Ooh, we’re comin’ up on one of my favorite places in America: Yellowstone!!

Chapter 16 for your reading pleasure.

Mikor egy idegen városban egy másik idegen tőlem kér útbaigazítást. (Zsófi boldogblogja)

(Lost by mctrent)

Mais uma vez aproveitando um bom período de propagação, fiz uma pequena gravação de meia hora da frequencia de 6535 KHz. É o momento de pico na FIR de Dakar e muitos voos chamam em um pequeno espaço de tempo. A estática de uma chuva na Argentina no momento da gravação deixou a mesma um pouco ruidosa, mas a intensidade dos sinais compensa isso. A gravação segue abaixo.

Abaixo o log de ACARS dos voos recebidos entre 23:00 UTC do dia 22/11 até 23:00 UTC do dia 23/11.

PR-MBY 20091122 2112 JJ3072
PR-MAO 20091122 2115 JJ3712
PR-MHD 20091122 2107 JJ3561
PR-MHX 20091122 2153 JJ3724
PR-MAZ 20091122 2204 JJ3881
PR-MBN 20091122 2146 JJ3031
PR-MBO 20091122 2141 JJ3342
PT-MZI 20091122 2153 JJ3868
PR-MBQ 20091122 2215 JJ3586
N498MC 20091122 2223 5Y5424
PT-MZF 20091122 2215 JJ3854
PR-MHB 20091122 2212 JJ3750
N791AN 20091122 2325 AA0961
C-FPCA 20091122 2329 AC0091
PR-MHX 20091122 2308 JJ3564
PR-MHV 20091123 0055 JJ3714
PR-MAS 20091122 2309 JJ3800
PR-MBZ 20091122 2359 JJ3470
N380AN 20091123 0012 AA0904
PTSKP 20091123 1904 GS9346
N68160 20091123 0031 CO0030
PR-AZF 20091122 2354 AD4170
PR-MBQ 20091123 0018 JJ3596
N663UA 20091123 0028 UA0842
PR-MYA 20091123 0031 JJ3548
PT-MZJ 20091123 0040 JJ3350
N59053 20091123 0012 CO0128
N797AN 20091123 0045 AA0906
N794AN 20091123 0103 AA0950
N396AN 20091123 0105 AA0992
PT-MZF 20091123 0113 JJ3738
PR-MBZ 20091123 0141 JJ9414
N778AN 20091123 0117 AA0962
FAB2590 20091123 1835 EB0000
HP1520 20091123 0215 CM0701
N771AN 20091123 0225 AA0998
N791AN 20091123 0326 AA0930
N498MC 20091123 0247 5Y5425
HP1380 20091123 0404 CM0765
FAB2585 20091123 2054 000000
PR-MBZ 20091123 0508 JJ9415
PR-MBM 20091123 0520 JJ3539
PR-MHY 20091123 0534 JJ3549
PR-AZF 20091123 0445 YD4171
PR-ABD 20091123 0458 M38472
PR-AZF 20091123 0508 AD4171
PR-MBQ 20091123 0522 JJ3801
HP1521 20091123 0610 CM0873
N967CG 20091123 0554 AV0085
PT-MZJ 20091123 0605 JJ3351
PR-MBL 20091123 0558 JJ3543
PT-MZF 20091123 0544 JJ3739
HP1373 20091123 0608 CM0759
PR-MBZ 20091123 0631 JJ3471
HP1380 20091123 0646 CM0764
N757AN 20091123 0702 AA0907
F-GSQE 20091123 0725 AF0418
N65CR 20091123 0709 UV0000
HS-PBE 20091123 1944
EC-IDF 20091123 0735 IB6843
CC-CZY 20091123 1040 LA1711
N770QT 20091123 0735 QT0851
N770QT 20091123 0821 QT0000
PT-MZF 20091123 0809 JJ3023
PR-MBQ 20091123 0817 JJ3702
PR-MAS 20091123 0822 JJ3599
PT-MZT 20091123 0807 JJ3862
PH-HST 20091123 1529
PR-MHD 20091123 1039 JJ3813
JA8916 20091123 0843 JL0048
N751AN 20091123 0919 AA0951
PR-MBY 20091123 1036 JJ3073
PR-MBS 20091123 0826 JJ3865
N766AN 20091123 0902 AA0929
N782AN 20091123 0902 AA0963
N791UA 20091123 0924 UA0861
PR-MAZ 20091123 0915 JJ3872
PR-MHK 20091123 0922 JJ3070
N358AA 20091123 0931 AA0905
PR-MHT 20091123 0907 JJ3518
N358AA 20091123 0920 AA0000
N379AA 20091123 0928 AA0991
N379AA 20091123 0918 AA0000
PT-MZI 20091123 0946 JJ3466
N68159 20091123 0959 CO0031
N574FE 20091123 0948 FX0042
PR-MHW 20091123 1149 JJ3150
N780AN 20091123 0954 AA0995
PR-MAS 20091123 1007 JJ3701
N76153 20091123 0951 CO0093
N76062 20091123 1014 CO0129
PR-MBQ 20091123 1022 JJ3540
PR-MBR 20091123 1048 JJ3747
PR-OAS 20091123 1029 O66173
PT-MZT 20091123 1041 JJ3875
PR-OAD 20091123 1045 O66125
PT-MZI 20091123 1236 JJ3578
PR-OAK 20091123 1239 O66186
N652UA 20091123 1056 UA0843
PR-OAK 20091123 1023 O60000
PR-MAW 20091123 1246 JJ3718
PR-OAL 20091123 1228 O66220
PR-MHE 20091123 1113 JJ3461
PR-MHK 20091123 1100 JJ3576
PR-MBS 20091123 1121 JJ3546
PR-MBF 20091123 1113 JJ3716
PT-MZF 20091123 1112 JJ3024
N746AM 20091123 1109 AM0014
PR-MHT 20091123 1135 JJ3703
PR-MBS 20091123 1118 JJ2546
PR-MHD 20091123 1144 JJ3457
PT-MZV 20091123 1121 JJ3566
N770QT 20091123 1207 QT0850
PR-MHQ 20091123 1153 JJ3704
N316LA 20091123 1431 RF0733
PT-MZF 20091123 1237 JJ3851
PR-OAS 20091123 1229 O66320
PT-MZC 20091123 1303 JJ3745
PR-MAS 20091123 1339 JJ3706
CC-CZZ 20091123 1405 LA1713
PR-MBN 20091123 1405 JJ3026
PR-MAZ 20091123 1433 JJ3446
PT-MZR 20091123 1446 JJ3708
PR-ABB 20091123 1520 M39861
PR-MHQ 20091123 1516 JJ3079
PR-OAR 20091123 1619 O69902
PR-AYA 20091123 1642 AD4173
PR-MAS 20091123 1621 JJ3845
PR-MBS 20091123 1646 JJ3547
P2-MAS 20091123 1621 JJ3845
PR-MBS 20091123 1626 JJ3347
PR-MBN 20091123 1712 JJ3583
PR-MHW 20091123 1932 JJ3151
PT-MZR 20091123 1709 JJ3723
PR-MBE 20091123 1826 JJ8051
PR-OAL 20091123 1937 O66221
PR-OAS 20091123 1803 O66321
PR-MBS 20091123 1840 JJ3587
PR-MHB 20091123 1856 JJ3722
PR-OAQ 20091123 2050 O66187
PT-MZQ 20091123 1957 JJ3588
PR-MAO 20091123 1851 JJ3827
PT-MZH 20091123 1930 JJ3844
PR-MHC 20091123 1945 JJ3072
PT-MZX 20091123 1922 JJ3863
PR-MBQ 20091123 2020 JJ3541
PR-MAZ 20091123 2002 JJ3447
PR-MBX 20091123 1943 JJ3468
PT-MZI 20091123 2022 JJ3592
PT-MZL 20091123 2025 JJ3028
PR-OAS 20091123 2002 O66172
PR-MYD 20091123 2018 JJ3725
PR-OAD 20091123 2012 O66124
PT-MZT 20091123 2036 JJ3874
PR-MBN 20091123 2058 JJ3580
PR-MBX 20091123 2056 JJ3469
PR-MBI 20091123 2057 JJ3724
PR-MHB 20091123 2050 JJ3817
PR-OAQ 20091123 2045 O661
HP1380 20091123 2046 CM0701
PT-MXA 20091123 2058 JJ3301
_________________________________________________________

