Thursday, December 29, 2005

Vacation is not always vacation

Hi world. Hope your holiday weekend was great.
I'm back in the Windy City after spending a couple of days in Iowa seeing the family. My sister's birthday party on Friday night was good times...a round or two or Drink Until You Boot to get things started, and we powered through until the wee hours of the morning.

Santa was kind to me this year, which I expected because I've been very good. I got many clothes, some new luggage, other miscellaneous items, and the crown jewel was an all-expenses paid trip to Dave Pelz short-game school at Cog Hill next May. I'm very excited. My short game and putting sometimes torpedos great rounds for me, as I am already long and strong with the woods and the irons. What I need is some touch around the greens and be able to knock it stiff when I'm in a tight lie or in the sand. I hope to make a lot of strides next season.

This week has been good, I'm slowly recharging after over a year with no significant vacation. I'm working from home each day, and it's nice, but I'm still pretty much accountable for work when I get up each morning, so it's not a true vacation. I guess that will have to wait until March, when the Bachelor Party to end all Bachelor Parties takes place in a foreign locale.

NYE plans are locked down. We are rolling very deep for the party at Pint, and coupled with a hangover brunch hosted by yours truly and the Hawk game Monday, it should be quite a bender. Hopefully some of my siblings will be joining us, we'll have to see.

That's all for now, time to get back to work. Enjoy what's left of the holiday season.

Friday, December 23, 2005

It's Santa Time

I'm heading home in an hour or two for Christmas.

Merry, Merry Christmas everyone.

More after the weekend: when I return to Chicago, I'm on vacation and it's on.

Tim

Thursday, December 22, 2005

A Family of Bears go to Hawaii


Congratulations to the Chicago Bears for leading the NFC with 6 Pro Bowl selections and several more alternates that may get their shot at a trip to Hawaii as well.

This teams deserves it, and more. I wouldn't have been surprised to see two or three more guys punch their ticket to Hawaii from the defensive unit, and Thomas Jones certainly looked like a Pro Bowler for the first ten weeks of the season.

Anyway, I am very happy to see Olin, Nate, Mike, Brian, Lance, and Tommie get their due. This defense is probably the unit most singly responsible for the success of its team in the entire NFL. They play fast and hit hard, and it's been a pleasure to watch them work. Have fun in Hawaii fellas.


Note about the Cubs trade: Rumor has it that the Cubs are looking at a possible multi-team trade with Baltimore and some other unnamed teams that would bring superstar shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Cubs and ship Mark Prior to the AL West. We would certainly be hurting for a starter if that happened, but the thought of that lineup is tempting. Prior is great, but has been so unreliable since he was overworked in 2003 that I am leaning towards favoring this deal. What if we bail out on it and then he tweaks his elbow again? It doesn't matter how good you are when you start your season in July every year.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

The Jenn Sterger files (or, Why I Chose the Wrong College)



Most internet-savvy males know by now about the hoopla that was created when FSU football fan and ridiculously attractive co-ed Jenn Sterger's Facebook picture album spread far and wide across the internet. After some attention from the ABC cameras during an FSU game, she and her fellow FSU cowgirls gained quite a bit of notoriety, which she has now parlayed into photo shoots for both Playboy and Maxim. In addition to the now-famous pics on Facebook, her profile on MySpace is also in circulation.

Now, why is a wholesome blog like the Offering taking note of such a phenomenon?

1) First and foremost, she is now doing interviews for blogs. (via deadspin) Which means that she may be willing to answer a couple of questions right here on this humble web page. In the immortal words of Lloyd Christmas, "So you're telling me there's a chance?" (Jenn, if you are reading this: I promise, no lewd questions or propositions, no recycled, low-brow questions, and if you so desire, helpful advice on getting into and succeeding at law school while still having time to tailgate on a bi-weekly basis. It can be easily done.)

2) This whole episode is Exhibit A in showing why I chose the wrong undergraduate institution. Yes, mine was an idyllic community full of bright, motivated, attractive, well-prepared students. But the six month winters, Division III football team, and general lack of school spirit in the fall led to an alarming absence of cowgirls, which I now realize is 100% unacceptable. Even my years at a Big Ten law school seem like a sorry consolation prize when faced with the prospect of participating in the social scene at these football-crazy institutions south of the Mason-Dixon line.

And so, I salute you, Jenn. And everyone else, cowgirl or otherwise, that makes these debaucherous fall Saturdays what they are, whether in Tally, Athens, NashVegas, or home sweet home. And Jenn, if by chance you do stumble across this blog, drop me a line if you would like to answer a few respectful, dignified queries on your meteoric rise to fame.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

(Who?) Jacque Jones! (Who?) Jacque Jones!

The hot stove heated up tonight for a few lucky teams, and the Cubs got themselves a piece of the action.

Cub Nation welcomes Jacque Jones to the Friendly Confines. A lifetime .279 hitter who can cover ground, throw out runners, get on base, and round out our lineup is most welcome to a Cubs team that had a gaping hole in right field. We got Jones for three years ($16 million) for nothing more than a compensatory draft pick because the Minnesota Twins offered him arbitration. What a great deal for us. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what he can do in a hitter's park like Wrigley Field.

And now we have a chance to trade Corey Patterson for a pitcher, hopefully a starter, which I think we are probably going to need.

The Yankees cashed in too, breaking the hearts of Red Sox fans everywhere by snatching Johnny Damon away for four years to the tune of $52 million. Wow, they play each other about 18 or 19 times next year, and I imagine Johnny Damon is no longer going to be welcome at the games played in Fenway.

I'm getting excited for the season already. Pitchers and catchers report on February 16th. Cub Nation will really have something to look forward to if Jim Hendry pulls one more rabbit out of his hat.


One more footnote: Another lackluster performance by the Hawks tonight in a 65-60 win over Drake. We needed two Adam Haluska three balls in the last minute and a half to get past the Bulldogs, and were losing with less than four minutes left. At some point, we're going to have to start playing good basketball or the rest of the Big Ten is going to give us the rough ride. We have Robert Morris on Thursday and then we finish off the preseason with St. Louis, who have played us tough lately. Let's go fellas. Time is short before we start playing the big boys.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Ron Mexified

Ugh. Monday.

Well, as the Sofa King mentioned last night, we kept expecting the weekends to decrease in intensity as the football season wore on and the winter set in, and they didn't. This weekend capped off a string of consecutive celebrations starting back in September in spectacular fashion, and I am looking forward to taking next weekend off and sitting at home around the fire.

Friday night's recipe for disaster included an open bar at a west loop art gallery where LongMan and I made lots of new friends, and Saturday was our holiday party. Both were tremendous successes, and I didn't talk to anyone that attended either that was without a viscious, persistent hangover on Sunday- the true indicator of success. Props to LongMan for hosting and all of our guests, especially those that traveled great distances. That Champagne Punch was good.

Sunday night was a classic battle in arctic temperatures at Soldier Field. I was there and the Jumbotron showed temperatures of -8 as The Pride and Joy of Illinois punished the Falcons by suffocating their vaunted rushing attack. The W paves the way to a possible playoff bye and helps us get some great momentum heading down the stretch. Best of all, however, was the return of Rex Grossman, the unceremonial abandonment of Kyle "Good in College" Orton, and a new-look offense that could be just what the doctor ordered come playoff time.

Game balls go to:
1) Rex Grossman, for coming in off the bench and completing 9 of 16 (if Moose and Desmond Clark don't each drop an easy one, it's 11 of 16), starting the second half off with two scoring drives and giving a boost to a dormant, lifeless offense.

2) Brian Urlacher, for containing Michael Vick, totaling 12 tackles and batting down a pass at the line. He was a force as usual, and the hits were extra painful on one of the coldest games in Bears history.

3) Mike Green, who had been left for dead by many Bears fans and the defensive coaching staff. With Chris Harris, Mike Brown, and Todd Johnson all out with injuries, Mike Green got the start at safety and forced two turnovers by intercepting a Ron Mexico Special, a horribly underthrown ball on a fade route intended for Roddy White, as well as absolutely decleating Michael Jenkins on a crossing route that popped the ball loose and allowed Nate "Right Place, Right Time" Vasher to make his team-leading 8th theft of the year.

Now it's time for work, but more soon.
t

Friday, December 16, 2005

Quick Hits- Friday Edition

In the style of the Sofa King's blog, here are a few tidbits worth mentioning on this lovely Friday:

1) It's holiday party time, round III. We welcome G-Unit into town this weekend for a stopover at a holiday party thrown by the crew from his alma mater on Friday, and then the Offering will host a holiday party with LongMan and the K-Rock Saturday night. Back to back debauchery. Drop me a line if you don't know the details for Saturday.

