Digging through the Wreck 'Ems

Welcome back students; so long summer

2008-08-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well, after a few months of sunny days and nearly catatonic traffic levels at campus hotspots, the Texas Tech is bustling again. The fall semester has started. This is a development I welcome with mixed emotions. While it's nice seeing the pulse quicken around here, I tend to get spoiled by roadways free of blindered students and lines no more than three people deep at the Student Union. Oh well, here we go.

This year we welcome our largest and most diverse freshman class in history. We have abour 5,045 new students on campus -- 12 percent larger than last year -- and increased our minority student numbers, which is always a good thing. We increased black enrollment by 4 percent, and saw 17 percent more Hispanics enroll.

And the gains didn't cut academic quality -- these students actually boast higher average SAT scores.

So, on that note, welcome back.

Go Live

2008-04-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

If you're in the market for a T-shirt -- or skateboard deck -- be sure to check out Live Clothing. They have some awesome works from some really amazing artists and have lowered their standards a bit to include me lol. My stuff is on two T-shirts and a skateboard deck so far. You can see the designs on the company's Myspace page or visit the Website.

The Chancellor-Office Shuffle

2008-04-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Keeping track of the careers of college administrators is a bit like watching one of those street-corner cup tricks: if you're not paying close attention, there's no telling where they might turn up.

This morning presented two examples of this principle as both a former chancellor and soon-to-be former president were mentioned as possible future leaders of other systems.

The first suggestion came from the Gov., Rick Perry, who mentioned John Montford in casual conversation over hamburgers at San Antonio's famous greasepit Chris Madrid's. Apparently Montford, Texas Tech's first chancellor -- and fundraising powerhouse -- might be the man who could tie on the shoes of UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof, who's scuttling the Longhorns in favor of a gig heading that university system out in California.

And Jon Whitmore, who's stepping down as Texas Tech's president, is himself apparently a candidate for a chancellor's job at Louisiana State University. Whitmore just removed himself as a candidate for president at Portland State University.

Dizzy Yet?

A pleasant surprise

2008-04-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Had a pleasant surprise on Friday. I'd been contacted a few months ago by Jordann, a Texas Tech student and KTXT DJ, about submitting a picture for inclusion in a book she was creating on Lubbock artists. Word was, the book would go on display at Stein's on Q for the First Friday Art Trail. I gave her a handful, including the one above. Figured she could choose between them.

Anyway, was curious to see what would result, especially since it seemed like everything was way behind deadline. So I drop into Stein's Friday expecting to see a book propped up on the counter or something. Instead, there are at least three of my pieces hanging on the wall as part of a full-bore exhibition that will be up for the next month or so. Awesome event. Keg in the corner, DJ mixing in the other and a graffiti art display outside.

SSo go grab some coffee or a sandwhich. I'll be on the wall.

Law, livestock and chess

2008-04-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

What do these three things have in common? Just a few months ago, I would have said not much. It's growing increasingly apparent, however, that these might be the biggest dynasties in an admittedly sports-rich school.

Case in point: Just today we announced that a Texas Tech debate team won a national championship while the Meat Evaluation Team won its second in a row.

This announcement by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences came only days after Texas Tech's livestock, meat and wool judging teams completed a sweep of intercollegiate judging competitions at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Meat Judging Team won its fourth consecutive title.

Another Texas Tech law team won the 2008 Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Rocky Mountain Region.

Meanwhile, the Knight Raiders, led by Susan Polgar, recorded their best finish in team history and were honored for their outreach efforts by the Texas Association of Partners in Education.

Working life sucks

2008-03-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

It's nearly nine and the toothpicks are still straining beneath my eyelids. Coffee isn't helping. My muscles feel like they're tied to lead weights. I love Daylight Saving's Time.

I did, however, have a nice little sleep-in yesterday. Came breezing into work at 8:10, bugged about being ten minutes late but figuring Texas Tech will survive, log in to my computer screen, look down at the clock in the corner and, huh, that's weird. 9:15? That can't be right. No way I took so long to get to work. Unless... wait a second. It's spring. Spring. Spring forward...

Damn, the clock's right, which means that I'm missing the Monday morning staff meeting that began 15 minutes ago. I dash down the hall and drag a chair up to the full conference table just about the time the meeting is wrapping up. Brilliant.

I had no such excuses today. Up and out of bed at like 4:30 according to body clock time. Horrible. I want to be sleeping. I want to duck out on an early spring break like all the students on campus have. Working life sucks.