Receptor: Kenwood TM-V7A
Antena: Electril Brasília IV

21:38 UTC


21:52 UTC


Receptor: ICOM IC-R75
Antena: Dipolo de 20 metros

Deixo aqui os voos plotados na madrugada do dia 21. As estações monitoradas foram as de Riverhead em 6661 e Shannon em 6532. Clique na imagem para visualiza-la em tamanho real.



Receptor: Icom IC-R75
Antena: Dipolo de 20 metros

Thousands of couples have held their wedding ceremony in the Smoky Mountain resort towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, Tenn.

That’s why the Smokies rival Las Vegas as a wedding destination.

Our non-credit wedding seminar on Jan. 23, 2010, at the Sevierville Civic Center will help you get involved in this industry by teaching you how to direct the rehearsal, wedding, and reception.

You’ll receive a detailed manual on wedding etiquette, traditions, customs, and new directing techniques.

The seminar fee (includes a box lunch) is $99 if you register by Dec. 16 and $109 from Dec. 17-Jan. 23.

Seminar hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Online registration is available.

The seminar leader will be Lana Needham, a wedding consultant for more than 20 years and author of A Bride’s Dream: The Perfect Wedding for Any Budget.

Darrin Devault, UT Professional & Personal Development

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/utnoncredit

For the two in attendance, and the millions of you reading across the internet……Lets get ready for RIVALRIES!!!!!!!

The First game i bring to you is the Border War. Anyone who deals with a rivalry knows that its just a straight out fight, and what better to fight over then an Indian War Drum & the Lamar Hunt Trophy. Missouri and Kansas have been fighting this war since 1891. Dan George summed up the rivalry by stating “It’s more than the schools — it’s a state thing going back to the Civil War, when William Quantrill’s Confederate guerillas burned Lawrence and murdered nearly 200 people. Neither Missouri nor Kansas folks have forgotten it.” The series between to the two stands officially tied (going by NCAA, cant stand it when conferences make their own rules and try to change rules mid season to get things swinging their way) 54-54-9 even though there is some controversy over a player being disqualified due to a school booster using funds to persuade him to come to that school (Kansas was the school he played for). This just added more fuel to the fire of this rivalry, which, even though by request of the athletic directors of the schools not to be called this, is the Border War.

 Next on the list we have the  Iron Bowl. For those of you not around the south, the Iron Bowl is THE rivalry of rivalries. When people think of Alabama playing against Auburn, they equate it to things such as the North fighting against the South… The Axis versus the Allies… some even go as far as to compare it as the battle of good and evil. It gets intense around here and some people tend to get hurt while waiting for the weekend or in this horrid case because of CBS wanting to grab some ratings, Friday to come around for the game to be played to give the fans the bragging rights they have truly earned. The series originated in 1893 with the two schools playing against each other in Birmingham, Alabama (that’s where the iron came from) The Crimson Tide currently lead the rivalry 39-33-1. This year’s game will be played at Auburns site where Alabama has lost its last six visits.

Now I bring you “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate”. Words that could only be used to describe the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game. The rivalry between these two schools also began in 1893.  The heated rivalry goes all the way back to truthfully 1891 when UGA began to mock Tech for its choice of school colors. The fire only burned stronger as time passed by with UGA once again offending the Yellow Jackets in 1919 by having a parade celebrating UGA’s return to football while making fun of Georgia Tech students for continuing to play football during war time. With only 70 miles between the schools (UGA in Athens, and GA Tech in Atlanta) the schools are in constant competition against each other not only for recruits, but for state funding and for recognition from their home state as well. The winning school of the years football game receives the Governor’s Cup Finally, I just really like the name given to this rivalry.

Next up on the Rivalry list we have the Texas Longhorns, and the Texas A & M Aggies. These being the two oldest public schools in the state of Texas, their rivalry is a natural one. Texas and A & M have been competing against each other since 1894, but their rivalry has been adjusted to spread bragging rights based on all sports rather then just football. in 2004 a points system was introduced. Points are awarded for all sports in which both schools maintain an intercollegiate team. Each sport is worth one point, which is awarded to the winner of the head-to-head matchup between the two teams. If the head-to-head matchup ends in a tie, each team receives ½ point. In baseball, the team that wins the regular season three-game series is awarded one point. In sports where the teams meet twice during the season — currently softball, volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball — each contest is worth ½ point. If the universities do not compete in head-to-head regular season competition, the university that places higher at the Big 12 Conference Championship will earn the point. Should the universities tie in Big 12 Conference Championship competition the point will be split between the two schools. In the sport of track and field, multi-school meets do not count as head-to-head competition. There are a total of 19 possible points, with 10 points needed to win. In the event of a 9½ to 9½ tie, the winner of the previous year will retain the title for the following year. Texas currently leads the points run 3-2 with a possible tie of the series pending on the rivalry game this weekend. (if A & M manages to tie the points, according to the rules of point, they will retain the title since they were the previous years winner.)