2) Formal charges were handed down to four Minnesota Vikings for their actions on the now-famous Love Boat cruise, and they are as scandalous as everyone hoped. The Smoking Gun has the formal police reports that describe the, uh, lascivious acts that led to the charges. Because the Offering is a family publication, we won't comment further on said acts.

3) I got my ticket to the Bears-Falcons game Sunday night on ESPN. It's going to be freezing out there, but it's time to Bear Down, Chicago Bears. We need this game as much as Atlanta does, and with Minnesota facing a tough Pittsburgh team, we could put some distance between ourselves and everyone chasing us in the division.

4) Maybe fighter jets have become obsolete, but the new F-22 Raptor is so cool.

5) For the last time: Shut your mouth, Terrell Owens. You feel like the Eagles "used you to win games"? Guess what? THAT'S WHAT SPORTS TEAMS DO. GET GOOD PLAYERS AND THEN USE THEM TO WIN GAMES. And when you beg the Eagles to save you from going to Baltimore and they pay you $50 million to do so, that's not being used. I honestly wonder sometimes if people can hear themselves talk.

6) I saw King Kong last night. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. The scenery is phenomenal, the action is well-done, and Manhatten in the early-to-middle of the 20th century is depressing and eerily atmospheric. A great film. It's a long one, clocking in at 187 minutes, but Peter Jackson doesn't make 'em any shorter these days.

That's it for today. Have a great weekend. One more week to get all that shopping done.
t

Monday, December 12, 2005

Monday Exhaustion

One of the worst times of the week is Monday afternoon, when it's 4:30 and completely dark. Your day isn't over, the week has barely begun, you're still paying the price for the weekend gone by, and your modest goal of going home and laying on the couch seems unattainable. That's where I'm at right now. Great.

This past weekend was a good one, it was installment number 2 in the holiday party season. Friday involved the office Christmas party and it was a tremendous time, as expected. I made it an early evening, after spending some quality time with my summer classmates following the party and then calling it a day. Saturday I took my car in for some TLC, and that is going to end up costing me an arm and a leg. Sorry everyone, Christmas presents are going to be cancelled this year.

Saturday night was a blast, I was the first guest at Jim&Matt's holiday gig. They had good food and good conversation waiting, and I had fun as always. Following that, I tried out a new place on Halsted called Landmark which I enjoyed for its good views from our tables on the catwalk, smoke-free atmosphere despite a capacity crowd, and excellent service. We polished a few bottles of this delicious elixer at the club and left, as usual, when they turned on the lights.

Sunday was a relaxing day as the crew got together to watch the Bears get pummeled by the Steelers. It was a disappointing, although not surprising, loss. Both of our starting safeties are out with injuries right now, and they play a huge role in our defense. And let's face it- the Steelers played exactly how the Bears play, but better. They run the ball, count on their QB to throw just a few passes per game and not make any mistakes, play tough defense, and make the other team want to give up with their physicality. We got beat up pretty bad on both sides of the ball on Sunday, and the defense was uncharacteristically unsound. We missed tackles, didn't fill gaps, couldn't defend screen passes, and didn't stiffen up in the red zone, all things we don't usually do.

Also, the Steelers really needed the win. Let's just hope that it doesn't turn out that the Bears needed it too. With the way the Vikings are playing right now, it could turn out to be a huge loss for us. We have to take care of business at home next week and stay focused. I have confidence that this team will come back hungry next week and atone for this dismal performance.

Also, I checked out the Pompeii exhibit at the Field Museum, which was cool. It is quite an assortment of various relics, facts and stories from the Vesuvius eruption in AD 79, which also leveled nearby cities Herculaneum and Oplontis. Quite interesting. Also, you get to learn cool phrases like "Pyroclastic Surge". I just about had a pyroclastic surge last Friday after the office party. Yikes.

This week will involve getting caught up on work and also planning our holiday party, to take place next week at Chateau de LongMan. We're getting a few people in from out of town to attend, and it should set new lows for bad judgment. It should be a nice finale to the holiday party season here in Chicago, but the weekend after we'll be continuing the party in Iowa City.

That's it for me. I want to see a movie tonight, but King Kong isn't out yet and I don't have a burning desire to see a whole lot of other movies. Screwsan loved Brokeback Mountain, and I'll probably see it so that I can find out what all the buzz is about, but I didn't read the book. I suppose Syriana is the next best option.

And since I was talking about the death penalty a couple of days ago, I'll mention the moral dilemma going on in California right now. Tookie Williams, founder of the Crips, is going to be executed at 12:01 tomorrow morning for murders allegedly committed in 1979. Since then, he has been an outspoken leader for peace and in general, has tried to atone for his sins by educating young people who are susceptible to gang life. The victim's families in this case still want to see him executed, but what is the effect on pro-death penalty arguments if a person to be executed is legitimately a valuable, influential member of society? The death penalty certainly isn't a deterrant, and it certainly isn't a cheaper alternative to life in prison, so what do you have left? The argument that victim's families deserve retribution, and the argument that society is better off without these people. But what if society isn't better off? It seems that the argument for the death penalty is significantly eroded. Although, to be fair, I suppose that this would lead to a "slippery-slope" situation whereby we would have to decide on a case-by-case basis how valuable a person's contribution to society is before we spare them, thereby putting a sort of "philanthropic price" on a human life and allowing death row inmates to buy their lives back with service to the community. Maybe we don't want to go down that road. I was just chewing on this issue today. Chime in if you like.

That's it for today. My hangovers seem to be decreasing in intensity, but increasing in length. Hmmmm. I wonder that means.

t

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Juan Pierre, welcome to the rave.


Here is a picture of what happened the last time D-Rock and Juan Pierre played on the same team. They (along with ex-Cub Dontrelle Willis, in the middle) celebrated a World Series title. Cub Nation happily welcomes Juan Pierre to the chaos of Wrigleyville, where his outstanding demeanor and positive clubhouse presence along with his well-known abilities as a leadoff hitter will really give the Cubs a boost next year.

K-Rock's blog noted that he has great splits for day games, and he really should benefit from playing at Wrigley (which is known for long, thick grass). I'm starting to get excited seeing the 2006 squad shape up. If we add a starter and one more outfielder and get some clarity on the middle infield situation, we just may have something to get excited about.

That's the big news for today. The second weekend of holiday party season kicks off tomorrow night with the office Christmas party, which is always a big hit, at an Italian restaurant downtown and then Saturday is a double dip as TheGirl and I hit Matt & Jim's soiree before some folks will welcome Mary back to town at Hawkette HQ...LongMan has promised to "unleash the devastator", so it should be a memorable evening. Friday and Saturday of next week are already booked as well with a classy event downtown and Gate's holiday bash, which takes us the LittleSis's birthday in Iowa City on the 23rd, and then of course the reunion on Christmas night at Vito's. It's a great lineup and I look forward to embarrassing myself and my family at each and every party.

New Year's Eve looks like it's going to be in Chicago. We have perused some options and there are a ton of good events to attend, but right now the wrecking crew is looking at this one and this one as front-runners. Do you have a good idea for or a line on a great party? Let me know. I'll be getting my monkey suit dry-cleaned, stain-guarded, and ready to rock for the big night. I will not, however, be making any New Year's resolutions. I'm happy with the status quo.

Happy holidays.
t

Monday, December 05, 2005

O Heeeeeear the Angel Voooiiiiices...

I've been working on the Christmas mix tonight (with some unsubtle suggestions from TheGirl) and it's about done. It's mostly Christmas carols with a few regular tunes thrown in there and some unorthodox renditions mixed in with a lot of classics. I discovered a bunch of new Christmas songs while doing this that I really like, so it was also a learning experience. God Bless Itunes. Anyway, here is the tentative lineup, and if you are a friend of the Offering, you may just get a Christmas CD in your stocking this year.

Carol of the Bells-Mannheim Steamroller- A classic Christmas tune, nothing says shopping in a department store like this tune.

O Holy Night- I got a generic verision of this one after listening to about 20 different ones...this is my favorite carol but none of them were just right.

All I Want for Christmas Is You- Mariah Carey- I hate Mariah Carey like poison, but this is the best rendition of this tune and it's a must-have for the mix. Sorry.

God Only Knows-The Beach Boys- This is the first non-Christmas song, but it's used in lots of holiday movies (for example, Love Actually), and it's a great tune.

Rondine al nido-Luciano Pavarotti- Pavarotti is the only repeat artist on this thing, because he'll help out on Nessun Dorma for the last track. This is probably my favorite aria of all time. Perfect words, perfect music, and nobody does it better than the man.

