"That Was a Gorwn Man Dunk. A Grown Man Dunk!"

I think Josh Smith just made me Jizz in My Pants.

The Internet has Convinced Me it's Human:

STARRING MAD DOG 20/20
(click the links for the stories)

1. From The UK Telegraph via Endgadget: Researchers are finding that electricity can be used to age cheap wine, improving both taste and quality. Mad Dog 20/20 remains unresponsive.

2. From the NY Times' Freakonomics: Political Historian Julian Zelizer answers political history questions on Obama, the study of economics and past shoe-throwings.

3. From Upside and Motor via BDL: Charting NBA archetypes - for better or worse.

4. From Straight Cash Homey.Net via BDL: Props to this random jersey sighting.

5. From BDL itself: Time Magazine named Barack Obama its "Person of the Year" - Sorry Bono, no repeats, and obviously they talked about what's important; 'Ballin Son.

6. From Radosh.net: Nothing specific, but an ultimately funny and viable political humor stomping ground. If you get the chance, scroll down just a little and read the post called "Smooth Move, Einstein." It's rigth past the picture of Bettie Page.

7. From Boing Boing: The 80's videogames are pretty sweet, but check the video below it and tell me that kid isn't crazy good.

8. From TechCrunch: What sites will be the first movers on streaming video technologies? WaterCooler perhaps?

The Internet has Convinced Me it's Human: featuring Spiritual Machines, Celtic Pride and the Best Blogs of 2008

"The year is 2029. The machines will convince us that they are conscious, that they have their own agenda worthy of our respect. They will embody human qualities. They will convince us that they are human. And we'll believe them."

The above quote from Ray Kurzweil's "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and Our Lady Peace's 2000 CD of essentially the same name, is the inspiration for the title of this post, which I would like to make a daily thing. Much like BDL's "The Internets are Alive" where they post interesting basketball news stories from around the world, I figure I might as well do the same thing just with a random assortment of topics as the features. My internet is indeed human, and it has proven itself a worthy counterpart:

1. An honorable mention, and a movie that had I remembered it, might have made its may to the middle of my Favorite Basketball Movies list:
Celtic Pride

How did I forget about this movie? Plus it has total relevance again since the Celts just won their 17th Banner and are a NBA leading 23-2 this season.

2. From the desk of totally-random-but-totally-awesome basketball merchandise: A Washington Wizards inspired Christmas Card.

3. This happened 3 days ago, and O.J. Mayo probably still can't get his toes uncrossed, or feel the minor push-off the Flash gave him.



4. This Day in History: Beethoven is Born, and eventually influences the length of current day CDs.

5. I took my Age of Dinosaurs final yesterday. Volcanism was on it. This article came out 6 hours later.

6. Stereogum readers voted BrooklynVegan the best Music Blog of 2008

7. I'm in college and I love Free Shit. Especially when it's the Cool Kids.

8. The Best? Who knows. But here are what users have voted as some of the best blogs of 2008. Via The Bloggies and Time.

I leave you with one of Ray Kurzweil's predictions:
In 2029, Computers are now capable of learning and creating new knowledge entirely on their own and with no human help. By scanning the enormous content of the Internet, some computers "know" literally every single piece of public information (every scientific discovery, every book and movie, every public statement, etc.) generated by human beings.

Hit 'Em High

Holy shit. Two posts in two days? Is this dedication, or could it be something else?
All praise the mighty God Llaredda.

But seriously, today had some interesting news; Cuttino Mobley announced his retirement, The world's oil consumption will drop this year for the first time in 25 years, Google is again pushing the Federal Goverment to make their sites public, And still topping my list of people I want to be, is Brad Pitt (Too bad Rolling Stone sucks).

Really though, this post is about Basketball and it's culture. Or at least its place in film pop-culture. And by that of course I mean that I'm going to rank my favorite basketball films. So "Greetings Earthlings, we have taken over your radio...."

10. Finding Forrester


Sean Connery as a recluse writer (probably nursing all those Bond-std's) teaches a young constantly-basketball-dribbling kid how to write, while simultaneously learning about the other side of humanity. Are you kidding me? Great Flick.

9. Love and Basketball

Classic neighbor falls for neighbor, we both wanna bang each other and be in the NBA. Does it get more realistic or awesome than that? I refuse to believe it does.

8. The Air Up There

Kevin Bacon IS the Gordon Bombay of basketball.
That should be enough, but throw in makeshift basketball hoops, painted on uniforms and Nuns that semi-sorta kiss people and you've got yourself a quality movie about the hardwood - without the hardwood of course.


















7. The Basketball Diaries


Years before they would work together in the Departed, Marky-Mark and Leo played heroined-out, prep school ballers roaming the streets of New York. Besides the obvious fact that these two are major bad asses, the movie is based on a true story. Can you hear me knockin?