And for the next big game, we have Virginia Tech at Virginia playing for the Commonwealth Cup. This match up rolls back to 1895 when the schools started playing each other. From what I’ve gathered, aside from just a game between people from really close places to each other, there’s not much to this. With the Va Tech Shooting, the rivalry became even less intense. Many fans on both sides of the rivalry have reported a lessening of hostilities between the two universities while maintaining the same intensity of the rivalry in the wake of the Virginia Tech Massacre. According to The Washington Post “students in both camps are more apt to think of themselves as simply Virginians.” UVa students were amongst the first university students to lend support to the comrades at Virginia Tech in the wake of the shootings. Likewise, the connections between the two university’s populations are often very close. Prior to the 2007 football contest in Charlottesville both college’s bands participated in a joint performance. However, the intensity of the rivalry was still as spirited as ever, with both sides cheering passionately for their own team as a berth to the ACC Championship game was on the line. “…there was the sense among Tech students that fans of U-Va. – an institution founded by none other than Thomas Jefferson – looked down their noses at the mountain-ensconced Hokies of Blacksburg. Hokies were “hicks”; Cavaliers were “snobs.” But after the shootings in April, something changed. U-Va. students and faculty members wrote condolence letters, held a candlelight vigil and even painted the campus’s fabled Beta Bridge with a pro-Hokies phrase.” — Jonathan Mummolo, The Washington Post U-Va.’s student newspaper reported that students in Charlottesville were even sporting Hokie sweatshirts on occasion in observance of the tragedy. The University’s Z Society went so far as unveiling a 65′ x 120′ Virginia Pride flag featuring both UVA and VT logos on it during the annual football game, and it was noted that the two fan bases had never been so close as they were after the shootings. “Since the tragedy, it hasn’t been so odd to see a Wahoo wearing a Virginia Tech sweatshirt. Since April, transfer students haven’t felt so awkward saying they used to attend school in Blacksburg. Truly, Hokies and Wahoos have never been so together.” — Eric Kolenich, The Cavalier Daily.

Next up on the list is Pittsburgh playing at West Virginia in The Backyard Brawl. This rivalry rolls back to 1895 when the first game was played. The rivalry basically exists because, you guessed it, the schools are basically in each other’s back yard. Pittsburgh currently leads the series 61-37-3. The 1921 edition of The Backyard Brawl was the first football game to be broadcast over the radio airwaves. Other then the 2007 Pitt team knocking the then number two ranked West Virginia out of the BCS National Championship game, there hasnt really been much to fuel this rivalry then, they’re competing for the same stuff as GA-GA tech.

Another heated rivalry taking place this weekend is the Holy War. The fierce rivalry between the Utah Utes and the Brigham Young Cougars. The big thing that fuels this fire is…..dum dum dum… religion.  Utah is the Mormon capital of the world, so to no surprise, BYU is a Mormon owned school. Utah, being a state owned school, is non-secular. BYU fans accuse Utah fans of being drunks, although many of Utah’s fans are also Mormons, and alcohol is against the Mormon code. Many non Mormon Utes fans love to mess with BYU fans by drinking lots of coffee, swearing and generally going against the Mormon code. The series started in 1895 ( or 1922 according to BYU) Utah leads the series 53-33-4 (or 50-30-4 depending on when it started).  The two schools are approximately 50 miles apart, so its not uncommon for them to constantly compete over recruits, fans and funding. The rivalry began to change in 1993, during Ron McBride’s fourth season as head coach, the Utes won their first game in Provo in twenty-two seasons and their first since LaVell Edwards became BYU head coach. Utah’s kicker, Chris Yergensen, had already missed two out of three field goals on the day. This time, however, Yergensen did not miss and kicked the game-winning 55-yard field goal (the longest of his career) as time expired.After the win, Utah fans and players attempted to tear down the north end zone goalpost at what was then Cougar Stadium. Cougar players returned to the field to protect the goalpost from being torn down. About the incident, Lenny Gomes, a BYU nose guard, said, “Typical Utah bullshit. All those guys think that’s all there is to life. But when I’m making $50–60,000 a year, they’ll be pumping my gas. They’re low-class losers.” The remark is still remembered in rivalry history today.The 1994 season was McBride’s best, as he led the Utes to a 10–2 record and a top-10 finish in national rankings. The Utes and Cougars also staged one of the best matchups in the rivalry’s history, meeting for the first time as top-25 ranked teams. The Utes won the game 34–31, which was coincidentally the same score of their meeting a year before. Utah ran its rivalry winning streak up to three games a year later, with a 34–17 win at BYU. The Utes and Cougars would trade wins and losses the next couple of years, before the 2000 season. During the 1999 edition of the Holy War, Utah recorded its fourth consecutive win in Provo. Early in the fourth quarter, Utah scored a touchdown when quarterback T.D. Crowshaw completed a four-yard-pass to Donny Utu to put Utah up 20–10. In celebration, Utah cheerleader Billy Priddis ran along the visitor’s sideline with a large “U” flag. An unidentified BYU fan ran onto the sideline and tackled Priddis from behind. Priddis turned around and started punching the fan. He landed seven or eight punches before security separated them. About the incident, Priddis said, “”There’s 65,000 fans here, does he think I’m not going to retaliate?” Utah had another undefeated season in 2008 and defeated BYU 48–24. By doing so, they captured another invitation to a BCS game, where they were matched up with the highly favored Alabama. Utah beat Alabama 31–17 for their second BCS victory in five years. BYU’s team slogan in 2008 was “Quest for Perfection,” and T-shirts bearing that slogan were made widely available. However, BYU’s quest for a perfect season ended at TCU, and Utah, who did finish with a perfect record, created red shirts bearing the Utah logo and the slogan “The Quest Perfected.”

This next rivalry is near and dear to my heart as I have an ex-girlfriend who is a big Clemson fan. Naturally I pull for South Carolina (Shout out to my boy Darian Stewart #24) every year since then in the Battle of the Palmetto State. Stick with me people because the next might get long and boring, but it is needed to completely understand where it all came from. Unlike most major college rivalries, the Carolina-Clemson rivalry did not start innocently. In fact, the seeds of bitterness were planted even before Clemson became a college. The two institutions were founded 88 years apart: South Carolina College in 1801 and Clemson Agricultural College in 1889.South Carolina College was founded in 1801 to unite and promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Upcountry. It closed during the Civil War when its students aided the Southern cause, but the closure gave the politicians an opportunity to reorganize it to their liking. The Radical Republicans in charge of state government during Reconstruction opened the school to blacks and appropriated generous funds to the University, much of which was embezzled. These actions caused the white citizens of the state to withdraw their support for the University and view it as a symbol of the worst aspects of Reconstruction. The Democrats returned to power in 1877 following their decisive electoral victory over the Radical Republicans and promptly proceeded to close the University. Sentiment in the state favored opening an agriculture college so the University was reorganized as the South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In 1882, the college was renamed to its antebellum name, South Carolina College, which infuriated the farmers because they felt that the politicians had frustrated the will of the people by deemphasizing agriculture education, even though the school still retained the department of agriculture. Benjamin Tillman emerged in the 1880s as a leader of the agrarian movement in South Carolina and demanded that the South Carolina College take agricultural education more seriously by expanding the agriculture department. In 1885, Tillman was convinced of the superiority of a separate agricultural college by Stephen D. Lee, then the President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, and subsequently Tillman would accept nothing less than a separate agriculture college in South Carolina. He offered the following reasons why he felt that it was necessary to have a separate agriculture college outside the confines of Columbia:

Mississippi A&M featured practical training without unnecessary studying of the liberal arts.

Mississippi A&M provided poor students work-scholarships so that they could attend the college.

There were too few students who studied agriculture at the College to justify an agriculture college there.

The College was a place “for the sons of lawyers and of the well-to-do” who sneered at the agriculture students as if they were hayseeds.

The students at the College lived a life of luxury as compared with the sweat and toil endured by students at Mississippi A&M.

There was not enough farm land near the College to allow for proper agriculture study.

