Tourney estaTerminada

Yes, it's over. Well, for the team at least. My bracket is pretty pitiful, but I will re-iterate what I said previously:

...with the advent of the Lopez twins and growth at the point, both Anthony Goods and Laurence Hill have gone missing. Goods has shown up on occasion, but former All-Pac-10 forward Hill is a shadow of his former self. No doubt his knee injury has taken away much of his ability to create off the dribble and penetrate, but his reduced role in the offense has crushed the confidence his jumper used to possess. When both of these players show up, however, the team is as elite as can be.

and:

My fears are thus for the tournament. Both Lopezes are rendered ineffective by crushing pressure defense and athletic guard play from the high seeds slices and dices the vaunted Stanford defense to ribbons.

Take it how you will, but I am not surprised at the outcome and a little disappointed. No matter, there is always next year...

Four Trombones and a String Section

It's been a pretty nutty couple of weeks hereabouts, but what the hey, I still have some inklings of time lurking about here and there.

Thursday night, courtesy of the good people at Zocalo, G and I saw Michael Giacchino speak as part of their Public Square Lecture series at LACMA. If you are not familiar with Mr. Giacchino, he is a rising star in the world of film composing.  I first became familiar with him due to his work on the show Alias, but have become even more of a fan after hearing his atmospheric cacophony that is Lost and for his spy-worthy anthems in the Incredibles.  From those two movies alone, one can tell that this man is a slave to no style of music.

So what did he talk about?  The title of the lecture was "How to 'Score' Big in Movies," and while he did discuss part of what has helped him to achieve success in his career, what was more interesting is the passion he presented at every corner.  From his beginnings as a video game composer post-graduate from the School of Visual Arts, he was tenacious in pursuing his love of music.  I was rapt with the stories he was telling and no sooner was I hooked than when he began speaking of his common love with Brad Bird of the show Johnny Quest.

And this is really where I took away quite a bit from the talk.  Mr. Giacchino talked not just from the heart, but from the analysis that whatever he wanted to do, he would do it differently.  He saw an aversion to melody prevalent in most soundtracks, so he loved melody.  He saw that no one would want to compose for orchestration, so he would write for a full orchestra.  When people suggested he include woodwinds and other instruments associated with island life on Lost, he said there should be nothing at all recognizable and comfortable about the soundtrack at all.  Inspiring in his vision, it's no wonder he has become a favorite of Mr. Bird's, JJ Abrams, and has even worked with the likes of Steven Spielberg.

We left the lecture and LACMA appreciating his candor and for me, I appreciate his work all the more than I had before I had arrived.  When you watch any of the films he's worked on, listen to the soundtrack alone for a bit, listen to the lack of soundtrack, and most of all, listen for the inspiration behind it.  Even if it's the bombastic final score for the movie Cloverfield, you will understand where he's coming from and it is really something else.

Tourney on the Brain

This is usually the point at which I blog about the impending tip-off of the NCAA men's tournament and what it means for my boys in Cardinal red.  This season has been pretty amazing for the Stanford men's basketball team thus far.  Collecting many wins in the Pac-10 conference and falling short every single game versus the UCLA Bruins, including a loss in the conference tournament final, the Cardinal has remained a solid second place finisher and earned enough credit to garner a 3-seed entering into today's opening day.  They will face a tough squad from Cornell, but no doubt the biggest challenge they face is expectation.

Last year, the expectation was quite low, as the Card was obliterated in their game versus Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals. 26 wins later, this season has stacked the deck in their favor.  The Lopez twins have blossomed into a dominant force on both ends of the floor and Mitch Johnson has matured into a solid floor leader.  Gone are the days in which I would cringe at Johnson dribbling into open court, but sadly, with the advent of the Lopez twins and growth at the point, both Anthony Goods and Laurence Hill have gone missing.  Goods has shown up on occasion, but former All-Pac-10 forward Hill is a shadow of his former self.  No doubt his knee injury has taken away much of his ability to create off the dribble and penetrate, but his reduced role in the offense has crushed the confidence his jumper used to possess.  When both of these players show up, however, the team is as elite as can be.

My fears are thus for the tournament.  Both Lopezes are rendered ineffective by crushing pressure defense and athletic guard play from the high seeds slices and dices the vaunted Stanford defense to ribbons. 

My hopes for the the tournament are that the interior dominance exhibited by the twins carries over and above the crowd and both Goods and Hill come alive.  This is probably the only way the team can hope to make it past the first weekend and maybe even into the Elite Eight (one round better than the experts projected Sweet 16 finish). 

Despite any outcome, I will be watching the tournament patiently and praying the bracket lines up with the stars.  Game on!

Smash it Up

Because I have been loving this game so far, and because I have also been love Hulu I figured I would post another vid. This time it's of Smash Brothers Brawl, the latest game published for the Nintendo Wii. It's haphazard and too much fun. I highly recommend it.

Recipe Test

Yes, I will try this for the first time.  Let's see if I can be accurate enough to not be cloying.  Mind you, these are guidelines and should only be used as such.  I take no responsibility for ensuing heart attacks.

Crispy Bacon Goodness

Ingredients:
4 slices of bread (preferably sourdough)
spreadable butter
mayonnaise
6 slices of good bacon (center-cut/thick)
4 slices of good-melting cheese (my favorite is Havarti)
2 eggs

Method:
Set sautee pan at medium heat and cook bacon to slight crispiness.  Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain grease.  Start making like you love grilled cheese like no man loves grilled cheese.  Slather one side of each slice of bread with mayo.  Place two slices of cheese (you can go nuts and use two kinds if you like) on one side of one slice of mayo-slathered bread and three slices of bacon on another slice and merge into sandwich-form. Spread butter onto one side of en-sandwiched bread and set aside.

Clean sautee pan with paper towel and set at medium heat.  Place soon to be melty sandwich on pan butter-side down and spread butter on un-touched side of tastiness.  While sandwich is toasting, set an omelet pan at low and butter that bad boy up like nobody's business.  Crack an egg and prep either sunny-side up or over easy.  I prefer over easy, but sunny-side is more gooey. Flip sandwiches when golden brown and noticeably melted through.  Set finished egg aside and repeat with second egg.  Plate each sandwich when finished and top with finished egg.

Cheesecake, Part Deux

A follow up to the previous post about the Factory, Truehoop chimes in once again with the overwhelming response to its initial item regarding the Association's love of the CF in their second post about the same subject.  This is by far one of my favorite topics they've covered so far, because really, you can only read so much about statistics, predictions, MVP arguments, playoff races and the like, but rarely does one get an inside view of what goes on in the personal lives of professional basketball players. 

While I'm still amazed at the Factory's prevalence among the league's elite, I'm more impressed than anything.  It shows the longevity of the franchise and the ubiquitous nature of their locations.  In any metropolitan area, you can rest assured that there will be a Cheesecake Factory somewhere.

So the next time I'm at Fashion Island, the Grove, Redondo Beach, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Santa Anita, Anaheim, Brea, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena, or Huntington Beach I'll keep an eye out.  Who knows, you could catch one of the players having a post or pre-game meal.