White Christmas-Bing Crosby- TheGirl loves Bing, and he sings this one better than anyone. This is the 1942 Holiday Inn rendition of White Christmas.

Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe-Barry White-Most definitely not a Christmas carol, but I'm on a Barry White kick right now and this song seems to fit for the holidays. Find yourself some mistletoe and a morally casual friend.

Sleigh Ride-The Ronettes- a courtesy pick for TheGirl and all the traditionalists out there, this is the best-known rendition of this tune. Not bad, but fairly standard.

The Christmas Song-Frank Sinatra-Can't go a whole Christmas collection without a song from Frank Sinatra, and I like this one. Nobody knows the name of this song, but everyone knows every word when it comes on.

If I Could-Phish- A sentimental favorite, this ballad has Alison Kraus on vocals and dates back to 1994. A favorite slow song by Phish.

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)-Death Cab For Cutie- I almost put the U2 rendition of this one on the album, but 1) everyone's heard that a million times, and 2) this has been a Death Cab year for me more than any other, so they get a track on the holiday album.

O, Come All Ye Faithful-Nat King Cole- And the trifecta of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Nat King Cole is complete. This is an underrated carol in my opinion.

Love is all Around- Wet Wet Wet- A fun holiday tune done by some cheesy british band. It's a heartwarmer.

I Want You Back-Jackson 5-I didn't want anyone falling asleep here, so I dusted this baby off. Classic tune, upbeat yet not inappropriate for a Christmas party.

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch-The MGM Studio Orchestra- A crowd favorite and a good tune to boot. I like this song.

Ave Maria-Andrea Bocelli- I went back and forth on who I should put on the album singing this classic, and I went with Bocelli because it's a nice, well-done version. I have a good one with Domingo and Vienna Boys Choir, but it's a little too falsetto-freaky for me.

Little Drummer Boy-.38 Special-This was a controversial pick according to TheGirl, but the slow, brooding hard-rocking style of .38 Special just fits this tune. I agree that it doesn't work for some other carols, but I really like this one.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year-Andy Williams- Probably the most oft-played song on this album, from commercials to radio to movies to pretty much everyone's stereo. Can't leave it off. It encapsulates holiday cheer, which I have a lot of.

Easy-Commodores- Not a Christmas song, but Easy like Sunday morning is how I feel around the holidays...it has always been about a nice long break from school/work, sitting around fires, sleeping late, and not moving too fast. I thought it was appropriate.

Do You Hear What I Hear-Martina McBride- I have really no idea who this Martina McBride is, but it was this or the Vanessa Williams rendition, which is also pretty good. I forgot how much I like this song, and I think it sounds better with a female singer.

Nessun dorma- Luciano Pavarotti & Zubin Mehta (Conductor)-A monster aria to finish things off, with one of my favorite singers, performed live in Rome. Not a typical Christmas aria like Ave Maria, but it's famous enough that even non-opera fans usually enjoy it and I've always liked it a lot.

That's it, an even 20 songs and just over an hour. If you don't celebrate Christmas, you are still welcome to enjoy the album, we're non-denominational here at the Offering (despite our noticeable bias toward Christian songs).

I'll be burning these soon.

Only 19 more days of being good until Santa arrives. Stay strong.
t

Let the Holidays Begin

Hello everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. A quick weekend recap:

Friday night was lots of fun, TheGirl and I tried out the Capital Grille for dinner and liked it, so I guess our rehearsal dinner is going to be held at the Las Vegas location. Good stuff. The steak is good, the decor classic, the service excellent, and the wine list extensive. Sounds like a winner. We then headed to the outdoor Christkindlmarket, an outdoor German holiday festival at the Daley Center. I joined Tito, Gate, Sarah and our new Dutch friends Miriam and Arnica, who will be helping us out with upcoming bachelor party festivities in the Spring in their hometown of Amsterdam. I had my first ever glass of Gluhwein, a hot spiced red wine beverage. Mmmm.
We retired to Gate's place for drinks afterward, where once again we did damage to his carpet/furniture/nice new condo. I bet they're tired of guests.

Saturday saw the two best teams in the land destroyed their last opponents of the year and punched their tickets to Pasadena. I am looking forward to matchup, the star power and the head-and-shoulders-above-every-other-team factor that should make this one a classic.

Saturday night was a perfect storm for troublemaking. Tito, KRock, LongMan, and I had a few beers during the football games and then headed out to Big Bar for drinks preceding a holiday charity party at the Hard Drive. It was good times and more importantly, 48 oz. beers followed by an open bar. Props to A-Ha for hosting us at the event, which was a rollicking success. We then headed to Elm St. to hit a club that had a very long line, so we went next door to a much smaller club whose name I never caught. Bottles of Grey Goose and silver trays crowded with Red Bull and shots of Jagermeister followed, and nobody was really seeing straight when the lights came on at 4:00 AM. Joined by a number of rowdy Hawkettes, we drank well into the early morning hours. The revelry was punctuated by one of our more enthusiastic partygoers who may have taken the concept of the awesomedose a little too far, thus banishing me to my couch for the evening. But nothing could have put a damper on what was expected to be, and was, a great kick-off to the holiday party season. Next up: Office holiday party and aftermath, this Friday. It's sure to be a big winner.

Now on to important things: THE HAWKS ARE GOING TO TAMPA! Against all odds, the Hawks pulled into a four-way tie for third in the Big Ten and got selected over Michigan for the Outback Bowl on January 2, 2006 in Tampa, which will be a rematch of the 2004 Outback Bowl against the University of Florida. I was at the 2004 Outback Bowl, and we really gave Florida a taste. I doubt they will be sleeping on us again, so I hope we're ready to play.

This is just a great, great thing for our program. It allows us to play a team ranked higher than we are (as opposed to going to the Alamo Bowl, which would have us pitted against unranked Nebraska), it is a great rematch and back story, it helps our recruiting down south, it allows us national recognition, it has a much bigger cash payout, we're on prime time national TV, and we become one of only a couple teams in the nation to play in January bowl games four years in a row. As all Iowa fans, I am ecstatic that we pulled off a miracle Outback Bowl berth. We had what most people (me included) consider to be a bad year, but a huge win on January 2 could really change how people remember this year and allow us to move forward as a program. I'm very pleased.

And the Bears finally beat Brett Favre at home too, extending the win streak to 8 and setting up a huge road match against the stumbling Steelers next week. Game ball goes to the defensive backs, not just for their speed and big-play abilities, but for the physicality that they are playing with every Sunday. They love contact, they aren't afraid to make hits, and a physically imposing set of defensive backs is a thing of beauty to watch. If you get a chance, check out the hits that Mike Brown and Charles Tillman put on Brett Favre in this game, both of which caused fumbles. They were both just bone-jarring. Add to that the fact that Peanut and Vasher made game-changing interceptions and you have to say that this unit is playing as well as any set of DBs in the league.

The US got failing grades in terrorism preparations, but at least we're now allowed to bring more stuff on planes (via LongMan).

...and finally, it's time Tuesday for one of my favorite TV events of the year, the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Not only will all the usual suspects be there, but we'll also be saying goodbye to a legend. Thank you, Tyra Banks.

More soon.
T

Thursday, December 01, 2005

God Bless America

Hello out there. It took me a while to recover from the weekend, and I'm just now getting caught up with work and non-work stuff, so sorry for the layoff. All of you thousands of people that just sit at home all day and all night reloading this web page to eagerly devour my entries, my apologies. You may now exhale.

Anyway, wow, what a Thanksgiving break. Wednesday through Friday morning was spent playing golf, touring the gorgeous red cliffs and other scenery in southern Utah, and eating bird. Good times. The InLaws have quite a place up there. Also, we test-drove the locale for the Big Event and it is really something. Just beautiful. Set between the red cliffs and white mountains in fields of lava, it is picturesque, flawlessly manicured, and quite impressive. The golf course winds its way through the lava fields and the clubhouse affords fabulous views. It's going to be a good party next September.

Friday after lunch me and LittleBro headed for Sin City. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, which proved to be an excellent choice. Lots of people, lots to do, and the gaming wasn't too crowded. Friday night we ate steak at the south end of the Strip, and then headed northward, stopping at the New York, Boardwalk, Paris, Bellagio, Caeser's, Venetian, Treasure Island, Mirage, and finally the Wynn. Both LittleBro and I sustained heavy losses but ingested copious amounts of White Russians and Vodka Tonics, so it wasn't all doom and gloom. We made it back to the hotel by sunrise, and caught a couple of hours of sleep. Saturday was spent taking care of some car-related business (LittleBro was rear-ended on his way from L.A. on Wednesday) and then hitting the blackjack tables to gain some of that ground back from Friday night's buzzsaw of cold cards. I ate a light dinner at this inappropriately-named restaurant while taking in the Stanford-Notre Dame game, and then we headed out once again to try our luck. We hit many of the same places Saturday, with post-dinner cocktails at Caesar's and then a gambling binge that landed us at the San Remo (soon to be the Hooter's Hotel and Casino) at 5:30 AM. I wrapped it up shortly after that because I had a wake-up call for 7:30 and headed to the airport at 8:00.