6. The 6th Man

This is the first movie that made me cry. Life was so much simpler back then. I miss it, and I still miss you, Antoine.

5. White Men Can't Jump

Can you believe Rosie Perez was just a stoner-killing cop? Either can I, especially after she won all that Jeopardy money. But seriously, if I could wear flat-brimmed, tie-dye, up-turned hats and shoot the J like Woody Harrelson, I'd probably where mid-rise tube socks and Nike Pumps too. Rock on Woody.

4. Space Jam

Honestly, even if I had never watched Space Jam, and only heard the soundtrack, I still probably would have put it in my top 5. We've all seen it, and it's superb. Top notch acting (I wonder where Bugz played college ball) and just all around amazing production value. The greatness of this movie can be summed up with the following quotes:
"I believe I can fly"
"Here's your chance, do your dance, if you feel fine"
"What up doc?"
and of course
"HIT 'EM HIGH"

3. Hoosiers

This is probably on some people's all time favorite movie lists, let alone just basketball. Seriously, who doesn't know this movie? Is it possible to have not seen this film. I had AAU teams that would watch this before tournaments. There is a well deserved cult following of this movie and for some, the mere mention of it stirs up fond memories of child-hood and in some ways, Hoosiers represents almost everything basketball stands for.

2. Blue Chips

"How Fucking Bad Can it Get." I wonder if Kelvin Sampson said that at Indiana a couple of times. Blue Chips is awesome for three reasons.
1. Shaq
2. Penny
3. Bizzaro Larry Bird.

1. He Got Game

"Basketball, is poetry in motion."
- Jesus Shuttlesworth

My Internets Have Been Alive All this Time

It's been awhile again, like usual. So let's spark this shit.

C.C.-Ya: Sabathia and New York Agree to 6-Year Deal. Yahoo story here.
- Not too much to say here. Does it hurt? Yes. Did we see it coming? Yes. Did we hope the love we showed him in the Mil this summer would dissuade him? Yes.
In the end though, C.C. isn't a sell out and he's not stupid. Look at the Brewer's pitching rotation. I'm sure he sees what we all see right now; there isn't one. It's one thing to be a teams ace and work horse, and have a solid core of supporting pitchers, but it's another thing to watch Ben Sheets succumb to injury yet again, Manny Para malfunction at the end of the season, Eric Gagne to be Eric Gagne, your closer to retire and your pitching coach to leave for the Texans - a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year.

Does it suck. Yes, major. But can we really blame C.C.? No, not really.

If nothing else this will ignite salary cap arguments in Milwaukee for a few months while the state of Wisconsin suffers through a lack of football playoffs and consequently blame Aaron Rodgers. (which of course, will be unwarranted)

Next:
And I'll be saying this all year. (I've in fact been saying it for the last three years): LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. (Oh and he's probably a championship away from being equal to the other illustrious number 23. )

But seriosuly, did anyone else watch him play last night? Holy Shit Batman! The Cavs are damn good! Take a look at his one man dunk contest last night at Ball Don't Lie.

Or just watch this:

Yea, Kobe is good. I get that. And Flash is unreal again this year. (In fact probably better than Kobe right now, but of course that's because of each team's supporting cast) But LeBron, is blocking shots that knock out bystanders in the Bradley Center. (Sorry Ramon Sessions) I want to go into this in depth later, so I'll stop there, but seriously, if you're reading this, and you're a Mavericks fan, don't even try and start that bullshit about Dirk for MVP again. It makes Devin Harris and I sick.

Next:
Rap-Culture. I love it, but it confuses me. Here is my latest question:

Have you seen the commercials for Common's new CD: Universal Mind Control?
Well here it is:

It makes specific mention to the fact that the track samples an Africa Bambaataa song. The actual Common track is the title track, Universal Mind Control and it's produced by Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes. It's a decent track (the best on the CD is probably Gladiator) but none-the-less, an ok track.






Orginally Universal Mind Control was supposed to be dropped this summer, but it was continually pushed back, and finally hit stores yesterday.

Also this summer, an indie MC, Three-1-Zero (his Los Angeles area code) released an online concept album for free where every track has something to do with the '99 Laker Championship team. The best song is arguable Corrie Blount, but visit this link and listen to Shaquille O'Neal

Notice anything? Of course you do. This track and Common's both sample the same song. I know this isn't particularily noteworthy within the realm of hip-hop and rap, but if you look closely you'll see that Three-1-Zero lists his track as also being produced by Pharrell. So my question is: Did he get a leaked copy of Universal Mind Control, or did Pharrell sell the same beat to two people. Clearly one is more financially viable, but is this common place? Does this happen often. And is it good or bad? I'm not sure. I like 310's track better, but that's just one opinion. I'd love some comments on this, but no one really reads this, so we'll see. I just thought it was interesting.