The Conservatives, who held the reins of power in South Carolina from 1877 to 1890, replied to each point made by Tillman:

The most advanced agriculture educational research was being conducted at the University of California and at Cornell University, both of which combined agriculture colleges with liberal arts colleges. Additionally, a separate agriculture college would be more expensive and result in an inferior product.

The work scholarships attracted the lowest quality of students who only cared about obtaining a college degree, not about an education in agriculture or mechanical studies. Furthermore, there was little advantage of attending a college only to pitch manure and grub stumps.

The constant attacks by Tillman on the College caused many to doubt whether state support for the institution would continue. As a result, the enrollment numbers were not impressive, although the numbers of students taking agriculture and mechanical classes increased from 34 in 1887 to 83 in 1889. Over half of the students at the College were the sons of farmers, though most did not study agriculture as Tillman wished. John McLaren McBryde, President of the College, correctly predicted that most students of an agriculture college would not go back to work the farm after graduation. While some students at the College were the sons of the well-to-do, the majority were poor.Tillman was bolstered in 1886 when Thomas Green Clemson agreed to will his Fort Hill estate for the establishment of an agriculture college. Yet, Tillman did not want to wait until Clemson died to start a separate agriculture college so he pushed the General Assembly to use the Morrill funds and Hatch funds for that purpose. Instead, the legislature gave those funds to the South Carolina College in 1887 which would use them along with a greater state appropriation to reorganize itself as the second University of South Carolina and to also greatly expand the agriculture department. After this victory for South Carolina, in January 1888 Tillman wrote a letter to the News and Courier that he was retiring from public life.It was less than ninety days when Tillman reemerged on the scene upon the death of Thomas Green Clemson in April 1888. Tillman advocated that the state accept the gift by Clemson, but the Conservatives in power opposed the move and an all out war for power in the state commenced. The opening salvo was fired by Gideon Lee, the father of Clemson’s granddaughter and John C. Calhoun’s great granddaughter Floride Isabella Lee, who wrote a letter on her behalf to the News and Courier in May that she was being denied as Calhoun’s rightful heir. Furthermore, he stated that Clemson was egotistical and “only wanted to erect a monument to his own name.”In November, Lee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to contest the will which ultimately ruled against him in May of 1889.The election of 1888 afforded Tillman an opportunity to convince the politicians to accept the Clemson bequest or face the possibility of being voted out of office. He demanded that the Democratic party nominate its candidates by the primary system, which was denied, but they did accept his request that the candidates for statewide office canvass the state. Tillman proved excellent on the stump, by far superior than his Conservative opponents, and as the Democratic convention neared there was a clear groundswell of support for the acceptance of Clemson’s estate. He was so effective because of his “ability to awaken popular passion and prejudice” when the populace by and large mistook “prejudice for truth, passion for reason, and invective for documentation.” Tillman pitted “the poor against the rich, tenant against landowner, hireling against employer, country against town, all of South Carolina against Charleston and Columbia, upcountry against lowcountry, white against black, do-somethings against do-nothings, and outs against those in power” so that “he could rile them up and then appear as their champion.” In addition, the Conservative leadership was aging and its appeal to the past glories of South Carolina during the antebellum period meant little to the emerging younger generation.Tillman explained his justification for an independently controlled agriculture college by pointing to the mismanagement and political interference of the University of South Carolina as had occurred during Reconstruction. The agriculture college, as specified in Clemson’s will, was to be privately controlled and thus would be able to prevent any “possible invasion by the negroes”. With declining cotton prices, Tillman preyed upon the farmer’s desperation by stating that the salaries of the college professors were exorbitant and it must be a sign of corruption. Consequently, the legislature was compelled to pass the bill to accept Clemson’s bequest in December of 1888, albeit with the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate from Lieutenant Governor William L. Mauldin. Thus was reborn the antagonistic feelings of regional bitterness and class division that would plague the state for decades. Having achieved his agriculture college, Tillman was not content to sit idly by because what he really desired was power and political office. After winning the 1890 election and becoming Governor, Tillman renewed the attacks on the Conservatives and those who had thwarted his agriculture college. He saved the coup de grâce for Senator Wade Hampton III, a South Carolina College graduate and Confederate General during the Civil War, who “invoked Confederate service and honor as a barrier to Tillmanism.” Tillman directed the legislature to defeat Hampton’s renomination for another term in December of 1890, thereby finishing what Sherman had left undone in 1865.While campaigning for Governor in 1890, Tillman leveled his harshest criticism towards the University of South Carolina and threatened to close it along with The Citadel, which he called a “dude factory.” Despite the rhetoric, Tillman only succeeded in reorganizing the University of South Carolina into a liberal arts college while in office. It would eventually be rechartered for the last time in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. However, Clemson Agricultural College held sway over the state legislature for decades and was generally the more popular college during the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina. The rivalry started in 1896. after 106 meetings, Clemson leads, 65-37-4.

Next up, the Colorado State – Wyoming Border War. Nothing is really special about this rival aside from rivalry based on location. Colorado State leads the series 55-40-4. In 1968, the ROTC detachments of the respective schools initiated the Bronze Boot, a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the “Border War” each year. The boot was worn in the Vietnam War by Cpt. Jeff Romero, Sr., a Colorado State graduate and Army ROTC instructor at CSU between 1967 and 1969. Each year leading up to the Wyoming-Colorado State game, the game ball is carried in a running shuttle relay by the ROTC detachment of the visiting team down US 287 to the Wyoming-Colorado state border, where the home team’s ROTC detachment receives it and runs the game ball to the stadium hosting the game. The trophy is guarded by the ROTC unit of the past year’s winning school during the game. Colorado State University leads the trophy series at 21-20.

Off now to the Duel in the Desert and the Territorial Cup. The “Territorial Cup” also known as the “Duel in the Desert” is the rivalry between ASU and UA and is among the nation’s oldest and most heated rivalries, including the oldest trophy in college football. The winner of the game is then given possession of the Territorial Cup until the game is played the next year. In the modern era of the game, it is played on the day after Thanksgiving (and in recent years on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to accommodate network television coverage). The rivalry dates back to before Arizona was admitted as a state, and was a U.S. Territory. In the early history of Arizona, a resentment between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson emerged. The University of Arizona was founded in 1885 as the state’s first university. The same year, Tempe Normal School was founded as a small teacher’s college in the farming community of Tempe, just east of Phoenix. Over the years, Tempe Normal School evolved into Arizona State Teacher’s College, then Arizona State College at Tempe, and eventually Arizona State University. Although both athletic programs have been consistently in the top 20 in the Director’s Cup standings for the past decade, the two schools have featured a difference in athletic strengths. The rivalry started in 1899. University of Arizona currently leads the cup series 45-36-1.

The Bedlam Series is, like most other intrastate rivalries, a rivalry that goes beyond one or two sports. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have rivalries with other schools, though most of those rivalries are limited to one or two sports at the most. When the Bedlam Series gained Ford and the Bank of Oklahoma as corporate sponsors, the series became much more formalized. A points system was adopted in order to award a winner of the all athletic competitions combined between the two schools. A crystal bell trophy is awarded to individual Bedlam game winners (such as football), in addition to a trophy for the overall series champion for that year. The “Bedlam Bell” is modeled after the bell clapper in Old Central, the oldest building on Oklahoma State’s campus. For a time, the actual bell clapper was a traveling trophy for the two schools, until the popularity of this tradition waned. Oklahoma currently leads the series 79-15-8 which started in 1904.