Of course, I do get to set things on fire today, so that's not bad. We are making a commercial for Texas Tech's Emergency Alert System. The concept is a parody on the old game of telephone, where a message gets twisted as it is passed down the line. This one turns a simple class closing into a plague outbreak, wildfires on campus and, ultimately, a fireball dropping out of space.

Today I think we're going to play with burning a ball of paper and throwing it across a room to see if we can't get some really high-tech special effects. Hopefully we won't have to activate the emergency system because of it.

Is iTunes really psychic?

2008-02-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

The song is Cuts You Up. Sung by Peter Murphy, formerly of goth pioneers Bauhaus. I don't know any of this. Or remember, really. All I've got is a snatch of song cycling through my head.

Frustrating.

Damn frustrating.

Just curious at this point -- scratching a mental itch. Driving me crazy not having words to put to the music.

But, since I don't even know the lyrics, I can't Google it. Believe me I tried. But how do you search for a song that could have been sung anywhere from, oh, like '83 to maybe the mid-ninties? Especially when the singer's not on the cover of People every week. Hell, you can't even think of another song to cross-reference.

Oh, and the lyrics I do happen to remember, I don't remember. Turns out I don't remember them correctly, anyway.

So I Google. I Google. I Google. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Parrot squawking song clattering between my ears.

This itch is becoming an infection.

I ramboogle, typing in overblown strings of search terms that I hope will grab something, anything -- some hint of a whiff of a clue.

Collective Soul. That's what I get. Collective Soul. Collective Soul.

Infection's spreading. Getting more painful. Suddenly it's all I can think of. Need to know. Must know.

I'll never know.

After all, what are the odds of it popping on the radio sometime, oh, in the next ten years? Slim.

I give up. Hate to, but I'll live. I mean, could be worse. You know, it could be an arm I'm looking for, my name, something essential like that. So I can't remember a song. Oh well.

That was three weeks ago. Today I sit down from my computer after lunch. iTunes is up because I was charging my iPod. Just for kicks I decide to check out the store. I never do this. For me, the store is typically serves as a launching pad, a starting point allowing me to dash off on whim song searches.

Today, I just want to look. You know, see what's new. And under all those slick buttons that I typically ignore is a box titled Just for You. I've never scrolled down this far. Two years of iTunes and I've never scrolled this far.

Suggestions aren't bad. Really, kind of spooky how close these programs are to tabulating my eclectic and admittedly esoteric music tastes. Second offering: Cuts You Up, by Peter Murphy.

Wait a second. That looks familiar. Could it be? Surely not...

It is.

I'm getting this computer exorcised. But first I downloaded the song. Don't want to go through that again.

Valentines Beware

2008-02-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

So I sit down at my computer yesterday. I check my Outlook folder. E-mail from Hallmark. Early Valentine, I suppose. After all, this is the season, and my family doesn't hesitate to send some electronic love.

Anyway, I open the E-mail and... weird. Instead of a sender, there is a url address. Red flags. Road flares. All kinds of warning signals flashing. I go ahead and take it a step further, wincing slightly, and click. Instead of going to Hallmark's Web site, which is typically the routine, I get a little gray box asking me if I'm ready to download a file. Yeah, uh, I think I'll cancel that order.

I decide to try the safe route. Go to Hallmark, enter the username and password in the e-mail. No dice. Hallmark doesn't recognize the digits. I try again. Same results.

Yep. Virus, I'm pretty sure.

I sit down at my computer today. Checking the news. Come across this little story about Valentine's greetings spreading trojans. That was close.

My point? Valentine's day is a dangerous occassion as it is. Don't increase the hazards by opening bogus cards. There will be plenty of potential landmines anyway.

Coming soon...

2008-02-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

to a computer near you: Texas Tech is making its first official venture into the wacky and admittedly addicting realm of user-submitted online video. On Monday, we will announce the launch of a new channel created in cooperation with video behemoth YouTube.

There, amongst all the basement comedians and amateaur pupeteers jostling for attention; the Rubik's Cube demonstrations, the self inflicted injuries, the sobbing fans, the song remixes, the sentimental compilations -- and, yes, the girls jiggle-dancing in their bathrooms wearing tank tops and booty shorts -- we will try to snag some eyes as we make the case that Texas Tech is the coolest university ever (see accompanying video below).

The site is an enhanced channel, meaning we get bells and whistles the average posting Joe doesn't: linked banners, avatars and bigger, longer videos. Due to the nature of the site, we took a bit of a gamble with the page and broke from the university's typical look. We asked Dirk Fowler, an associate professor in the School of Art known internationally for his concert posters, to design the banners and wallpaper.