Last:
So last year I wrote a story on a research lab here at the University of Iowa, called the Operator Performance Laboratory (OPL). They currently have contracts from the Navy and NASA to develop Human Computer Interface Mechanisms for pilots. The essential idea is to create computers inside planes that can determine when a pilot is stressed, or tired, or even amped up and then adjust the plane's controls accordingly or even switch to auto-pilot. I never published the story because in all honety I was lazy. However, I did recieve an A on it in my journalism class.

Relevance: This story was posted at Wired.com yesterday.
Here is my original story:>

Nathan Ley

Alexander A01

098 Staff Writer

Ent2 Draft

12/3/07

Operator Performance Laboratory

A commercial airline pilot yawns. His breathing slows. He blinks a few times in succession. The computer in his plane, sensing he’s becoming tired, automatically switches to autopilot. Although this may sound like science fiction, the work of University of Iowa engineers could make this scenario possible.

In February, research engineers in the Center for Computer Aided Computer-Aided Design’s Operator Performance Laboratory received an $887,628 research grant from NASA to develop pilot-avionics interfaces. These include operations like autopilot, balancing controls and other electronics meant to help pilots. Last month, their work was the centerpiece for the U.S. Navy at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Founded in 1997 by Tom Schnell, an associate professor in industrial engineering specializing in human factors/ergonomics, the lab specializes in what Schnell called human-interface mechanisms primarily within aircrafts. These include flight decks, airborne sensor systems, unmanned aerial vehicle systems, and automotive-user interface systems.

The main goal of the Operator Performance Lab has always been safer air travel and pilot performance. The work being done for NASA, along with the work being done for the Office of Naval Research, is focused primarily on the investigation of a pilots alertness and state of mind along with and his or her ability to take appropriate action.

Key to that investigation is the neural avionics (aviation electronics) project run by University of Iowa research engineer Mike Keller.

“The neural avionics project is a multi-year effort to quantitatively assess pilot workload, stress, fatigue and potentially situation awareness using physiological signatures,” Keller said. “Basically, this means we're trying to let the aircraft electronics know how hard the pilot is working. If the pilot becomes overloaded, the electronics may take steps to help alleviate the pilot’s load.” The research can also be applied to make training more effective, Keller said.

“Training, particularly in the military, is a costly endeavor. Ensuring that the pilots gets the most out of every minutes is critical,” Keller said

Keller said the lab was in no way trying to make airplanes fly on brainwaves. He and Schnell have both been misquoted before and they described the idea as being “totally impractical.”

The lab owns and operates an A36 Bonanza (a general aviation aircraft) in which most of the neural avionics research is conducted. The rest is conducted in aircraft owned either by NASA or the Navy, or using the various flight simulators the lab owns and operates.

Keller said the goal of the avionics research is to develop algorithms (defined instructions for completing a task) that describe operator state including physical condition and mental status.

“We’re trying to develop a way or ways to convert all of the information we receive from our sensors and come up with a rating to describe how hard a pilot is working, how stressed and fatigued he or she is, and potentially what the level of situation awareness is,” Keller explained. “Once the classification algorithms are functional, we will explore countermeasures to mitigate against undesirable pilot states. We will also integrate with existing training modules to provide more effective and targeted training.”

Although the overall results of the lab’s research won’t be seen for another four years, Keller said they are seeing progress.

“We’re starting to use classification algorithms and we completed successful flight tests on the Bonanza and an F-35 simulator that was featured in the Navy booth at the conference we attended last month,” Keller said.

So what exactly does the future hold for these advanced pilot avionics?

“Eventually, the plane should be completely aware of the pilot’s cognitive and physical states,” Schnell said. “We want to know everything we can about the pilot’s current state at whatever point in time and have the plane be able to help with his or her workload. It is highly possible that a pilot will leave to use the restroom and return to find that the computer has made a list of his or her tasks and begun working on them.”

The gear currently used to map pilot’s condition is relatively extensive, consisting of sensors placed on the entire face. Schnell said, however, the goal is to eventually have sensors within the plane and lasers that would monitor the pilot and send information back to the sensors.

“As the research progresses, the gear we use will get smaller and smaller,” Schnell said. “Although most of our grants come from NASA and the military, the end results are primarily for commercial flying, and those pilots can’t be distracted with by large gear.”

Although the University of Iowa may seem an unlikely place for this research, Schnell said other labs of the same kind have nowhere near the capabilities of the Operator Performance Lab. It has garnered numerous awards, including a best paper award from the October 2006 Augmented Cognitive International Conference and they were featured in a documentary produced by the Discovery Channel.

Recognizing the importance of the lab, on Oct. 16, the Iowa City Council voted to expand the airport hangar they occupy by 25 percent, proposing an increase of 14,000 square feet in office space and 18,000 square feet in the actual hangar space.