Moving on, we have the Washington-Washington State rivalry. This one seems so boring that I’m just going to use the Apple Cup Wikipedia entry to fill this slot in. The Apple Cup is the annual college football rivalry game between the two largest universities in the U.S. state of Washington; the University of Washington (UW) Huskies and the Washington State University (WSU) Cougars. It is traditionally the final game of the regular season and takes place on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving at Husky Stadium in Seattle during odd years, and WSU’s Martin Stadium in Pullman during even years. From 1950-80 (except for 1954), WSU hosted the game at Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium. The WSU Cougars won three of these fifteen games in Spokane (1958, 1968, 1972), and have won six of the fourteen played at Martin Stadium (1982, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2008).Before 1962, the teams played for the “Governor’s Trophy.” The game was renamed the “Apple Cup” in 1962 because of Washington’s famous apple crop. The Apple Cup trophy has been awarded to the winning team ever since. With the recent lengthening of the regular season schedule to 12 games, there was a movement change the date of the Apple Cup from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the weekend following. This would have allowed a bye week sometime during the season. In the 2006 season, both teams played 12 straight weeks without a break, leaving the two teams noticeably fatigued. For the first time, the 2007 edition of the Apple Cup was played two days after Thanksgiving. The Apple Cup has been sponsored by Boeing since 2007.The first rivalry game was held in 1900 and resulted in a tie between UW and WSU. From 1900 to 2008, there have been 101 games between the schools. The Huskies hold a 64-31-6 advantage. UW’s longest winning streak has been eight games, achieved twice: (1959-66 and 1974-81). WSU has never won more than two consecutive Apple Cups, but the Cougars have won back-to-back games on eight separate occasions: (1929-30, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1982-83, 2004-05 and 2007-08). Although Washington currently leads the overall series, the Cougars have taken four of the past five meetings including a double-overtime win in the 2008 meeting. Washington leads the series 64-31-6.

With the Mississippi State vs. Mississippi Egg Bowl I was expecting more of a feud to have started the rivalry then anything else. So, with the same boring info I bring you more Wiki info. Early in the series, Mississippi State dominated, and had only lost five times in the first twenty-three contests. When Ole Miss beat MSU, then known as Mississippi A&M College, 7-6, the Ole Miss fans rushed the field, some trying to tear the goalposts down. A&M fans did not take well to the Ole Miss fans celebrations, and fights broke out. Some A&M fans defended the goal posts with wooden chairs, and several injuries were reported. To prevent such events in the future, students of the two schools created the “Golden Egg”, a large trophy which has been awarded to the winning team each year since 1927. The trophy is a large football-shaped brass piece mounted to a wooden base and traditionally symbolizes supremacy in college football in the state of Mississippi for the year. The footballs used in American football in the 1920s were considerably more ovoid and blunter than those in use today and similar to the balls still used in rugby; the trophy thus, to modern eyes, more resembles an egg than a football. The awarding of the “Golden Egg” was instituted in 1927 by joint agreement between the two schools’ student bodies. Ole Miss leads the rivalry that started in 1901 60–39–6.

Next up we got the Toledo – Bowling Green Battle of I-75. This one is a little more interesting then the last ones (enough that I’m not just going to give you stuff from the Wiki then be done with it.) These two schools are only about 20 miles apart from each other, making the pressure to get recruits and fans from the local area much harder then some others. The winner of the battle is awarded the Peace Pipe Trophy (yep that’s right, a Native American peace pipe). The rivalry between UT and BGSU goes back to 1919. The games were (and to an extent still are) marked by a passionate fan following and a hatred for the respective opponent. In 1935, fans rioted following a 63-0 blowout win by UT and as a result, BGSU removed the Rockets from their athletic schedule until 1947. That year, the smoking of a six-foot peace pipe was instated as a gesture of goodwill between the two teams at half-time of their annual basketball match. The peace pipe would be kept by the winning university until the teams played again the following season. The tradition came to an abrupt and unpleasant end in 1969 when the pipe was stolen from the UT offices. It was never recovered and the thief never caught. In 1980, the Peace Pipe trophy was reinstated when a scale-down replica was fashioned and placed on top of a trophy created by former UT football player Frank Kralik. Kralik donated the trophy to the university to be given to the winner of each year’s football game, which like many other college football rivalries is usually the last game of the regular season for both teams. Nowadays, ESPN annually broadcasts the Peace Pipe game, allowing it to reach a wide audience outside of northwest Ohio. Though the two schools play in different divisions in the Mid-American Conference, they have yet to meet in the MAC Championship Game. Toledo leads the series since the reinstatement of the trophy, 15-14.

With the next teams and their rivalry, I hold little interest in. The fact that they are 12 miles apart and both in the same city, I find entertaining, aside from that, more Wiki read. The UCLA–USC rivalry is the college rivalry between two universities located in Los Angeles, California: the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.The athletic competition rivalry between the two schools is among the more notable in NCAA Division I sports because both schools are located within the same city. The campuses are only 12 miles apart. The sheer proximity of both alumni and students, and the likelihood of encountering each other and interacting on a daily basis make this one of the most intense college rivalries in the United States. USC is one of the top teams in the country in college football, and recognizes 11 of its teams as National Champions. UCLA has only one team recognized as a National Champion.Quite often, the winner of the football game has won or shared the Pacific Ten Conference title in football. A berth in the Rose Bowl game has been on the line many times as well for both schools. Since the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916, USC has won or shared 37 conference titles and UCLA has won or shared 17 titles.Washington is third in overall conference titles with 15.Since the 1959 season, when the Pacific 10 Conference was formed as the Athletic Association of Western Universities, through the 2007 season, the schools have won or shared 33 of the 48 conference titles. USC has won 17 championships outright, shared eight and gone to the Rose Bowl or BCS bowl 21 times. UCLA has won six championships outright, shared five and gone to the Rose Bowl eight times. The schools have shared the championship between them three times. Both teams have spoiled conference and national championship runs for the other. USC was already an established national football power under Howard Jones and had begun a major rivalry with Notre Dame when UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1929. Los Angeles Times Sportswriter Braven Dyer predicted on the day of the first football meeting on September 28, 1929, “In years to come, this game will probably be one of the football spectacles of the West” USC dominated the early games (so much so, that after the first two games, the series was suspended for five years and they did not play each other from 1931-1935) until UCLA established itself. By the late 1930s, star players such as Kenny Washington, Jackie Robinson, and Bob Waterfield enabled UCLA to be competitive. With the hiring of Hall of Fame Coach Henry “Red” Sanders, UCLA became the more dominant program in the 1950s, culminating in their 1954 National Championship. A famous quote was attributed to Sanders regarding the rivalry, “Beating ‘SC is not a matter of life or death, it’s more important than that.” But Sanders died suddenly of a heart attack, and shortly thereafter, John McKay took over a struggling USC program and returned it to national prominence. For most seasons from the mid 1960s to the end of the 1970s, the two schools were the top powers on the west coast. In the 15 Rose Bowls played from 1966 to 1980, USC or UCLA played in 12 of them. Even with the rise of Don James’ Washington Huskies in the 1980s and early 90s, UCLA or USC still went to the Rose Bowl seven times between 1981 and 1995. In the 1990s and until the hiring of Pete Carroll by USC, UCLA was the dominant team, winning 8 straight from USC from 1991-1998, before USC then won 7 in a row from 1999-2005. The 13-9 win in 2006 at the Rose Bowl allowed the Bruins to keep the record for consecutive wins in the rivalry.