We also left open a playlist for content generated by students, faculty, staff -- whoever -- to possibly include their content. Oh, and I made a cartoon -- the first of several I have planned, although this is admittedly the most elaborate. It's a bit rough, but I had fun making it. I used the free 3-D animation lab at the Texas Tech Library. Cool stuff.

Anyway, visit the site Monday: www.YouTube.com/TexasTech.

And now for the cartoon:
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The season in review

2008-01-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

As far as laying groundwork goes, this was a good season. Say what you will about turning corners and moving to next levels, Red Raider Nation can settle into this off-season with some degree of satisfaction. After all, these guys flipped what should have been a dud fall into some important currency for the 2008 campaign (thankfully no Obama on this trail).

Texas Tech ended the year ranked 22 by the AP and 23 in the Coaches Poll. Stewart Mandel of SI ranked the Raiders at 14. Not necessarily chump change for a rebuilding team.

If he accomplished nothing else this season, Leach managed to embellish Lubbock pirate lore a bit further with a late-season romp on a Sooners team that had its eyes on the national title (and, granted, later died painfully in the desert) and a miracle 3-minute rally in the Gator Bowl. Those 17 points the Raiders hung around Chris Long's neck may have cemented this team's legacy as comeback bowlers. You doubt the buzz? They're even talking about the team's clutch play in Canada.

Plus, Crabtree, who'd already managed to haul in just about every honor a freshman reciever can hope for, was named the AT&T All-American of the Year. Now, this fan-chosen title may lack the street cred of certain other mantlepieces (you know, the one with the pose), but it provided prime real estate for showcasing the freshman on college football's biggest stage.

Now for next season. Not to jinx anything, because, yeah, the Raiders know how to stumble on their shoelaces when things get rolling, but the elements are in place for a break-through season.
What was one of the youngest teams in the nation will have matured a vital year. The Double Tpops up in the top 20 of preseason predictions in places such as Rivals.com. Tech loses two solid players in Amendola and Trlica, but returns a cast of characters that should be poised to continue tossing up gaudy stats and stretching defenses. As for ours? It's moving in the right direction and hopefully McNeill can patch the remaining leaks enough to avoid any further shoot-outs.

Oh, and Missouri and Colorado are off the schedule. This could indeed be a good year.

Crank that Crabtree

2007-12-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

The season played out like a prolonged highlight reel, like Sports Center extended to fill Jerry Lewis rotations -- a barrage of quick leaps and long strides across emerald turf, frozen defenders, zebras throwing their hands up in the air. The result: 1,861 yards, 125 receptions, and 21 touchdowns. Rumor is Superman read those numbers and wept. We're talking the type of statistical pork typically barreled away by Spartans or Wolverines.

You Red Raiders know who I'm talking about. The guy who brought crab hats to Lubbock football.

The Man of Steel's got nothing on his guns. Hurtle stadiums? Chase down trains? Please. Those were the things he did while the defense was on the field. Michael Crabtree bolted through Lubbock like an early bout of those ferocious Spring winds. Inspired Soulja Boy rewrites. Glued Sooners' toes to the turf. Sent cheerleaders scuttling.

Now he waltzes into the off season acknowledged as the best freshman receiver to play college football (the first to ever win the Biletnikoff award) and the first freshman All-American since Herschel Walker.

End highlight reel. Well, not quite. There's still a bit of Gator wrestling down in Florida.

Looking forward to seeing it.

Like Mike

2007-11-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Before I go dose myself with dressing, a bit of holiday goodwill on behalf of our alumni in Dallas:

It seems Mike Leach's won't be short $10,000 -- or not all of it, at least -- thanks to the dedication of his (Texas Tech's) fans. Leach was fined by the Big 12 for -- gasp! -- daring to question the officiating of a game.

Granted, UT did most of the damage without the help of zebras. And, yeah, a public flogging wasn't the most PC way to handle the situation. But that's Leach. Pirate flags in West Texas? Guest game introductions by Donald Trump? Such things have become part of life around Lubbock.

So this is a symbolic gesture of support, Dallas businessman Brian Mayes, who is leading the effort, told the Dallas Morning News.

Contact Mayes at ilikemikefund@gmail.com.

