having their only loss come at the hands of the eventual champions. It's always a tiny bit satisfying after you get knocked out of a tournament to know you were beat by the best team. So congratulations to them.

So after that, spring football practice has started (April 2), so my job has gotten a lot busier. Aside from the players all being around and everything going on around Autzen, now is the time when recruiting starts up again. Also, the spring season in when all the events start happening. We have Coach Bellotti's 3-day fundraising extravaganza which is an auction, dinner, and a golf tournament, among other things. Then there's Junior Day/Faculty Appreciation/Spring Game which is a really big deal because that's when all the important people are around. I'm in charge of the Faculty Reception piece of that this year, and just finding the e-mail addresses of faculty is a chore. But anyways, you get it, busy spring.

On the sports side of things, a lot is going on. First, if you haven't heard, Chamberlain Oguchi is transferring, so he won't be back next season. Rumor is we already have a "replacement" which is a 6'5" JC transfer Brad Garrett. Best of luck to Champ, but honestly, I was happy to hear the news. That's really all I have to say about it. In other transfer news, Jackie Bates is also transferring. That's probably a good choice, even though we would have loved him in our defense, but he's had a string of "bad luck" here. Best of luck to him as well.

Our first football scrimmage was yesterday, and aside from Ryan DePalo going down, we looked damn good. Costa is already getting a lot of hype, as well as Stewart, who SI actually named the 6th best running backs in college football. Lets just hope he can stay healthy. Boyd also looked good yesterday.

Lastly, as footnotes kind of, Aaron Brooks was named a Wooden Award All-American, and also won the men's college 3-point contest, so good for him, a great way to end his college career. Also, as much as I think he's overrated as a football player, Jordan Kent is in the middle of talks with NFL teams (the Bucs last week, the Falcons this week, and the Seahawks next week), and looks like he might have a shot on day 2 of the draft. I wish him luck with that.

I'm looking forward to an exciting spring, and an even better fall. GO DUCKS!

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Music Video

These lyrics are the best I've heard in music ever. And Meatwad can shred!

This Is The Colbert Report!

Hilarious video, and I can't stop watching it.

This kid was actually featured on the Colbert Report in one of the intros.

Week 1

So, week 1 of Spring term is officially in the books for me. I don't have class on Friday's, so Thursday is my Friday. That makes Sunday my... fun day? Lame. Anyways, I just felt like writing a post about it, so here goes.

I have 4 classes this term, like every other term, and I have a feeling they may all bore me to tears. First is Music in World Cultures. That's just a lot of weird music I've never heard before and will probably have to struggle to appreciate. Next is DSC 340 which is an MIS class. Last class we learned how to convert numbers to binary, hex, and base-16 notation. Wow, what fun! Then I have Econ 311 which is essentially another math class, 'nuff said. Then there is Marketing 435 which is a class on consumer behavior. This one is part of my major, and what I'm actually interested in, but so far we've just re-hashed ideas I already know, so hopefully that changes.

You know what else is going to change? Next year, instead of taking 4 classes every term, I only have to take 3. Long story, but basically, I could graduate early if I wanted, but I would have to sacrifice a minor. Or, I could go the whole year, get a minor, and have a lighter load each term. I'll take what's behind door number 2.

As the term progresses, I may or may not give more updates. It depends on how awful my classes turn out to be. Right now though, I have to go give a tour of the athletic facilities to some kid who wants to walk on. GO DUCKS!

The New Shelby Cobra GT500KR

Ford plans to unveil this baby at the NY Auto Show this week. As if it doesn't look cool enough, it's got 540 hp, and "KR" stands for King of the Road. But you better hurry; they're only making 1000 of them.

[via Autopia]

Die Hard 4.0 Trailer

Die Hard 4, Live Free or Die Hard, Die Hard 4.0, whatever you know it as, the new Die Hard movie looks awesome, and I can't wait to see it. I posted the U.S. trailer back when it came out, and now the international trailer is up (in English). It's different from the U.S. version, but it kicks ass just the same. Take a look:

Mo' Pete's Miracle

Morris Peterson only played 1 minute, but he made it count. From NBA.com,

"The Wizards' Michael Ruffin prematurely threw the ball into the rafters to celebrate a Washington win, but didn't realize that there was time left on the clock as the ball drifted towards the Raptors' Morris Peterson. Peterson caught the ball and threw up a 3-point prayer that was answered as the game was sent to overtime."

The Raptors ended up winning too. Amazing. Jake, Bryan, and I were at Taylor's when Jake saw that on SportsCenter and goes, "holy crap!" like either something really good or something really bad happened. Then he wouldn't tell us what it was, he just made us wait and watch it.

Will Ferrell Wrote Sim City?

I saw Blades of Glory last night, which was really funny by the way, I'll write something up tomorrow, but I went to IMDb to look up some quotes. They didn't have any yet, but then I started looking at Will Ferrell's movie for a new poll, which asks which one of his movies is funniest because of him and is down on the sidebar now, and when I got down and looked at his writing credits, I saw this:


















Will Ferrell wrote Sim City?

I'm not sure if this is a joke or a mis-tagged name or the wrong "Will Ferrell" or what, but in it's context, on Ferrell's page, next to all the comedies and movies and stuff, it's pretty damn funny.

UPDATE: It's mis-tagged, and should be Will Wright, not Ferrell. Thanks "live tv".