Florida vs. Florida State is the next rivalry on the list. Not much going on here aside from state pushed interstate rivalry. here’s the history: The University of Florida has been fielding an officially sanctioned football team since 1906. Though Florida State University (then known as “Florida State College”) played football for several years around 1900, it became a women’s college in 1905 and remained so until 1947, when the football team was re-established. Almost immediately, pressure began building for the Gators to play the new team in-state. Some believe that it took an act of the Florida state legislature to force the contest to take place. This is not exactly true – a bill demanding a UF vs. FSU football series was proposed in 1955 but was voted down. However, the schools bowed to pressure from state leaders and agreed to schedule a yearly series starting in 1958.One of the conditions that the University of Florida put on the agreement was that the contest must always be held in their home stadium, Florida Field in Gainesville. Since 1964, however, the game site has alternated yearly between the Gators’ field and the Seminoles’ home turf of Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. Since 1958 Florida currently leads the series 32-19-2.

Rice and Houston are the next match up in their competition to take home the Bayou Bucket. The Houston–Rice rivalry (also referred to as the UH–Rice rivalry, Rice–Houston rivalry, or the Rice–UH rivalry) is a cross-town college rivalry between the University of Houston and Rice University. The universities are located approximately five miles from each other in Houston’s “Inner loop” area. It is one of the few NCAA Division I cross-town rivalries, especially between institutions that field Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The rivalry has existed in a more official capacity since Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference in 1971, in which Rice was a charter member. Since the breakup of that conference in 1995, the rivalry has continued. In 2005, Rice joined Conference USA, of which Houston was a member, and has again made the rivalry more relevant for conference titles as well. Football is the largest focus of the rivalry and is the sport in which the competition between the two institutions has run the longest. Both teams are part of the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and have both been part of the Conference USA athletic conference since 2005. The competition includes an annual regular-season football game between the schools. It has existed since 1971, when Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference, of which Rice was also a member. The winner of the game wins the Bayou Bucket. Houston leads this series 24–9. Although the last Southwest Conference football game was part of the series, the teams did not compete against each other in football from 1996 to 1998 as the universities realigned themselves with other conferences. Although the first official meeting between the teams in football didn’t take place until 1971, a scrimmage took place between the inaugural 1946 Houston Cougars team and the Rice Owls. The Owls, having played football since 1914 and being a part of the Southwest Conference, were a much more experienced and accomplished team than the Cougars. In a front of a crowd of thousands, the Owls easily defeated the Cougars. Made famous from football games between the two rivals, University of Houston students often wear red shirts with the words “Ruck Fice” to UH-Rice games. 5 miles apart from each other.. does that not say, “hey I wanna mess with you and take your recruits fans and basis of how you exist” to you?

Notre Dame and Stanford are next on the list. This rivalry is young and not really considered a major rivalry so there’s not much to it. The Irish have a minor rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal (for the Legends Trophy, a combination of Irish crystal with California redwood). The two teams first met in the 1925 Rose Bowl, then played each other in 1942 and again in 1963-64. The modern series began in 1988 and has been played annually except in 1995-96. Notre Dame leads the series 17-6. When the game is played in Palo Alto, it is usually the last game on Stanford’s schedule (as has been the case since 1999), one week after the Cardinal plays archrival Cal in The Big Game.

I finish up with Arkansas and LSU in the Battle for the Golden Boot, an aged old tradition since 1996. I myself was unaware that this was even a rivalry, but I guess everyone needs a rival. Here’s the background on the two teams playing each other. The Arkansas–LSU rivalry, now known as The Battle for the Golden Boot, is the annual college football sports rivalry game between the teams of the University of Arkansas, the Razorbacks, and Louisiana State University, the Tigers. Although the first game between the two teams occurred in 1901, the rivalry between the teams intensified after Arkansas’ entrance into the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1992, and later in 1996 with the first awarding of the “Golden Boot” and the official titling of the game “The Battle for the Golden Boot”. The game is now generally played on the day after Thanksgiving. The two teams have played 53 times since 1901, and as of the 2008 contest, 17 consecutive times after Arkansas’ induction into the SEC. During that time, LSU has won 33 games of the series while Arkansas has won 19, including the latest meeting in 2008, between the two teams. Arkansas and LSU have twice ended the game in a tie, in 1906 and the 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic. Arkansas and LSU began playing each other in 1901, when LSU claimed a 15-0 victory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Between 1906-1936 (with the exception of 1918) and 1953-1956, the two teams played each other during regular seasons on a yearly basis. In addition, the two teams have played each other at the end of the regular season in the Cotton Bowl Classic twice, on January 1 of 1947 and 1966, the former being the second tie in the series while the latter ended in a 14-7 LSU victory. In 1992, LSU and Arkansas resumed their annual rivalry when Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference after leaving the Southwest Conference. The teams played each other four times in the conference before the introduction of the Golden Boot trophy in 1996. Beginning in 1996, the victor in the rivalry between Arkansas and LSU received the Golden Boot, a trophy that weighs approximately 175 pounds and is generally considered the heaviest “trophy” awarded in all of college football. The trophy itself stands a little over 4 feet tall, is molded out of 24-karat gold, and resembles the outline of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana connected, thus making a boot shape. Since 1996, the game has been set on the day after Thanksgiving, and has been played on alternating years in Little Rock, Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium, which is the secondary home stadium for the Razorbacks, and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Tiger Stadium. The series has generally represented an important battle in the SEC Western Division, with either Arkansas or LSU representing the division in the SEC Football Championship Game in many seasons. LSU won the inaugural “trophy meeting” in 1996, 17–7, and for the next six years, the trophy changed hands every meeting, beginning with LSU in 1997. After Arkansas’ “Miracle on Markham” victory in 2002, LSU won the rivalry and the Golden Boot four consecutive times from 2003 to 2006. The trophy returned to Arkansas’ possession on November 23, 2007 when the Razorbacks beat then top-ranked and eventual BCS National Championship game winner LSU 50-48 in three overtimes in Baton Rouge; the victory was the first for former Razorback coach Houston Nutt in five tries in Tiger Stadium. Arkansas successfully defended the Golden Boot again in 2008 with a spectacular come-from-behind victory in the last minute of game play.

I took a visual design course during the spring ‘09 semester.  It was very informative and I learned how to use Adobe InDesign to create different projects.  I have always had an eye for color and geometric shapes and this class allowed me to use that passion in a creative outlet.

The class was devoted to design sensibility and we had several assignments to practice what we had learned.  I made a branding for myself, including a business card.  Another project was to redesign an existing album cover.  It was exciting to see my work displayed on the “good student designs” slideshow at the beginning of class.  I realized that it wasn’t just me who liked or understood my ideas. 