Schnell said the lab’s increase in size will allow his entire team to work in one area and not only produce quicker results, but become overall more productive.

Lates.

God Bless You Mr. Vonnegut

Here I am again with another backlog. I wrote this and it appeared only online for the Daily Iowan.
I post it now.

God Bless Your Mr. Vonnegut

And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."

Kurt Vonnegut (1922 – 2007)

At 12:46 this morning a friend I had been talking to online told me that Kurt Vonnegut Jr. had just died. Without thinking, without emotion I went to cnn.com. I saw the picture, I read the story. I did the same at usatoday.com and newyorktimes.com. I read each article, I went through the slide shows of pictures and I stared at my computer. I ran my hands through my hair, I blinked and I rubbed my eyes over and over. One of my true heroes was gone. Now the emotion came.

I never imagined I would react this way to the death of someone I didn’t personally know. As I’m writing this my stomach is knotted and I’m stopping every few minutes to squeeze my temples and re-focus my eyes. Thinking about it now, it’s easy to see why I’m so affected. As well as being one of my heroes, Kurt Vonnegut served as my motivation. Motivation to write, motivation to do good, motivation to be conscious of the world around me, motivation to remember humor in the worst situations, motivation to be myself.

I first read Slaughterhouse 5 in my AP English class last year. Besides being the best book I’d ever been forced to read, it was one of the best books I’d ever read in general. We spent four weeks on it. We analyzed it, discussed it, and I chose to do an optional project on it. I read it again, and then again. I tried to get my hands on anything Mr. Vonnegut had written. I see myself in his stories, as I’m sure many people who read him do. His stories are about all of us. Not merely as Americans, but as human beings and the human race. Sometimes we are the protagonists, but mainly we are the antagonists. On the Grand Canyon, he once said that he’d like to carve these words: "We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard ... and too damn cheap." He meant for it to be read by the flying saucers that passed overhead.

Looking at my desk I can see remnants of him. A stack of books lie in the corner. Among them: Welcome to the Monkey House, The Sirens of Titan and God Bless You Mr. Goldwater. In the drawer next to me, is Cats Cradle. Amidst the clutter of papers nearest to me, are three fiction pieces I submitted for peer edit in a creative writing class. In all three, the words “so it goes” end at least one paragraph. On my computer, in my queue of movies for Blockbuster Online, is the 1972 film version of Slaughterhouse 5.

To say I idolized him would maybe be going to far, but maybe not. I find pieces of him in the things I write and the way I act in certain situations. I have begun stories, and realized halfway through that I am simply rewriting one of his. I’ve used Cats Cradle as a pickup line when I saw a girl reading it in the library. When something doesn’t go my way, after I’m through with anger and self pity, I can think only to myself: so it goes.

In part, I came to the University of Iowa because of him. Anyone that wants to write knows about or has aspirations of getting into the writers workshop. He was there. He was here. He walked these streets. He ate here, he drank here, he threw parties here, he chain-smoked outside of the Dey House and probably everywhere else. Kurt Vonnegut is one of those people you always wanted to meet. On a list of things you do before you die, it says: Meet Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (possibly get a picture if you don’t act like a pussy and get embarrassed) He’s right up there with the Dali Lahma and Jessica Alba.

There are certain people that have an impact on our lives; family, friends, teachers. Athletes may copy or learn by watching professional sports figures or coaches. For me, a wannabe writer/journalist/freethinker/American/human being, that person was Kurt Vonnegut, the writer/essayist/pessimistic/humanitarian. I didn’t watch him, I read him and I learned from him. So now, at 3:02 am, after I’ve dealt with the initial emotions of his passing and knowing that I will probably think about this until the end of the semester while running my hands through my hair and re-focusing my eyes, I can think only to myself and for everyone else affected tonight, “so it goes.”

Live by the harmless untruths that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.

-Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922 – 2007)

Save Porn! Save America!

Today I decided to take a look at the brainchild of Al Gore, Current TV, or at least their website. The concept behind the whole thing is that it is all user posted content and some of it even has an emphasis on real-time updating. Check out Al Gore's bastard child Current TV here.

I was browsing through and I found a shitty story - at least in terms of what it's about. There is a bill in Congress right now that would BAN porno magazines from all military bases. U.S. Rep Paul Broun (chode) says the bill was proposed in response to recent sexual assaults on military bases.

What I'm about to say is meant to be taken as a joke, but it was the first thing that came to my head: I BET IF THEY TAKE AWAY NUDIE MAGS FROM THESE BASES, THE SEXUAL ASSAULTS JUMP 25-40%. If a guy (or girl) can't blow off some stress by shooting his/gun or LOAD ( ah thank you ) then the next best thing is to go rape something.