Gator-Raided

2007-11-20T06:40:00.001-08:00

For a team that started the season sporting the second-youngest team in the country, lacking its three most vaunted receivers and picked by the people who supposedly matter to place fifth -- fifth! -- in the Big 12 South (that's out of six teams, folks), a New Year's Day bowl seems a bit beyond expectations.
Yet here we are coming off a win over the reeling "weren't we #3 last week?" Sooners -- yeah, the luck had to end sooner or later guys (forgive me that one) -- and already getting courted by the Gator Bowl.
A quote from Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett: "They've got an opportunity to break the Top 25 after all these games play out over the next couple of weeks, so they should be ranked, and they're one of the best offenses in America. If you're a college football fan and you don't like the way they play offense, there's something wrong with you.''
Granted, there are caveats. Two teams from the Big 12 need to get into BCS bowls, which, ironically, may hinge on OU not completely collapsing and tallying another loss against OSU this weekend, which is completely possible. So I think this weekend I'll be rooting for OU. And Kansas.

It's not too late!

2007-11-14T07:11:00.001-08:00

I really hit the snooze button on announcing this one, but for those of you who either believe you can play chess or are fascinated by people who can, this is for you: SPICE Cup 2007, the biggest invitational, international, inter-whatever chess tournament held on U.S. soil in five years and within Texas borders since 1972. Yeah, you think you're smart. You aren't. Not like this. The average rating of these players is 2,527. You need a 2,400 to earn the U.S. Chess Federation’s highest class designation of senior master.
Me? I'm doing good if I remember which one's the queen.
Anyway, it's a bit surreal seeing these people -- players from places like Mexico and Russia -- congregating in the Texas Tech Student Union Building to play. The event began Nov. 9 and wraps up Friday. You can keep up with the action through Susan Polgar's blog or watch it live here.

Pack it up, Pack it in

2007-11-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

So what do the people of Wolfforth know that Lubbock does not?

How to party, apparently.

Yeah, that's right, nipping a bit of the hair-of-the-dog after a hard Friday night will be that much easier now that the Wolfforth City Council unanimously approved an amendment to its city ordinance allowing beer sales to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturdays.

A year after Wolfforth residents jumped light years ahead of Lubbock in progressiveness (into the 20th century) by voting to approve package beer and wine sales, they made it that much easier for their residents to get their hands on a cold brew -- surely a source of ire for those of us in the Hub City still schlepping down the highway to get our hard-earned money yanked out like teeth at the Strip.

The Strip, ah the lovely Strip. I have rather mixed feelings on this particular Lubbock icon. While I'd hate to see it go for aesthetic reasons -- those garish, glittering, blinking signs evoke all that is kitschy and wonderful of Americana -- I think it stands as a painful indicator of how far Lubbock has to go to be a metropolitan center of the sophistication it aspires to.

Of course, part of the problem with expanding Lubbock's liquor sales is explained rather concisely by the Avalanche-Journal's Eric Finley here, but still. The Lubbock City Council has incorporated the Strip inside its city limits, so it's drawing revenue from all those beer sales. People are still risking lives by driving down highways at midnight to either stock up or reload. Alcohol is still overpriced and Lubbockites are still explaining the nuances of their semi-dry city to outsiders.

So I propose that we, the citizens of Lubbock, sit back, take a few minutes to think things over, and (to steal that now-ubiquitous teen pop-religion catch-phrase) ask "what would Wolfforth do?"

Vick 'em

2007-10-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

I was going to try to remain above the fray on this one, but as I've been reading forum after forum related to the (admittedly) reprehensible Vick 'Em T-shirts being printed in advance of the A&M grudgematch, I see that the uptight Aggies have once again taken up their incredibly witty cry of "Classless Clowns" over the reference. As if they're any better.

I'll start by saying that I hate the T-shirts. I hate that students will buy and ultimately wear them. They are not something that is sanctioned by the university and should not be misconstrued as representing Texas Tech's student body. Sometimes kids with no taste let things get out of hand. In fact, I put up a picture of a banner created by A&M students as an example of how ugly these kinds of things get. The pleasant little bit of artwork pictured above was waving over the A&M campus. Nice.

I also hate that this game (rivalry, A&M can't seem to admit it, but they can't seem to win it either, so maybe it, after all, isn't) has digressed to the point where we have had riots in our stands. Of course this type of stuff makes us look bad. And I really hope our new spirit campaign takes root and gets us to the point where we are as classy as Nebraska.

But I must say, A&M brings much of this upon itself. For one thing, Aggies can't take a joke; the ones I know bristle with wounded dignity at any reference to their school that is nothing less than unquestioning diefication. So of course it's fun to taunt them. They make it fun. And it's not like they don't return the favor.