This next spring of 2010, I am taking the advanced visual design course to further improve my sense of design.

In the summer of ‘09 I decided to take a leap across the pond and experience a magazine internship in London.  It was a program through the UT Study Abroad Office which found us an internship based on our qualifications.  During the program, we also took a course on British culture to satisfy student visa requirements.  I worked for Big Cheese Magazine, a punk and hardcore lifestyles publication, as an intern.  

I wrote many CD, DVD, and book reviews.  They gave me so much experience and even let me interview a few bands: 3OH!3, Lovvers, Dave McPherson from InMe, and William Baylis from The Hot Melts.  Also I wrote some small introductory pieces on bands and a few feature stories.  I did clerical work as well, but only had to make one cup of coffee during the entire two months that I worked there.  I was able to see exactly how a magazine is produced on a personal level.

So the great question that runs rampant throughout the UT campus is which facility should I use to workout? People have their preferences for many different reasons and whether it is location, crowdedness or just ignorance to other gyms, the Rec Sports facilities host over 90 percent of the student population — and that’s a good thing.

I asked a few people whether they preferred Gregory or the Rec Center to workout or do various activities and I also asked if they had heard about any other facilities on campus like Bellmont, Anna Hiss, etc. 

The results were somehwhat split, but a recurring theme was that many peopel preferred the Rec Center to workout because it had less people and preferred Gregory for other activities like basketball, swimming and requetball. 

Of course the Rec Center does not have any swimming facilities, but many preferred Gregory for basketball because of the greater variety of gyms and competition. And of course, as I suspected, most have never been or heard of the other smaller facilities. 

Above all, it doesn’t really matter where you workout, just get out there and get that heart racing before the holiday eating season. 

I blog about Rec Sports at UT. Let me know your favorite facility and why in the comments. 

The Cactus Yearbook is the official yearbook of the University of Texas at Austin.  Before this, I had never been that involved in school activities, but at college I wanted to improve my writing skills in an environment in which I could participate everyday.  I found that as a staff writer for the ‘07 to ‘08 yearbook, I gained much valuable experience.  I interviewed a diverse group of sources while writing weekly stories for the Academics, Athletics, Student Life and Student Organizations sections.

In the ‘08 to ‘09 school year, I was promoted to Academics Section Editor.  I was in charge of the entire editorial content of that section.  During this time, I developed a ladder of content and wrote corresponding story assignments for writers to pick up.  I also made photo assignments for yearbook photographers to take specific photos for certain stories.  I collaborated with designers to create infographics and the overall look of each page and spread.  For us, that year was the best looking and most professional yearbook that had ever been made at UT!

For nearly two years I have been involved in some capacity with the student-run radio station at the University of Texas at Austin.  KVRX, 91.7 FM, is where I feel at home.  From the fall of 2008 to the present, I have DJed an FM radio show called “Sing Electrik.”  It is freeform which according to station rules means that I play five different genres during the course of each show.  I mainly play electro, disco, punk, world music, and experimental.  KVRX has a rotating collection of new music from which we are also required to play five songs.  Two songs must be from Texan artists, because we believe in supporting local music. 

Along with DJing, I am also involved in the station in different capacities.  In the ’08 to ‘09 school year, I was one of the promotions interns and helped create methods we could use to promote the station as well as its many events.  Currently I am the editor of KVRX’s station publication.  I changed the format from a multi-paged tabloid to an 11″ x 17″ page that is folded for easy transportation.  Now it is more like an interesting zine and definitely more fun and is now read all the way through, instead of piled on the station floor.

By The Vancouver Sun

It has the greatest number and size of stadiums around the world, the number of people who wear football merchandise, number of people who are aware of football, and the number of leagues/tournaments worldwide. This makes soccer the most popular sport worldwide, more specifically in the UK, Europe, Asia and South America (America is still lagging behind in their interest with soccer). As we speak, countries are battling it out to gain a spot in FIFA’s 2010 World Cup-a championship tournament that takes place once every four years- hosted by South Africa (did you hear about the scandal between Ireland and France? Sucks for Ireland).

I was lucky enough to attend a World Cup pre-qualifier match between Jordan and S.Korea. Take a look as Korea scores their second goal.

For those not really interested in the spectator aspect of soccer, it’s also a major calorie burner for the casual player. One can burn up to 475 per hour (on a 150lb person). And if you’re looking for some cardio, look to run up 3 miles every time you wanna play a pick-up game; the average professional player runs up to 7 miles per game.

Not only do you not have to be a pro to play this game, but while you’re burning up those (holiday) calories learning to play you can also make new friends.

While it can be slim pickings in finding team to play with outside of UT, why even look? Part of UT’s IM sports includes, none other than… soccer! While it’s a bit late in the game to be signing up to play-my team is playing for championships tonight-check back at the Intramural site before Sept. 27 next year.

Since we’re on the topic of soccer, you all have probably heard about the uber aggressive female soccer player, Elizabeth Lambert. If you haven’t already seen the clip be sure to do so.

Some people believe that her actions were taken out of context while others believe that she deserves to be suspended. What do you think? Leave your comments!

I would just like to go on record as saying:

1. The University of Texas Longhorns SUCK!

2. Clay and Amber, do not read this posting.

3. Colt McCoy is a Disney character on a good day and Saturday morning cartoon character on a normal day. He looks like the love child of Hall and Oates. If Case Keenum had the weapons McCoy has, he could have completed 85% of his passes throwing left-handed with a blindfold on. The Heisman was basically forfeited to McCoy this year and he has found a way to allow Mark Ingram to become the favorite. And what is going on with the hair? Good thing he plays a sport that requires a helmet; I don’t think basketball could handle a 2nd person with flowing locks like Steve Nash.

Pandering,

Multatuli    

So I recently went to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville versus Vanderbilt University game at Knoxville. I’m not really a huge sports fan, but my family (huge UT fans) roped me in.  I don’t always root for a team, but for this game, I was for Vandy; I’ve taken a couple classes there (Existentialism and Digital Design, for those wondering). Needless to say, I was one of three people there that bled black and gold, everyone else sporting an orange jacket, an orange seat cushion, and an orange blanket. And I’m pretty sure the other two were together, based on the autopsies (KIDDING). So. There I am, freezing with just a green windbreaker and a thin Vandy blanket, and every time the crowd goes, “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The refs are blind!” I’m going “Yeaaaaaaah! Woohoo, suckers!”. If looks could kill, my remains would never have been found. We lost. It was obvious 2 minutes in, when they had scored already that we were going to lose. So, I figure if the UT fans are going to lynch me anyway, might as well go down fighting. I made up 23 variations of “Rocky Top” all dissing the color orange, the QB’s mother-in-law, or oppresion from Kiffinism (i herd u liek mudKiffins?). I was lucky to escape with my duodenum intact. Anyways, the whole point of that was to tell you I had two three hour periods where I was free to do anything (Cause I wasn’t driving). My younger stepbrother decides he wants to watch movies, so I’m like eh.