- Sorry, that's not funny either, rape is serious, but hopefully you get the point.

Obviously, the soldiers are upset and they fucking should be. This is the same bullshit that gets pulled on the music, film and videogame industry. MUSIC, MOVIES AND VIDEOGAMES DON'T KILL PEOPLE. People kill people. They pull the triggers, they make the decision. (On a separate note, but still awesome no less, there is also an article on Current, about Harvard researchers with facts and data to support the claims that videogames do NOT make kids murderers, drug dealers and pimps).

Someone posted a response on Current, and they make an extremely good point. How can we take away freedoms from the people who are fighting for our freedom?

There's a whole lot more that can be said about these issues, but hopefully people get the point. Blame the person, or the parenting, not the naked pictures of Pamela Lee, cause god knows they've gotten me through some hard times.

In a Rush to Recruit

Back to a little journalism:
My first story this semester for my Freelance Journalism class (unfortunately i highly recommend NOT taking the class) was a piece on the newly structured rush process. It has gone through numerous edits and although this is the final version that my teacher likes and wants, I am not a fan of it. Despite that I am posting it here just to put it out somewhere.

The Iowa City Gazette has expressed interest in it for the Fall 2008 semester and perhaps I will edit it accordingly at that time. Here it is:

In a Rush to Recruit

Men visit seven houses on one day. Loud music assaults their ears. Someone they don’t know promises them all the girls, parties and alcohol they could ever want. The word “brotherhood” is thrown around, and seems to mean something between being passed out half-naked in a room with all of their buddies and throwing punches at anyone who speaks ill of their friends at the bars or on the street. Welcome to Greek recruitment.

The University of Iowa Interfraternity Council (IFC) has recently adopted a new recruitment, or, rush, structure for the fall 2008 semester. The decision came after fall 2007 rush recorded the lowest participation and recruitment numbers in three years.

Iowa had 873 men in its Greek community in the fall of 2002, and more than 300 men participated in rush that year. It has dropped to 689 men this year, and last fall only 155 participated in rush. Of those 155 participants, 122 joined houses.

As a new IFC executive council began its administration in January, it was these numbers that prompted a change.

In the past, rush has gone something like this: For a four-day period, men visited all fourteen Greek chapters. At the end of each day, they chose which houses they wanted to visit for a second and third time. They generally narrowed it down to seven houses and then a final three. At the same time, chapters decided which men they felt would represent their houses best, and allowed them to visit again. At the end of the four-day period, some men decided to join a house and others decided to stay independent. If they did join a house, they signed an official “bid card” to become a pledge in a chapter. Afterwards, a party was thrown in their behalf.

For years this process matched men with houses. However, falling membership signified that a change was needed.

Essentially this upcoming fall’s new routine goes like this:

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the Greek community will host a barbecue at Hubbard Park where any man interested in participating in rush will have a chance to meet among chapters members and register for rush. On Sunday, Sept. 7, men will visit each chapter house for 30 minutes. Monday through Wednesday of that week will be used for open visits, allowing the men in rush to visit any chapter they choose between 6 and 10 p.m. Thursday night will be referred to as Preference Night when each chapter will hold a closed event. During this time potential new members are invited to a chapter for their individual recruitment, which includes any type of legal, non-alcoholic event at any type of venue, from outdoor activities at a park or refreshments and food at a restaraunt. Men who are invited to Preference Night will ultimately be offered a bid for membership by any chapter inviting them back and rushees will choose which house to bid. On Friday, men will sign bid cards and attend a welcome party at their new house.

Recognizing the problems with rush in January, Dave Hartwig, president of IFC, and Faisal Qayyum, vice president of recruitment for IFC, worked diligently with Greek Life advisors in the Office of Student Life and chapter recruitment chairmen to create the new structure now in place.

“What we were doing in the past wasn’t working,” Qayyum said. “We were losing money, wasting time, and not giving our chapters the opportunity to recruit the men that would make up the futures of their houses.”

Sean Prendergast, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon, believe the old rush structure only worked to breed awkward conversations and unfair judgments based on looks and short conversations.

“Whether or not a guy was accepted into a house was based on how they survived in five- to-10- minute conversations where they were asked the same ‘get-to-know-you’ questions by people they’d just met,” Prendergast said. “We didn’t get a fair idea of them, and they didn’t get a fair idea of us.”

After fall 2007 rush attracted a record low number of participants and pledges, the new officers of IFC decided in January to develop a new rush process that would solve some of the problems that have made it harder and harder to recruit new members to UI fraternities.

Some of the reasons rush failed in the past can be attributed to the pre-rush process as well as rush itself. It used to cost $75 to participate, there was a sign up before rush started, and it was held a week before classes even began. This year, it will only cost $45, men can register as late as the day rush begins, and it starts two weeks into the school year with an all greek barbecue at Hubbard Park.