Awesome things about the Hard Rock: 24 hour lingerie room service, satin comforters on all the beds, good gaming, widescreen HDTVs, great music, great people watching, and I ran into Depeche Mode.

Not awesome things about the Hard Rock: Inordinately expensive liquor, not enough casual bars, easy to get to the strip but not as easy to get home.

Overall, I give it an A. Rock on, Hard Rock. I'll be back for seconds as soon as possible.

There is no better way to celebrate the quintessential American holiday than in the city that the Pilgrims hoped and dreamed for when they landed here those many thousands of years ago: Las Vegas. Las Vegas should be our national capital, and Hugh Hefner should be on the one dollar bill. Those two things are the encapsulation of the American Dream. Okay, enough about that.

Happy Holidays! I love this time of year, and the holiday festivities start off with a bang this weekend, as we welcome Tito Puente and his dutch mistresses to town for a visit. We'll enjoy the last of the college football season Saturday with conference championships stacked up and then a holiday charity event at a downtown club courtesy of brand new uncle and snappy dresser A-Ha. Forecast for the weekend: Steady showers of Jager and Red Bull with 65% chance of scattered blackouts.

Bachelor Party Update: For those that are or want to be included, it looks like the bachelor party hosted by myself and Gate, in our own honor, will indeed be in late March in the great city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. We have a couple of details yet to work out, but start planning for it. We hope to set a number of records, none of which are fit to be discussed on a family website like the Offering. If you want info, you should get in touch with me or Gate. If you don't know how, you're not invited.

Cubs Update: I won't rehash the whole situation right now, but the hot stove is heating up and KRock did a nice job of getting the relevant transactions in summary form, so go ahead and read it to get up-to-date. My feeling is that I wouldn't mind Cedeno for Wilkerson, but only assuming we get Furcal. The Walker for Bradley trade would be a nice second option if we don't get Damon or Pierre, but only if those two don't happen. It's a coin flip whether Milton Bradley is going to murder another human on any given day. He's unbalanced, and we have a weird enough clubhouse as it is.

Hawks Update: I just don't know what to think about this team. We still haven't played our best basketball yet, although we looked good against Kentucky, pretty decent but quit at the end against Texas, and then just flat-out terrible against N.C. State. But we got two wins in three games against ranked teams, including N.C. State, where we shot 29% and turned it over 19 times. When the Big Ten season rolls around, that isn't going to cut it. We'll have to see...we need more contributions from our bench, better and more consistent inside play, and our guards have to wait until people are looking before they pass the ball. That, and Pierre Pierce back. Just kidding.

Iowa fans, remember to vote in the Outback Bowl Fan Poll for the Hawks! Let's give them a reason to bring us back to that game. I went to the game last time they were there, and it was a blast. And we only blew up one RV on the way, so it was an easy trip.

Random Tidbits:

What is on your Christmas list this year? I've got to get my shopping started, and I have no idea what I'm getting for people this year. I love Nike IDs, but it takes a while to design, order and have them shipped.

What am I getting? I don't know, but I've been good this year and do not expect any coal.

I caught Sarah Silverman's movie last week, and I really liked it. Very funny, good staging on the songs, and although the shock comedy thing is getting kind of played, it's still worthwhile.
How does a snarky tool like Jimmy Kimmel get a hilarious cutie like her?

Bush is selling a plan for victory in Iraq, but America isn't buying. I foresee more PR problems for the Prez in the coming weeks; this is the time of year when pictures of our troops abroad hit hardest at home. Those guys and gals want to be here for the holidays, and I don't blame them.

Finally, Hooray! We're all set to execute our one thousandth death row inmate in this country, so congratulations to all who worked so hard so that our civilized government is able to kill its own citizens. The Offering isn't per se for or against the death penalty, but I was fortunate to be working at the ACLU several years ago when the famous Liebman Study came out of the University of Columbia, so I got my free copy along with Prof. Liebman's phone number...it definitely made me re-think my views on the subject. It's interesting reading to say the least.

That's all for now. Hope you're ready for the holidays. More soon.
T

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The Giving of the Thanks

Hi world. It's turkey time and because I am leaving early tomorrow, this is my Thanksgiving post. I'll be flying out to Utah to spend time with the InLaws, and then spending a couple of days on vacation in Las Vegas with LittleBro. It should be a great time, I'm even planning to play a little off-season golf out there. Anyway, I'll be back Sunday night with a post-Thanksgiving report from the desert.

Without further ado, here are 27 things I am thankful for this year because this is my 27th Thanksgiving on our planet (I don't count the 53 Thanksgivings on my home planet):

27) Imports: It's a great time in life to meet new people. Since last Thanksgiving we've seen Gate, Sarah, GRide (temporarily), Mary, Emily and Kara, among others, move to the Windy City. We've also had the promise of more to come soon (Speedy, BigBro, LittleSis, CuriousGeorge, GRide, and others) and many have moved much closer to Chicago than they've been in a long time (LittleSis, CuriousGeorge, LuckyLiz). Good to have you all here. You're all impact players in life here at the Offering.

26) Exports: Despite only taking 1.5 days of vacation since last turkey day, I've seen long-lost friends and family in NYC, Vermont, CT, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, LA, Orange County, and more places that I can't think of right now. I've also had enormous amounts of visitors in Chicago (Kling, BigBob, JDI, ButtMan, RedCelloGirl, DeRooster, etc). Good to have you all in whenever you can be here.

25) Employment: I complain, but working each and every day on something you find to be interesting, and on occasion challenging, is a blessing. Not many people have it. And if you heard most of the conversations I have during the work day, your impression of corporate lawyers would probably change. It's a good place to work, and despite the jokes, being a lawyer is a pretty good job to have.

24) Derrek Lee: You get it done every day; more importantly, you let your bat and your glove, not your mouth, do the talking.

23) Indian Summer: A great one this year. Not as long as in some places, but that late September to early October weather makes you glad to be alive.

22) Las Vegas: If I could date a city, I'd only have eyes for you.

21) Itunes: First year as my exclusive music management tool. It allows you to make the soundtrack to your life.

20) TheGirl: She's tolerant, tough, and she's going to be legally bound to me this at time next year. Crazy to think about that, but she has shown that she's up to the (very large) task.

19) Jagermeister and Red Bull. If this makes me shamefully fratastic, so be it. Bombs away. And when I can't take any more of that delicious elixer, I become thankful for tequila and Southern Comfort.

18) Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge: Almost 1,000 career tackles between the two of you. You were great leaders and the face of a dominant Iowa team for three years. Good luck to both of you.

17) The Lifetime Hope and Learning Tax Credit: You allowed me to live without credit card debt this past year. We'll never meet again, but thank you.

16) HDTV: One of those things that you can't imagine living without once you get it, like a cellphone, your first car, and the internet.

15) Happy Hour: I didn't really understand the importance of this until I started working 60+ hour weeks.

14) Safety: We had a tough year with tsunamis, hurricanes, and violence directed at Americans at home and abroad. I'm (very selfishly) thankful that my loved ones stayed out of harm's way and I'm even more thankful for the people that are doing their best to stop or alleviate these events (especially CWorrell and WRHIII in Afghanistan. Keep up the good work fellas.).

13) Golf: If I could date a sport, I'd two-time you (by dating football and baseball on the side). But you'd be my number 1 sport. There is no sport that preoccupies my mind more than golf, and I am thankful that I can spend the time and effort I do getting better at this great game.

12) Talent in abundance: This year more than any other, I've seen my peer group realize their talents. From GRide and Gate making their first foray into large-scale M&A law, to TheKeefer becoming the resident poet stud at Johns Hopkins, to seeing RedCelloGirl on national tours with her red cello, to Dolph rising to the top of the heap at UC business school, to Screwsan starting a literary review, to Hansel schooling fools at LSE, to DEK missing Iowa games because he's busy with trauma surgery, etc, etc, etc...I realize that I am in the midst of quite a broad array of talented people and I'm better off for it.

11) Monsters of the Midway: the Chicago Bears' defense is getting me through the disappointment and sorrow that surrounded the 2005 campaigns of the Cubs and Hawkeyes. You guys are just plain tremendous. I am thankful that you are fast, strong, relentless, and play 60 minutes with hate in your heart every single Sunday.