In fact, here's a bunch of Aggies plotting out a spam and prank call campaign against the student who produced the T-shirts:

http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=12&topic_id=977413

If it's Good Enough for Teddy...

2007-09-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

Atop the admittedly nebulous and constantly shifting list of men I most admire, Teddy Roosevelt enjoys a permanent place. In my mind, at least, his life plays out in a sepia wash of shaking fists and bold gestures, this asthmatic-turned-pugilist (and ultimately president) -- his teeth biting down on his words, ideas big as American expansion -- charging Spanish artillery lines up Cuban hills.

In fact, I'm the type of guy who drives into downtown San Antonio to visit the Menger Hotel's famous bar just to savor the novelty of sipping scotch (or dark ale, at least, damn it!) in the same room where Teddy once rallied up Rough Riders.

So, needless to say, this little tidbit of Texas Tech history caught my eye the other day: I'm abashed to admit that I didn't know this, but our first permanent band director, hired in 1926,
was a veteran of the Spanish-American War who served as Roosevelt's bandmaster in the San Juan Hill campaign.

Of course, Harry Lemaire did a few good things for our Goin' Band from Raiderland as well, including making it the first college band to travel to an away game (thus the Goin' part) and to have its half-time broadcast on radio.

Better yet? Humorist Will Rogers (whose statue now stands on campus, his horse's tail turned toward A&M) helped finance the trip because he wanted Fort Worth to see a "real West Texas Band and hear some real West Texas Music."

Amen, brother.

Alexander Supertramp

2007-09-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

So, as is probably the case with anyone who feels a bit "in the know" about something, I'm a bit thrilled and a bit bummed to see the movie adaption of the best-selling "Into the Wild" open today.

When I was working up in AK, my home was actually not far from the place where Christopher McCandless slowly, sadly died of starvation (and maybe a long poisoning) in a stranded bus used as a shelter for Moose Hunters. I knew a couple of guys who tried to see the bus. They couldn't get to it. The bus wasn't as easy to reach as you'd think. It had been towed back into the spectacular wilderness during some failed road project or something (can't remember the details exactly) and left to rot. The river -- the very river that killed McCandless by cutting off his exit route, in fact -- was up and they couldn't get to it. Still, their story of trying to find it had a "Stand by Me" quality to it that still gives me chills.

Anyway, later I read the book and passed it on to others. It is the fascinating story of a boy who rejects society and, under the name Alexander Supertramp, tramps across much of North America. And while I'm glad to see that it's going to get more exposure, at the same time I'm sad, as always, to see something that somehow felt private -- like "Friday Night Lights" did before the movie -- get boosted into the pop culture stratosphere (yeah, I know, both books were best-sellers, but movies just seem so much more... public). At least it appears to have been done well.

Thirty wet fuses

2007-09-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

The anticipation, the dread, has been mounting for three decades. Now the day is finally here and I feel a bit like I've been handed a wet fuse -- thirty of them, to be precise. Yes, it's arrived: the death of my youth; the dawning of the slide toward what the retirement industry so gushingly refers to as my "golden years." (I'd rather just hear David Bowie sing it, thank you). Yeah, that's right, my birthday cake had one of those black tombstone candles on it that says 30. And really, it's not so bad. I woke up, took a shower, ate breakfast. So far I'm doing okay.

That's not to say the shock won't wear off sometime soon, say, when I notice that yet another gray hair has crept into the thankfully still-thick fold. I suppose I should start looking into acting like an adult sometime soon, though every instinct in my body cries out against it. I got carded buying beer the other day and for that I was absurdly grateful.

Besides, if this day does wind up turning sour, well, I have one consolation: I don't remember the day of my birth thirty years ago, so by that rationale I shouldn't remember this birthday when I turn 60 (of course, by then I may not remember much at all).

Genteel? Just ask the Aggies.

2007-09-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Football? Obviously. Basketball? Why not? But who would have expected Texas Tech, located smack-dab in the spotlit center of a gridiron bastion and proud home of the irascible Bobby Knight, to become known for chess and golfing pursuits?

Not that either of these are particularly new news items, but it struck me the other day that they share an interesting theme: things-you-wouldn't-expect-to-encounter-in-West-Texas.

First off, Susan Polgar, international chess phenom and new head of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence, was elected the new chairman of the U.S. Chess Federation. She's the first person to fill the role. This means the face of U.S. chess is now living here in Lubbock.