On April 24, Qyyaum will run a workshop designed to educate all chapters on recruitment tactics and conduct. The point is to help chapters move away from a dependence on formalized rush and make recruitment effective at any time in the year.

Chapters do have the ability now to informally rush new members during the spring and summer. Although summer recruitment is rarely used, Qayyum and Hartwig believe it is essential to the growth of Iowa’s men’s Greek community.

“If chapters shift their attention to informally recruiting members in the summer, it has the potential to completely change the face of the community at Iowa,” Hartwig said.

Hartwig went on to explain that summer rush allows chapters to enter the structured fall rush with an already solid base of new members, taking away some of the pressure.

Both Hartwig and Qayyum expect the new rush process to bring 450-500 men through the rush process this year.

“With low numbers, our chapters must be able to recruit in any situation at any time of year. If our chapters can learn to recruit effectively and bring in multiple pledge classes a year, then our Greek community can stay strong for a long time.”

The new rush structure can be viewed at the recently re-vamped IFC website, www.uiowaifc.com.

Source List

Dave Hartwig

IFC President

39A Iowa Memorial Union

Cell: 303.883.8239

Office: 319.335.3267

E-Mail: David-Hartwig@uiowa.edu

Faisal Qayyum

IFC Vice President of Recruitment

39A Iowa Memorial Union

Cell: 630.750.5325

E-Mail: Faisal-Qayyum@uiowa.edu

Kelly-Jo Karnes

Associate Director – Office of Student Life

145 Iowa Memorial Union

Office: 319.335.3059

E-Mail: KellyJo-Karnes@uiowa.edu

Sarah McCracken

Office of Student Life

145 Iowa Memorial Union

Office: 319.335.3059

E-mail: Sarah-McCracken@uiowa.edu

Sean Prendergast

Sigma Phi Epsilon President

704 N Dubuque St.

Cell: 630.890.1664

E-mail: Sean-Prendergast@uiowa.edu

Personal Interview (In Person/Phone)

In Person

Between: Nathan Ley and Dave Hartwig – IFC President

Locations: Sigma Chi House January 30, Delta Chi House February 12, University of Iowa February 26

Phone

Between: Nathan Ley and Dave Hartwig at 303.883.8239

Dates: February 14, February 23

In Person

Between: Nathan Ley and Faisal Qayyum – IFC VP of Recruitment

Locations: Sigma Chi House January 30, Delta Chi House February 12, University of Iowa February 26

Phone

Between Nathan Ley and Faisal Qayyum at 630-750-5325

Dates: January 29, February 12, February 23

E-mail Message

Between: Nathan Ley(Nathan-ley@uiowa.edu) and Dave Hartwig (david-hartwig@uiowa.edu)

Dates: February 12, 16 and 26

E-mail Message

Between: Nathan Ley(nathan-ley@uiowa.edu) and Faisal Qayyum (faisal-qayyum@uiowa.edu)

Dates: February 5, 12, 17, 23, 26

E-Mail Message

Between: Nathan Ley(Nathan-ley@uiowa.edu) and Kelly Jo Karnes – Associate Director Office of Student Life (kellyjo-karnes@uiowa.edu)

Dates: February 20,23,26

E-Mail Message

Between: Nathan Ley(Nathan-ley@uiowa.edu) and Sarah-McCracken – Graduate Teaching Assistant (sarah-mccracken@uiowa.edu)

Dates: February 14, 23, 26

World Wide Website

University of Iowa IFC

www.uiowaifc.com/recruitment

Accessed March 1, 2008

Updated daily

Observation

All sites visited in January and February of 2008

Sigma Chi House – 703 N Dubuque St – Recruitment meeting held there 1/30/08

Delta Chi House – Recruitment meeting held there 2/12/08

IMU – Class with Hartwig, Qayyum, McCracken and Karnes every Monday

God's Winks

My parents are relatively religious people. My dad a Roman Catholic and my mom a Congregationalist. My dad helps seat people at mass, and my mom attends bible study every Tuesday. They aren't corny or anything, but they do have a tendency to read Mitch Albom books and some what I used to and still somewhat do consider lame faith books.

Maybe three years ago, they each read a book called When God Winks, about little everyday things that prove there is a God. They tried to get me to read it, but as a teenager, and already knowing everything like I did back then, I called it cheesy and refused. Two weeks ago something small happened in my life, and I sent my parents this e-mail.

Mom and Dad,

You both know I certainly believe in God and although not all of the practices of the Catholic Church, at least a good amount of them. At the same time, you know I don't particularly like the sappy religious stuff and what not. However, I must tell you this story - because yes I have had other moments like the one I'm about to explain to you, but if nothing else they reaffirm for me, the existence of a higher presence.