10) Parents: TheMom has been her usual doting, selfless self this year and TheDad and I have had some great times including Cubs games, Kohler, operas, and are up for many more as we ramp up to the Big Day next September. You're both money.

9) Summer in Chicago: This summer was one of the best on record; there were many, many Cubs games, rooftop parties, happy hours, BBQs, and all the things that make this town great in the summer.

8) The Big Ten: The football season for us natives of Big Ten towns is a three month celebration even when your team isn't performing well. As someone born (literally) in the shadow of Kinnick Stadium, this year was no different. Top five football weekends this year, measured by fun, in reference to the Iowa schedule, were: 1) Homecoming, 2) at Madison, 3) at Iowa State, 4) Ohio State, 5) Michigan. Each was a tremendous time in its own right, as were the rest of the games. I'm counting the days until the kickoff of the 2006 campaign.

7) AYCD: Considering how much money I have spent on bar tabs and how many All-You-Can-Drink events we've attended in the last year, I have to be thankful for these. It's all about getting on the trolley, paying your $20, and trying to get your per-beer cost down under a buck.

6) Lakeview: Living in Lakeview is the best. I'm moving in May 2006, and I hope I stay close by. If you're looking for a place to live in Chicago, try my neighborhood.

5) Sensible Leadership: I have never in my life seen a year that was as politically divisive as this last year. I am thankful that we have a few reasonable, principled leaders left. Examples include John McCain, Harry Reid (on occasion), Jim Leach, and everyone's favorite, Barack Obama.

4) Holidays: Like Thanksgiving, love Christmas, LOVE New Year's Eve. Like Christmas decorations. Like giving gifts. Like seeing family. Like doing Christmas night reunions at Vito's. Love the bowl games. Crappy weather, great time of year.

3) Parties: They're my lifeblood. Big, small, loud, quiet, we've had a million this year...going-away, welcome-home, birthday, engagement, Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July, football, baseball, summer, bachelor...you name it. I'm thankful for all of them and for all that we will have in the coming year.

2) The Inner Circles: In life, everyone has some groups of people with which they have enough history that a normal description (i.e. "friends", "family", "co-workers", etc) does not do the group justice. I term these groups Inner Circles and I am thankful for each and every Inner Circle of which I am a part (albeit sometimes involuntarily), including but not limited to theSiblings, the Forum and the Norgesians. You guys and gals know who you are, and you rock.

1) You. The people in my everyday life, shockingly, are largely the same ones that frequent this website and pass it on to other people. So I am thankful that you have displayed the kick-assitude to contribute to my life this year in one way or another, if you have indeed done so. So drink up, you've earned it.

What are you thankful for? Go ahead.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I hope your families are well and you get the holidays started off right. After Sin City chews me up and spits me out this weekend, I'll be back with more.

Tim

Monday, November 21, 2005

A Tricky Saturday and a Panther Hunt


Well, what a weekend. Great stuff on the field, similarly so off the field. Friday night involved a sojourn out to the west burbs for buddy Rip's bachelor party at a, shall we say, establishment of questionable moral standing. But it was good times despite the monstrous cab fare and the party had some great moments. LongMan, K-Rock, and Kelly were along for the ride.

TheDad made a rare appearence in Chicago, after taking in a Pucini opera Friday night he met us at Hawkeye Central before the regular season finale for some beer and brunch.

The Hawks made the faithful proud Saturday, jumping out to an early 35-0 lead on the Gophers and cruising the entire way, paced by "Tricky" Ed Hinkel's trickiest performance ever on his Senior Day: 7 catches, 151 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a great overall comeback performance after breaking his arm against Purdue and watching Iowa's season come apart from the sidelines against Michigan and Northwestern. It was great to see a four-year contributor and on-and-off the field leader have a great day for his swan song at Kinnick Stadium. Fellow senior Adbul Hodge had 14 tackles by halftime, Chad Greenway got an interception, and the offense got big contributions in the running game: 104 yards on 8 carries from up-and-coming Damien Sims and a 103-yard performance from our workhorse and Doak Walker Award semi-finalist Albert "The Matriculator" Young. Each of our running backs matriculated the ball down the field for a touchdown Saturday, but it was all about the seniors and keeping Floyd of Rosedale right where he belongs.

Saturday afternoon and evening was good times, party hosts Gate and Sarah had Thanksgiving dinner for Chicago-area friends before we head our separate ways for the real holiday. It was great times, great food, and devolved into a celebration that lasted long into the night as usual.

And the crown jewel of sporting events this weekend took place Sunday afternoon, as the until-now unheralded Chicago Bears dismantled the NFC favorite Carolina Panthers in a 13-3 drubbing that easily could have been worse. It featured 8 sacks by the Bears defensive line in addition to about a dozen other QB pressures and knockdowns. It was the best four quarters of football the Bears have played this year (with the possible exception of Detroit game No. 1), and it feels good to silence the critics who have complained about the Bears' record being solely a product of an easy schedule and weak division. We've beaten the best team. Now let's have some well-earned respect for this team. We win ugly, but often.

Game balls go to Nate Vasher, two more picks on two absolutely putrid throws by Jake Delhomme, setting up 10 points in the first quarter and giving us the lead for good, and Alex Brown, registering 2 of the 8 sacks, knocking down a pass, getting three tackles, and forcing 2 fumbles. He did everything but sell popcorn in Soldier Field yesterday, and he wasn't the only one. The "You'll Get 'Em Next Week" award goes to Mushin Muhammed, who got 6 catches and a TD against his old team, but with 4 drops he lost almost as many as he caught, and he tipped a slightly-underthrown Orton pass into the arms of Ricky Manning, Jr. for Orton's only pick. I know you were nervous playing against your old team Moose, but we paid you $28 million to make the play each and every time, and we need you to do that. You're too good for those mistakes.

The bottom line is this: If you don't know, now you know. The Chicago Bears have The. Best. Defense. In. Football.

Up next is another big NFC South test: the enigmatic Tampa Bay Bucs, who have shown the ability to beat great teams and get throttled by bad teams this year. We'll see who shows up next Sunday.

Short week for all of us...it's the holidays. TheGirl and I are leaving Wednesday afternoon for St. George for turkey and golf with the InLaws, TheMom, and LittleBro, and then LittleBro and I are setting sail for Mecca to spend the weekend at this little-known establishment. We're going to eat steak, drink cocktails, and recklessly gamble until Sunday morning when we return to the Windy City.

I'll be back with something before I embark Wednesday, but make sure you and your family have a great and happy holiday. Turkey is good. So are green beans.

T

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

There's a mighty wind a-blowin'...

...across the land and 'cross the sea...oh, there's a mighty wind a-blowin', it's blowin' you and me.

What a great movie. If you don't know what movie I am referring to, get a sense of humor.

The Windy City has been just that this week- windy, freezing cold, and our first snowflakes of the year are falling right now. I really like the holidays, but I'm not crazy about the long, cold, dark winter that is upon us.

Quick weekend wrap: Madison, WI is a like a fine, fine woman that you just know is seeing about 100 other people besides you: You don't want to see her too often, you don't want to know what is going on with her when you're not there, and you feel a little dirty afterward. But DAMN, when you have that rare weekend when you do see her, it's the greatest. And that was how Madison did us again this year. Props to Hard for running the show, plus props to Dolph, BLoyd, Blando, Speedy, LongMan, K-Rock, Emily, cousin Tyler, and the lovely DeeTrain for their enthusiastic participation. It was madness. We checked in to the hotel at 5:30 Friday afternoon, received our first call from the front desk about the noise promptly at 6:30, and it was all downhill from there. The Hawks played a stellar game against an emotional Wisconsin squad on Barry Alvarez's swan song at Camp Randall, and we celebrated the win before, during, and after the game. Tremendous effort all around.

I can't wait for Friday, September 21, 2007, which is the scheduled departure date for the next Madison trip.

A few other notes on this Hump Day:

1) Congratulations to You, Me & Iowa, recipients of the L.A. Music Award for Alternative Rock Band of the Year. You guys rock and we here at the Offering hope that you ride this wave to fame and fortune.

2) D-Rock didn't get the MVP of the National League, losing out to both Albert Pujols and Andruw Jones. That is disappointing because a) it's the only thing Cubs fans were rooting for after it was clear we weren't going anywhere last year, which was around mid-August, and b) judging by pure value to the team (i.e. asking "where would this team be without this player, and where are they now?"), Derreck Lee was clearly more valuable than Pujols and Jones. The Cardinals had the best record in the league and the Braves won the division yet again with the best rookie class in years. The Cubs were absolutely CARRIED by D-Rock through most of the season. How many games did we win 5-3 when he had 4 or 5 of the RBIs? How many games did he get half of our hits? It's sad that your team has to make the playoffs to be in the running for this award. It's like saying if your team doesn't win 94 games, you can't be valuable enough. Not true.