G.I. Joe and Push were what we ended up watching. I had voted for Watchmen (which I still haven’t seen). G.I. Joe (hereto and after referred to as “GIJ”) was okay. The plot was obvious, railroaded, and cliched.  The two (I counted) females were femme fatales, but there was no foil to make them look awesome. So meh. My favorite parts were the Q moments (ie the tech stuff). The suits, guns, and transport were all highlights in my book. And I called Rex being that guy as soon as he went in the building.

Push: What we watched on the way back. OK overall. The powers weren’t described well, and the camera work was terrible. The acting was second-rate, but the concept- beyond cool. I mean, he injected himself with soy sauce. Too many Asians though.

So that’s my first movie review post. And sports post I guess.

UT vs. Kansas this weekend was my last home football game and tailgate of my college career.

Sad senior

I may not have attended every home game or even close to every. In fact, this year was my fist time to sit/stand through an entire game from beginning to end. Who knew they light the tower on the big screen after every win?

But I sure attended my last home game because I’m a sucker for “lasts;” I have a hard time letting go of my past.

This year I’m forced to say goodbye every step of the way. Last college game day, Eyes of Texas, week-long celebration of Halloween, 4-day weekend, Thanksgiving/summer/holiday breaks, 8 am class (yay!), and the last class perhaps for the rest of my  life.

Hook 'em

When did college change from a destination to a fleeting moment in the past?

Pasadena in January and graduate school down the road… here I come.

Spending as much time as I do at the Rec Center, I have observed all activities and I have to say the most challenging and sweatiest workout is group cycling.

Its also the most popular. 

The Rec Center has the only cycling studio on campus and any student or member can participate if they purchase the group cycling pass.

ATTENTION:  CYCLING IS NOT FREE JUST BECAUSE YOU PAY TUITION.

The pass is only $40 a semester and if you purchase the combo pass that includes TexerCise classes it is only $100. 

“Cycling is just part of my weekly workouts,” JV Vong said. “Its worth the money.” 

There are 13 different cycling classes you can choose:

Group Cycling:  For all participant levels. (beginner – advanced)

Group Cycling Express: A 45-mintute group cycling class for those on the go.

Power 40:  designed for those who are short on time but high on motivation over their lunch hour (beginner – advanced)

Endurance Ride: A 60-minute class that involves cardio challenges, hills, varying speeds and resistance, and endurance segments. (beginner – advanced)

Endurance Ride PLUS: A 90-minute class for the weekend warriors out there. 75 minutes on the bike plus a 10-minute stretching segment. This class ends with 5 minutes of pure relaxation.

Cycle 40/20/20: Great for those who are looking for a complete workout! Cycle for 40-minutes, do 20-minutes of upper body exercises, and finish with 20-minutes of core and flexibility work. (beginner – advanced)

Cycle + Abs: A 40-45-minute cycling workout followed by 15-minutes of great abdominal exercises. (beginner – advanced)

Cycle + Pilates: A great cycling workout on the bike – followed by a Pilates segment to lengthen and strengthen your entire body. No previous Pilates experience necessary. (beginner – advanced)

Cycle + Sculpt: Combine the best of both worlds and reap the benefits of a cycling class infused with sculpting and group strength exercises.

Cycle + Upper Cuts: Complete a great cycling workout and finish up with some amazing upper body exercises to tone, strengthen, and define.

Cycle + Yoga: Get a great cardio workout and follow it up with a yoga segment. The perfect combination for a complete mind/body workout! (beginner – advanced)

Hill Ride: This class will focus on hill specific movements and will challenge and improve your lower body strength and cardiovascular system. Shake up your cycling routine and try this class! (beginner – advanced)

Speed & Interval Ride: Consists of fast flats, standing and seated runs, and intervals galore! (intermediate – advanced) 

And be prepared to sweat because the classes are challenging and although it is a group class, you can set your own personal speed and rate that fits how you feel. Just remember to bring a towel and water bottle to every class and arrive at least five minutes early because they fill up fast. 

“It is the most intense workouts I have,” senior Myrna Rombado said. “Looking in the room it seems easy and basic but its not like an ordinary bike ride. The instructors are intense too.”

Monday night marks the annual UT tradition of the Hex Rally. Each year, the university comes together to root on their football team against Texas A&M.  This pep rally dates back to 1941 when a local fortune teller advised university students to burn red candles the week leading up to their game in order to break the “jinx” A&M had put on the UT football team. Of course, the Longhorns won the match-up and the tradition has stuck ever since.

This year’s rally will feature speeches from head football coach, Mack Brown, strength and conditioning coach, Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden and players from the team. Tthe Longhorn Band, Texas Cheer and Pom, Redefined Dance Company, and the Ransom Notes will perform before the ritual of lighting those red candles. Why should you attend this year’s Hex Rally? Besides the fact that our football team is awesome this year and has a shot at going to the National Championship, Emmily Attyah, UT sophomore and the co-director of special events and rallies for Texas Exes Student Chapter gave me various reasons why she loves the rally and thinks everyone should attend.

“It is a way we can all come to together in a fun atmosphere to root against our enemy,” said Attyah, “It makes you definitely feel proud you can say you are a Longhorn.”

As co-director of special events and rallies, Attyah plans both of the main pep rallies at UT (against Oklahoma and Texas A&M). Her job involves designing a t-shirt for the event, booking an emcee, notifying student organizations, planning with the football team, designating the space, leading her committee, finding the candles, and creating a playlist for the preshow.

“There is a lot of work, communicating and planning that goes along with this job,” she said.

Attending the Hex Rally should be on the list of things every Longhorn should do at least once. Head over to the Main Mall tomorrow night at 8 pm and put a Hex on A&M. Texas Exes Student Chapter will be hosting an after party at Austin’s Pizza on the drag immediately following the rally.

“I suggest everyone to come to at least one rally because even though we are one of the largest universities,” said Attyah, “the rallies really show how united we are.”

I may or may not have been interested in this party anyway, but with the mention of Ararat, the amazing Arabic food prepared by the same charming owner behind east side coffeeshop GEM Hot Mama’s Espresso Bar, I was in.

There will be belly dancing performances by Sabaya Bellydance and music by DJ Kurv.

8-10:30p TONIGHT at Red Fez.

As for those Longhorn Days?

It’s UT’s last home game, a primetimer against Kansas that starts at 7pm.

Tailgating spots are as usual: Austin SSC at 18th & MLK ($7 for food and beer) or Austin Young Chamber of Commerce & Big Society tailgate at 17th & Congress ($15 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters gets free food and drinks, free entertainment by Todd Phelps).

Her finner du et stort utvalg av halve ridebukser, i tillegg til fisker, fugler og den nye arten gnagre. Takk til Rune A. Karlsen for bidrag.

Whoa-I really stunk it up last week-need to start thinking and stop being so sentimental

Here is my year to date success and this week’s predictions.  Hope  that UT doesn’t embarass Vandy and also looking ahead to the Iron Bowl on the Plains…

Here are my stats for the year:

Week 1:  9-3

Week 2:  4-2

Week 3:  7-2

Week 4:  7-1

Week 5:  6-1

Week 6:  4-3

Week 7:  4-2

Week 8:  4-2

Week 9:  5-2  (Gena’s picks)

Week 10:  8-0

Week 11:  3-4

Total:  61-22