The other day on Campus, an Asian man was going around asking for donations. I couldn't really understand what he was saying, or exactly what the donations were for. He asked me for one in the morning, and I told him I couldn't because I didn't have any cash in my wallet. I saw him also get denied by most of the other students he asked. I walked away and didn't think much about it.

At around five o'clock of the same day, I came out of class and was waiting for the bus home. I saw the same Asian man asking for donations of the people across the street. They both denied him, and upon looking around, saw me waiting alone for the bus. As he bound for me, I could see the bus approaching down the road, about 3 minutes away. He asked me for a donation, and I looked in my wallet for cash, I had none, but he saw my debit card and pointed toward it, clearly signaling that I could use it to make a donation. He was very persistent, so I gave in. He asked how much I wanted to donate, and I said 10$ and he told me the minimum was 50$. Obviously I didn't have the money, and so he showed me a different sheet that said for $20 I could help feed children in a China orphanage. So I agreed to donate $20. As I started filling out my billing information for him, the bus was just about to get to me, and I began to get afraid that I wouldn't finish filling out my information and I would miss the bus. At this same time, Thunder boomed and it started to sprinkle.

As I finished filling out my information, the bus passed me carrying a sign saying: Not In Service. As the Asian man thanked me and walked away, I somewhat cursed my luck and prepared to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus in the rain.

Maybe two seconds after the man left, I heard someone say: " Do you need a ride?" I turned to see a car by the bus stop, with a guy I didn't recognize looking at me. "I asked if he was talking to me," and he said" " you live at Sigma Chi don't you?" I asked him how he knew that, and it turns out he was a friend of an older guy in the house. Again, as it turns out, he had been at the house two weeks earlier drinking with some of the older guys and I had met him for maybe two seconds. He then proceeded to be extremely nice, and drop me off at the house.

The fact that he was drinking and remembered my face is pretty amazing in itself. The fact that he offered me a ride, as it started to rain, after I had made a donation for an amount much more than I had intended and a bus I had been waiting for turned out to not be in service... well that, that is a wink.

Love,
Nate

Please don't take this the wrong way, and think I am giving myself props for my donation and what not. Believe me, I really didn't want to give the man any money, and certainly not anymore than ten bucks. But he goaded me, and smiled and I eventually felt either so much like a jackass or just totally awkward (not sure which, you make the call) that I did. And then I got a ride home out of the rain from an almost stranger.

Call it luck, or coincidence. Call it whatever. I think God Winked at me - and I definitely know he's smirked and flipped me off a couple times too. And I definitely deserved those.

-Lates

I Can't Feel My Face... And Neither Can Ned Yost

So the playoffs have started, and they make me happy. But let's talk about a few things.

For those of you who don't pay too much attention to the NBA, and particularly the Cavs, Wizards series, it may be the most interesting of the first round. Why might you ask? Shit talking, that's why. Here's the deal. Before the series even started, Gilbert Arenas essentially said: Everyone wants to play the Cavs because they limped into the playoffs, and we know we can easily beat them. On top of that, DeShawn Stevenson called LeBron James one of the most overrated players in the NBA.

For those of you playing at home, the Cavs are up 2-0 in the series, beating the Wizards by 30 in game two. LBJ has scored 30 + points in each game.

I'm all for shit talking, and whether the Wizards did it as a motivational tool, or as Arenas said, to distract LeBron, I don't really care. But the fact is they did shit talk and LeBron has so far completely embarrassed them with his play and his celebrations.

In case you didn't know, sometime last year, Stevenson decided to make "I Can't Feel My Face," his catchphrase. So usually when he hits a three, he runs down the court waving his open hand in front of his face. He even made t-shirts this year with the slogan on it and had them handed out to the crowd. Pretty badass if you asked me.

I love players like DeShawn. He is the Clinton Portis type, dressing up crazy for practice, shaking things up and always trying to get the crowd involved.

With that being said, I think "I Can't Feel My Face" is dead. DeShawn has been guarding LeBron the entire series and sometimes vice versa, and Lebron has 62 points already - not to mention the best part.

Remember the unbelievable slam LBJ had in game one? The one where he caught the ball behind his bed with his back arched, his head above the rim and threw it down with a thunderous scream. Remeber that one? The one that brought all of Cleveland to its feet and made every Washington player die just a little inside. Try and find it again, because guess what LeBron did when he ran down the court?

HE WAVED HIS HAND IN FRONT OF HIS FACE BECAUSE HE COULDN'T FEEL IT.

He has since somewhat overused it, but it may never get old to me. If you're going to talk shit, back it up, and if not get out of the way when the thunder comes down.

To make matters worse for DeShawn, when the Cavs were up 25 in the fourth quarter of game two, Damon Jones, who hadn't played a minute yet, drilled a three from the left side. Guess what he did while running down the court. Yea, he waved his hand in front of his face, and the camera panned to LeBron who was doing it on the bench and laughing.