3) Phish is releasing what many people think to be their greatest show ever, New Year's Eve 1995. There are a bunch of packages available, including the CD with a t-shirt from the show, champagne flutes, and other stuff. It is a truly fantastic show, one of the first shows I ever got on tape and one that I listened to over and over as a young Phish fan. Highlights for me are the opener of Punch You In The Eye->Sloth, the Drowned->Lizards->Axilla (Pt. II) in the second set, and the Col. Forbin->Mockingbird Gamehenge thing. What a show. What a year for Phish that was: A Live One came out and was their first platiunum album, they played a rocking Chalkdust on Letterman when they were in town for the NYE shows, a fantastic fall tour leading up to it, including 10/20/95 at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, where I got baptized as a die-hard...makes me nostalgic for the good old days when I could see them two or three times a year without even traveling.

4) Big weekend on the horizon. Last Hawkeye game of the year against a tough Minnesota team, a big holiday dinner Saturday afternoon courtesy of Gate, who has to make up for missing Madison, a bachelor party to attend on Friday night, and a HUGE Bears game on Sunday against a red-hot Carolina Panthers squad. And I promised TheGirl I would see the Pompeii exhibit at the Field Museum sometime. Yikes.

I'm out. Stay warm, it is awful out there.
T

Friday, November 11, 2005

All Systems Go

We have arranged a coordinated departure from the various cities for 1:00 PM CT. Props to Hard and his lovely wife Deanna for hosting all of us on Friday night before we wreak havoc upon State Street. No game tix yet, they are a tough commodity to come by because it's coach Alvarez's last game at Camp Randall Stadium. Wouldn't it be nice to give him a little going away present, like, say, a viscious ass-kicking at the hands of our nasty defense?

We're going to start the evening at Hard's house, and then hit the bars tonight. Tomorrow the Hawkeye Huddle starts at 11:30 AM, where we will attempt to procure tickets to the game in the Iowa section, but if that fails we will proceed to State Street. Following the Hawkeye victory, we're going to be crashing some sort of birthday party that was arranged by LongMan, who cannot be trusted, but we'll give it a shot anyway. Then it's back to the bars for one more go-around before the Madison trip in 2007.

If you want some good reading and like indie rock chicks, check Paul Shirley's blog on ESPN.com. If you're a Sports Guy fan, you may remember him from last year when he was making regular contributions to SG's website while warming the bench for the Phoenix Suns. But wow, he sure is right on about the bass player for Stellastarr*. World class hotness. Rock chicks rule. Check out the photo section of the website if you don't believe me.

Have a stellar weekend everyone. I'll be back with more on Sunday night or Monday, depending on where I am, and possibly whether county lockup in Madison has a good wireless connection. We're off.

t

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Beware of Drunk Moose

I used to live in the mountains of Vermont, but we rarely had trouble with drunk moose invading our homes. I can't say the same thing for these elderly folks. This probably would be really funny right up until you have a 2,000 pound rodent with 3-foot long antlers coming through your wall looking for the liquor cabinet. I think when the moose wants booze, you give the moose the booze. It's a little bit like what Dolph does when he's off his leash.

Happy hump day.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Quick thoughts for today

Borrowing the format from K-Rock's quirky and informative blog, here are few things for today:

1) Go pound sand, T.O. I'm sick of media saturation of your stupid antics, and I'm sick of people having to weigh talent against a locker room cancer when the talent has a $50 million dollar contract to play a game. Your apologies ring hollow to me and to the Eagles. Good riddance.

2) With GM meetings starting yesterday, the hot stove season has officially begun. It's the only sports-related thing I pay attention to in the winter (besides the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl, NCAA basketball, the Chicago Bulls, silly season golf, and the Winter Olympics). It looks to be a seller's market yet again, but the Cubs need to buy. They solidified the bench by re-signing Neifi for two more years, but I don't think he'll be on the field every day next year no matter where Nomar lands. I don't know how to turn the Cubs into a contender, but here is my free agent Christmas list for the Cubs:

1) Johnny Damon
2) Rafael Furcal
3) Juan Pierre
4) AJ Burnett/Kevin Millwood
5) A power-hitting corner outfielder

You have to think that if we get 1) or 3), Murton will start in left next year because we won't get another stud OF. If we get 2), Cedeno goes to second and we trade Walker for an outfielder or bullpen help. It remains to be seen how we will do this off-season, but Hendry has about $30 million to spend and I think we'll see some productive imports this year.

3) Your uppence shall come, Wal-Mart. Actually, it probably won't, but I don't like you.

4) Lawyers for Saddam Hussein are becoming an endangered species these days. Whoever is knocking these guys off: if you are doing this as a statement for representing such an awful dictator, stop. The more lawyers you kill, the longer his trial lasts, and the less time he spends in a gulag. And it's not like the tribunal is eventually going to run out of lawyers. Take it from me: there are more than enough of us.

5) Watch the Colbert Report. On rare occasion the jokes fall flat, but this is a hilarious show. His monologues and obnoxious interviewing style is great. "Musk up America, because I'm going to truth you. All. Night. Long."

6) Peaceable Families of Madison, WI: Hide the women and children and board up your houses. Although our traditional Madison Road Trip group is missing crucial members BigBro, WhiteBrent, and Hansel, we've added LongMan, Dolph, Blando, Loyd (Medium), Loyd (Small), Hard, and we'll be led by chairman and 6-year Madison Road Trip veteran K-Rock. It's going to be a formidable group. If you are in Madison and would like to host a large group of good-natured drunks, have all manner of inappropriate conversations and interactions, and have medium to serious structural damage inflicted on your place of residence, by all means, post a comment here or email the Offering. Our schedule is getting pretty full but we're always happy to stop by and spread our message of happiness and double shots of tequila.

More soon.
t

Monday, November 07, 2005

When it rains...it pours.

Still recovering from that awful, soul-sucking gut punch that the Hawks took on Saturday. For three years, this team has been identified by hard work and an ability to find ways to win close games. Now they have no leadership, no focus, and are finding ways to lose. In case you aren't a fan or weren't conscious this weekend, Northwestern stunned the Hawks 28-27 despite the fact that Iowa had the ball and a 13-point lead with three and a half minutes to play. Five things that, despite our first half dominance, led to our eventual downfall:

1) Absolutely no rushing attack in the second half. Young was bottled up even though he ran over, around, and through that defense in the first half. If they put 8 or 9 in the box, you have to make them pay for man coverage.

2) Not capitalizing on turnovers. Two interceptions in the second half, a fumble recovery, no points.

3) 3 second half points. Not good enough.

4) No sense of toughness, no inspired play from our senior leaders. Tate, Ferentz, Solomon, Hodge, Greenway, Johnson, Chandler...I'm looking in your direction. Take a cue from Hansel: you can drop three interceptions against Northwestern and still make a big difference by playing smart, tough football, exhibiting leadership when it counts, and bringing the overall level of execution up a notch when you need it.

5) No focus from our receivers. It was a wet, foggy day and certainly the conditions didn't help, but Solomon and Grigsby dropped balls, fell down on routes, couldn't gain separation, and overall didn't have the kind of game they needed to have.

It wasn't a pretty sight. We have absolutely got to regain our concentration before the end of this season. At 5-4 right now, without a win against a D1-A team with a winning record, the Capital One, Outback, Sun, and Alamo Bowls are probably out of the question. If we win out, we're looking at Music City or an outside chance at San Antonio. If we split, we could be headed for Detroit. If we lose out, it will be crushing. But who, even among us diehards, thinks we deserve to play in a good bowl this year?

Enough on the Hawks. It's depressing. Did you like the live 'West Wing' debate last night? I did. Everyone knows that since Aaron Sorkin left the show and the ill-advised cast turnover happened, the show has had to rely on gimmicks to keep viewers interested (and I'm saying that as a loyal fan of the show since the first episode. I've always liked it, up until everyone left). But this was a good gimmick. It would be stunning if any real political debate actually happened for a non-fiction election. It would certainly divide the electorate, but at least we would know what, as opposed to whom, we were voting for. And I think that would be a good thing.