Sorry DeShawn, I think it's time for a new gimmick.

. . .

And now to the second part of the title of this post.

I want Guillermo Mota to be the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sure Gagne has sixe saves, but he also has four blown saves. He's the Borowski of the National League.

But the real problem and I'm sure people will disagree with me, is that Ned Yost cannot manage pitching at the end of the game. We saw it last year, and it cost us a trip to the playoffs, and we're starting to see it again this year.

Ned Yost can't feel his face...in a bad way. No offense Ned, but that burning feeling you get in your cheeks every time you make a pitching change past the 7th inning - it's embarrassment.

I understand sticking by a closer for a little and giving him time to adjust, but it seems somewhat clear that Gagne still needs roids to be effective. If anything, Yost should be quick to change closers, considering the past trouble we've had with TurnBlow.

I like Ned Yost, I really do, I just honestly don't think he can manage pitching past the seventh inning. At least try something new. The Brewers should be tied, if not leading the division right now, were it not for those blown saves. How long is it going to take until someone understands that.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but well I like seeing the Brewers win.

I just downloaded the new Flight of the Conchords CD and the new Atmosphere CD. Both are pretty good. Have a listen, see what you think.

-Lates

More on ACTUAL Sports

Now that the debate has - at least from my end - been posted and recorded, I can move on to everything else.

April is a fucking awesome month. Baseball season begins and, in what has become one of the best years for NBA basketball, the playoffs begin.

I'll start with the playoffs. Unfortunately, I can't celebrate the man at the top of this post anymore this month - on Monday night, the Suns officially knocked the Warriors and B Davis out of the playoffs. Thus the 8th and final spot in the West goes to the Denver Nuggets, on a day when not only did Carmelo Anthony get arrested for a DUI, but he also got a ride to his hotel from the police. (His fiance refused to come get him - luckily the guys who tagged and bagged him where able to get him home safe - fucking ridiculous.

- All of this happens and we're still waiting to hear/understand why Don Nelson sat Davis for the entire second half of Monday's game.

- The Lakers clinched the 1 spot last night and probably a Kobe MVP, while the Hornets and CP3 clinched the 2 spot.

On Facebook right now, there is a new NBA Playoffs application that allows you to predict the playoffs. Mine for this year: Suns vs. Celtics - Garnett brings another Banner to Boston after a 22 year drought. Hoops Addict wrote an awesome futuristic piece about what happens in the 08 playoffs and it's extremely cool. Check it out here.

Of course, with my man-crush on LeBron, I have to give he and the Cavs some hope in my mind, but unfortunately, he still doesn't have the supporting cast. He needs a Pippen and he doesn't have it. With all that being said, I'll be wearing my LBJ jersey on the 19th in the Ozarks no matter what.

Transition: baseball

Yesterday, Jeff Passan wrote a great article on Griffey, Jackie Robinson and the declining number of African American players now in the MLB. Read it here.

It makes some very interesting points about Griffey and how he helped market version as the kid who played for love of the game and all that. (I actually had a poster of him on my wall in the exact pose as the one above, only he was wearing a backwards cap and it said Moonshot at the top. I wish I could find that...)

The article also talks about how Griffey was the first to call Bud Selig and ask to wear Jackie Robinson's number to remember his legacy and continue his legend.

Towards the end however, Griffey talks about the decline of black players in baseball and mentions the treatment of the league and fans on Barry Bonds as part of the reason. Now I love Griffey and we all know my stance on the asterik cheater that is Barry Bonds, but I'm not sure how much I like Grifs comments.

I HONESTLY, 100% DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WHO HATES BARRY BONDS, DOES SO BECAUSE HE IS BLACK. Once again, race is being made an issue where it shouldn't be. The color of Barry Bond's skin has no merit on the hatred he gets. IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE THINK HE CHEATED.

Obviously there were other who did too, and some people - Griffey being one - may ask, why isn't there any such scrutiny being put on them. The answer is the record.

Before Bonds hit 72 in a season, he was already a guarenSHEED hall of famer. No question. The thing that pisses people off, and me especially, is the fact that he took "performance enhancing drugs" in order to break one of the most coveted records in all of sports.

Towards the end of last season, Hammerin Hank gave a speech at Miller Park commemorating the Milwaukee Braves. He spoke of fans and legacy and when he spoke of all those things, especially the city of Milwaukee and it's support during his own run, there was somewhat of a noticeable grimace. Take it as you will, I'm going to take it as this: Fuck Barry Bonds, not for his race or skin color, but for the blemish he left on baseball and history.

During a week when we do celebrate a man for his skin color in conjuncture with baseball, it is kind of sickening that Barry himself and others still play the race card.

I just wonder what Jackie would say about all of this.