Finally, before I get back to work: This is a priceless story. Hilarious. Now, I am all for getting in trouble if you deck someone in a nightclub bathroom, but I think the public sentiment, at least among men and NFL fans, is going to be strongly swayed by the, shall we say, illicit activities that these women were engaging in right up until when one of them did a little urban renewal on the victim's grill. I think it's safe to say these ladies are finished as Carolina Panther cheerleaders, but I'm certain that their careers as b-list sexed-up pseudo-celebrities are about to begin, and that's probably a lot more fun, and involves about the same amount of clothing. So everybody wins. Except the girl who got her mug busted. As for you two cheerleaders, you have 15:00 of fame. You are now on the clock.

More tomorrow.
t

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Warm Front

It's been a while; things have been very busy at work and at home. We are in the middle of an unseasonably warm week in Chicago after a cold and rainy Halloween. It's supposed to be gorgeous today and tomorrow and warm this weekend with a little rain. That's disappointing, because we Hawkeye fans in the windy city will be heading up to Evanston for a matchup against the powerful offense and somewhat abysmal defense of the Northwestern Wildcats. It's going to be a great game. After that, I'll be hosting a victory BBQ at my place for Hawk fans and in celebration of the rare appearence at a Hawkeye weekend by Offering regular Gride. It's a two-week road trip with the Hawks, because next weekend we're heading up to Madison to watch the Hawks take on the Badgers in Barry Alvarez's last home game. Should be two tightly contested ball games in a row.

The Prez is experiencing an all-time low in approval ratings, less than half of the disapproval rating. Ouch. What do you think was the primary cause of this slump- Iraq, the economy, the Miers withdrawal, the DeLay indictment, or the Libby indictment/CIA leak investigation? I'm thinking it's the Libby saga. DeLay has sort of flown under the radar as far as White House politics, and although Iraq is a sort of constant drain on approval ratings, we've been living with it for years now.

Here is a great article from the Phat Phree. Hilarious. I know people like this.
And a little jab at the Astros after not putting up much of a fight against the White Sox from the Onion. By the way, after the parade last Friday, the entire city of Chicago promptly forgot about the Sox. I haven't heard one word, seen one shirt, seen one mention on TV, seen one public appearance by a player, or heard any mention of it whatsoever. The White Sox fans just aren't very dedicated (22 sellouts this whole season?) or there aren't enough of them. I guarantee you when the Cubs win it all (next year), we'll be celebrating and reveling in it until opening day 2007.


Hopefully I'll be back with more tomorrow.
t

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Aftermath

I hope everyone had a great halloween, I certainly did...after the carnage on Saturday, I went back out tonight with the ninjas and had a great time as usual. More tomorrow.

Do what strikes you as the right thing.


t

Thursday, October 27, 2005

All Hallow's Eve

Hello world. What a long and brutal week it's been. I dropped the ball at work a little bit and that always makes life hard. People take their jobs personally where I work and even though I don't live and breathe just for this job, it's tough to disappoint colleagues. I haven't really had a lot of jobs that I cared about, and that's kind of a nice freedom, but it also kind of makes you feel like you're wasting your time. I'm glad that I do something now that I want to be good at. But that's enough about that. It's been a rainy week leading up to Halloween weekend and I'm really glad it's almost here. I really like Halloween, and what guy doesn't? It's a chance for all guys to go to parties and dress up as the funniest/most attention-seeking thing possible, while all the girls go for the skanky outfits that they are afraid to wear any other day. What could be better?

This year I'm going to be a ninja, but in recent year's I've been a rodeo clown, Marc Antony (when TheGirl was Cleopatra), a knight, Aristotle, a guardian angel, a ghostbuster, Peter Pan, and a cow. What are your best costumes?

There will be no Justice Miers any more. She withdrew today, likely at the urging of the White House, and that is yet another blow for an administration that will likely see some indictments from the Valarie Plame investigation in the very near future. Not a good week at work for those guys either.

But the biggest news of the week for us Chicagoans is the White Sox sweeping the Astros for a World Series title. I couldn't sleep last night because my street was so loud...honking horns, blaring music, people in the street making noise...this city really needed a champion and they finally have one. I'm happy for the players and for Ozzie...they seem to be a tight-knit group that plays hard and makes sure they do the little things. They deserve this title and while it's not the Cubs, I'm happy the title is in Chicago. Next year, the Cubs get a trophy to match.

Tomorrow is Friday and I've already booked up the entire weekend. If you want to join up for happy hour drinks, email me at my personal account if you don't know where we'll be. If not, I hope to see you out on Saturday night in your costume. When you detect the smell of booze and then find yourself surrounded by a stealthy, deadly clan of ninjas in Wrigleyville, that's when you've found the crew from the Offering. I'll try to be back tomorrow with more, but if not, have a great Halloween. Boo.

Tim

Monday, October 24, 2005

Stomach Punch

Well, the filthy, stinking Wolverines knocked the wind out of me this weekend, and it's a terrible time to have a bye week because this one's going to sting until the Hawks can get a big win and move on. If you didn't already know, Michigan came back in the second half on Saturday and finished the Hawks in overtime, effectively ending our hopes for a New Year's Day bowl and knocking us out of contention in the Big Ten. Right now, I think the best-case scenario is the Alamo Bowl, which is nowhere near New Year's Day and thus a difficult trip to make for those of us with jobs.

At times, I felt that the officiating was indeed terrible, but you can't say that's the reason we lost. Albert Young ran free the entire first half and then we couldn't sustain our run blocks in the second half. Clinton Solomon dropped three passes, including a crucial third down pass in OT that would have given us first and goal inside the 5-yard line instead of a field goal. We couldn't stop Steve Breaston from making a 52-yard run after a very ordinary screen pass in the second half. There were a lot of things that we didn't do well enough. It is notable that we were flagged 11 times Saturday after only having 17 penalties called on us the previous 7 games. We played sloppy, and now we're looking at three very tough games and a best-case scenario of 8-3 plus a bowl game. It's not a bad season, and a few years ago we would have been ecstatic about an 8-win year and a bowl berth, but they just haven't lived up to expectations this year. The entire team didn't play four quarters of football on least 4 occasions (Iowa State, UNI, Ohio State, Michigan) and the defense didn't play well on a fifth (Indiana). They played flat out terrible on at least three occasions (Iowa State, UNI, Ohio State). And the fact remains: we still haven't beat a good team yet. Our best win of the year was against a team who is still looking for a Big Ten win and whose season is absolutely over. What makes our resume even respectable? Beating Indiana at home? Illinois for homecoming? We've beaten a bunch of chumps and lost to everyone who challenged us. It's sad. I'm bummed out for the seniors who wanted to keep it going through their careers (Hinkel, Solomon, Greenway, Hodge, Jovon Johnson, etc...) and I hope that the younger guys learn that a lofty preseason ranking and a popular coaching staff doesn't get you anything in this league.

And if we think that Northwestern, Wisconsin, or Minnesota are going to lay down for us, we're sorely mistaken. Okay. Enough of the rant. I'm just very disappointed by what the Hawks have shown me this year, and I think we have a lot of good guys on this team who should be getting better results.

I got my tickets for Northwestern today, I'm excited for a road game in two weeks. GRide will be in the house and we're going to lay waste to scenic Evanston. Going to attend the Hawkeye Huddle? Holler at the Offering and I'll drink a beer with you.

Not to neglect the other big games of the weekend: The White Sox got more heroics from the usual suspects as well as some role players this weekend, and will take a 2-0 lead down to the Juice Box. With Rocket potentially out of the series, I think my original prediction of the Sox in 6 games is looking mighty fine right now. The Bears kept the division lead with a slugfest victory over Baltimore in the rain last night and set up a showdown with the Lions next week for control of the NFC North. It's amazing, but the Bears have a real shot at the playoffs this year. If they can keep the rest of these underachievers at bay, our easy schedule and the injuries to other key NFC North players may pave the way to a four touchdown blowout loss in the first round of the playoffs, on the road of course. I'm just kidding. Hope springs eternal here at the Offering, and you never know how far the Bears can go with that nasty defense.


Alright then. We've got ourselves a nominee for Alan Greenspan's job, whose term ends in January. Nobody is going to like the next fed chair as much as we liked Alan Greenspan, but there is nothing about Bernanke that makes me immediately think he is objectionable. He has a lot of experience, has already ran a regional fed, and seems to be well-liked by both sides of the aisle as well as in academia. Dolph knows him from his college days and gives him a full endorsement.

It's cold out there. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve are some of favorite holidays, but I can do without the freezing weather. I'm really looking forward to Saturday, when I'll be carving pumpkins and then hitting the town as part of a fearsome ninja clan. We won't be trick-or-treating, but we will be trick-or-boozing, which is much more fun. Thanks to Gate and the lovely Sarah for hosting us on Halloween Saturday for festive activities. It's fun to do the seasonal stuff. It makes the cold, windy autumn more bearable.

Wilma has started her rampage in Florida, and she has killed 3 and knocked out the power for over 3 million already. I hope this is the end of the season. I have heard that it will be. I think the people of the South have earned a respite from storms for a while.

That's all for now. I hope you have your costumes all ready to go for next weekend. I'll be dressing up Saturday and probably Monday as well. Holidays are often fun and memorable in proportion to the extent which you exert effort to make them that way. So get out your clown suit or angel wings or whatever and go all out. More tomorrow.

T

Friday, October 21, 2005

Westward Bound

Hi world, TGIF. It's the end of the week and I am getting geared up to hit the road to join the fracas surrounding Black-Out Saturday in IC as a fired-up Iowa Hawkeye squad takes on Michigan. This game has extra importance to our program as well because we have three of our biggest recruits in town to see how we play against a big opponent. Let's hope we impress them and shore up our linebacking for the next several years.

Chicago is also bursting at the seams this weekend in anticipation of the first two games of the World Series taking place at the Cell on Saturday and Sunday. We're wearing jeans and Sox shirts at work today, a rare departure from our business casual policy, and folks all over town are getting swept up in World Series fever. I have gotten over my cross-town bias and am firmly rooting for the Sox, despite my rule to always root for the NL in the playoffs and World Series (except in the case of the Cardinals). I like the Astros marginally more than St. Louis, but I have to root for the hometown team. Chicago desperately needs a new champion (although we had the Bulls in the 90's, this town is a football/baseball town first and we haven't had a champion in those sports since the immortal 1985 Bears) and the Sox deserve this one. They played great baseball for most of the year, did the little things, and relied on solid pitching to carry them this far. I hope they win it all, and I predict they will, in 6 games.

It's a beautiful day in Chicago, and I am looking forward to getting on the road. Have a great weekend and go Sox!

If you want to read some funny stuff about hijinks and adventures of an American in London, check out Hansel's blog. He's a good writer and is doing his best to make trouble in the UK for a year. Hansel. So hot right now.

I'll be back on Sunday with some better content as well as some previews of the upcoming Halloween celebrations. It looks to be quite a festive holiday. Stay safe everybody.

T

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

The Deadly Art of Invisibility and Originalism


Hi world. Here is a picture of my first Halloween costume, slated for Friday and possibly Saturday night, October 28th and 29th. I say "first Halloween costume" because in the likely event that it becomes destroyed/unwearable by the end of the weekend, I'll have to come up with something else for festivities on actual Halloween. The two-costume format is definitely the way to go when you celebrate Halloween on multiple nights.

I'm going to be a ninja, as part of a stealthy, deadly, and very, very drunk band of ninjas that includes K-Rock, LongMan, Dolph, Gate, and possibly others. We will be carousing the shadows of Lakeview and Wrigleyville next weekend practicing, as Napolean Dynamite says, the deadly art of invisibility. And when I say invisibility, I mean loud, drunk, obnoxious, and armed with plastic throwing stars. We also found matching costumes for the ladies who will (until they become too annoyed and leave) accompany us, but the ninja skank outfits were too big. It's a shame, but we're going to look sharp anyway.

Not much to report today...I love hump day but my week has been crazy. How about you? I'm always nervous the week before going out of town because I feel like all my obligations at work will come due while I'm away from my email/office. I have to learn to get over it.

Two news notes: Tom DeLay is officially on the lamb and Hurricane Wilma looks like a bad one. I've gotten some hits from Florida here at the Offering, so let me say this if you are reading from that part of the world: leave now. Don't be stubborn, too many people thought they would be fine during Katrina and Rita and it cost a lot of lives. If you want to help with the hurricane relief effort, don't be afraid to click on the link to the right.

Finally, Dolph brought this interesting op-ed from the Wall Street Journal by Justice Bork to my attention today. I'll copy the text here (please don't sue me, Wall Street Journal) and withhold my opinion on the matter for now. We haven't gotten into Justice Miers and the nomination all that much, so go ahead and tell the world what you think.

Slouching Towards Miers
By ROBERT H. BORKOctober 19, 2005


With a single stroke -- the nomination of Harriet Miers -- the president has damaged the prospects for reform of a left-leaning and imperialistic Supreme Court, taken the heart out of a rising generation of constitutional scholars, and widened the fissures within the conservative movement. That's not a bad day's work -- for liberals.


There is, to say the least, a heavy presumption that Ms. Miers, though undoubtedly possessed of many sterling qualities, is not qualified to be on the Supreme Court. It is not just that she has no known experience with constitutional law and no known opinions on judicial philosophy. It is worse than that. As president of the Texas Bar Association, she wrote columns for the association's journal. David Brooks of the New York Times examined those columns. He reports, with supporting examples, that the quality of her thought and writing demonstrates absolutely no "ability to write clearly and argue incisively."


The administration's defense of the nomination is pathetic: Ms. Miers was a bar association president (a nonqualification for anyone familiar with the bureaucratic service that leads to such presidencies); she shares Mr. Bush's judicial philosophy (which seems to consist of bromides about "strict construction" and the like); and she is, as an evangelical Christian, deeply religious. That last, along with her contributions to pro-life causes, is designed to suggest that she does not like Roe v. Wade, though it certainly does not necessarily mean that she would vote to overturn that constitutional travesty.


There is a great deal more to constitutional law than hostility to Roe. Ms. Miers is reported to have endorsed affirmative action. That position, or its opposite, can be reconciled with Christian belief. Issues we cannot now identify or even imagine will come before the court in the next 20 years. Reliance upon religious faith tells us nothing about how a Justice Miers would rule. Only a commitment to originalism provides a solid foundation for constitutional adjudication. There is no sign that she has thought about, much less adopted, that philosophy of judging.


Some moderate (i.e., lukewarm) conservatives admonish the rest of us to hold our fire until Ms. Miers's performance at her hearing tells us more about her outlook on law, but any significant revelations are highly unlikely. She cannot be expected to endorse originalism; that would alienate the bloc of senators who think constitutional philosophy is about arriving at pleasing political results. What, then, can she say? Probably that she cannot discuss any issue likely to come before the court. Given the adventurousness of this court, that's just about every issue imaginable. What we can expect in all probability is platitudes about not "legislating from the bench." The Senate is asked, then, to confirm a nominee with no visible judicial philosophy who lacks the basic skills of persuasive argument and clear writing.


But that is only part of the damage Mr. Bush has done. For the past 20 years conservatives have been articulating the philosophy of originalism, the only approach that can make judicial review democratically legitimate. Originalism simply means that the judge must discern from the relevant materials -- debates at the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers and Anti-Federalist Papers, newspaper accounts of the time, debates in the state ratifying conventions, and the like -- the principles the ratifiers understood themselves to be enacting. The remainder of the task is to apply those principles to unforeseen circumstances, a task that law performs all the time. Any philosophy that does not confine judges to the original understanding inevitably makes the Constitution the plaything of willful judges.


By passing over the many clearly qualified persons, male and female, to pick a stealth candidate, George W. Bush has sent a message to aspiring young originalists that it is better not to say anything remotely controversial, a sort of "Don't ask, don't tell" admonition to would-be judges. It is a blow in particular to the Federalist Society, most of whose members endorse originalism. The society, unlike the ACLU, takes no public positions, engages in no litigation, and includes people of differing views in its programs. It performs the invaluable function of making law students, in the heavily left-leaning schools, aware that there are respectable perspectives on law other than liberal activism. Yet the society has been defamed in McCarthyite fashion by liberals; and it appears to have been important to the White House that neither the new chief justice nor Ms. Miers had much to do with the Federalists.


Finally, this nomination has split the fragile conservative coalition on social issues into those appalled by the administration's cynicism and those still anxious, for a variety of reasons, to support or at least placate the president. Anger is growing between the two groups. The supporters should rethink. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq aside, George W. Bush has not governed as a conservative (amnesty for illegal immigrants, reckless spending that will ultimately undo his tax cuts, signing a campaign finance bill even while maintaining its unconstitutionality). This George Bush, like his father, is showing himself to be indifferent, if not actively hostile, to conservative values. He appears embittered by conservative opposition to his nomination, which raises the possibility that if Ms. Miers is not confirmed, the next nominee will be even less acceptable to those asking for a restrained court. That, ironically, is the best argument for her confirmation. But it is not good enough.


It is said that at La Scala an exhausted tenor, after responding to repeated cries of "Encore," said he could not go on. A man rose in the audience to say, "You'll keep singing until you get it right." That man should be our model.


Mr. Bork is a fellow of the Hudson Institute and editor of "A Country I Do Not Recognize: The Legal Assault on American Values" (Hoover, 2005). He is co-chairman of the Federalist Society.

Have a great Wednesday.