And the Rawls golf course has gotten some nice reviews in golf magazines since it opened; now a prominent magazine for golf course superintendents has ranked it the third college course in the country. And Yale and Williams College aren't bad tee partners.

I love it. Of course, I don't think any of this will hurt the football attendance any.

How bizarre?

2007-09-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so, you know, I'm glad that our mascot's getting some credit and all, but really, in any conversation involving a walking fur tree, a smiling orange juice glass (or whatever the hell it is out at Syracuse) and a dog that makes its owners sleep on the floor (which is where all Aggies should sleep anyway, in my opinion), how could a masked bandit possibly be deemed bizarre? So while I am glad Pete Fiutak listed the Masked Rider as one of the nation's top 25 college mascots, I must say that I'm a bit baffled by his description of the mascot. I mean, really, Ohio State has a waving chestnut, why is the Masked Rider bizarre? We're Red Raiders. Raiders. Raiders wear masks. Zorro wore a mask. The Lone Ranger. The Green freakin' Lantern. I've never seen a chestnut with arms, and when I get a dog, he's getting his own bed... on the floor.

Oh, and for those of you who have iTunes, be sure to check out the iTunesU homepage (you can access it by clicking on the green link on that page). Texas Tech is featured on the universities list now and a Health Sciences Center podcast series is promoted on the page.

Oh, the Burning Questions

2007-08-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

So what happens when the counterculture gets a counterculture? Apparently the counterculture becomes the Man (Burning Man). The story of the early burning of the Burning Man is ironic on so many wonderful levels. First off, it raises an interesting philosophical question: Is it really arson to burn something that was created to burn? My thought is no. Apparently the police and event organizers think otherwise.

Paul Addis, an actor and writer, was arrested for the deed. Which I find wickedly funny considering that the project's Web site says explicitly that there are "no rules about how one must behave or express oneself at this event" (granted, there is some caveat about rules protecting health, safety and the experience). So, really, didn't this guy (or whoever tossed the match stick) just beat everyone to the punch? Wasn't he channeling the spirit of the event in the first place when he sent those yellow flames billowing out into the desert air? There is a lesson here: apparently, you play with matches and, even if the parents have thrown out the rule book, you're gonna feel heat.

The good news is that apparently spirits are "still high," spokeswoman Andie Grace said. Whew.

Engineering (gasp) fun?

2007-08-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Add this to the list of merits of the Texas Tech College of Engineering: Apparently, it's fun. Popular Mechanics this month featured the college in a list of five fun university engineering programs as part of its "Educated Destruction 101" article. There isn't a direct link to this story (that I can find) but take my word there is a great photo of a 2x4 exploding against bricks (so buy the paper version). Ah, the enchanting power of the wind cannon. Cited was the ability for students to create their own hurricanes and track down tornados. That's education.
Of course, the folks that run the cannon are used to blowing bricks and boards up for media cameras.

Buzzing Like a Bee Hive

2007-08-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

I got invited for the first time ever to enter a group show and it's in downtown L.A., of all places, so the nerves are definitely a bit frazzled as I wait to hear what the reaction is to the piece I sent. Hopefully the reviews are positive. The curator found me through my Myspace page and asked me to enter. If you happen to be in Los Angeles (wish I was) Aug. 4, check it out.

This isn't the piece I sent, but the style is similar:

R.I.P.H.P.

2007-07-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it has come, the day that childrens' sections world over have been dreading: the Boy Who Lived will die. Now whether that's literal (which I'm banking on) or metaphorical (the world will weep either way) I can't say for sure yet and, since I've steered 100 miles south of any whiff of spoiler, hopefully that blissful ignorance will hold until I'm, well, holding my own copy (I'm not reading the last page first, promise). I'm really banking on some fool in line ahead of me shouting the ending out and spoiling it for everyone in Borders.

Some fool like the New York Times, perhaps? Now don't get me wrong, I love me some NYT and read it religiously, but come on; I know competition is stiff, but must you ruin the fun for everyone? I assume you readers know what story I'm talking about (well, unless you think the word "snitch" refers to that dude who ratted you out for copying homework back in fourth grade): the review that rocked the Potter world yesterday, the notorious pre-review, the Review-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. For those of you steeped in the lore of dorkdom (and yes, it is a dark, dorky pit we dwell in, shunned by adult society, relegated to the back of the line behind all the 10-year-olds with their sparkly gold lightning bolts zig-zagging across their foreheads), then you know that the New York Times went and let the Hallows out of the bag, so to speak (warning, there is a spoiler waiting to pounce just beyond that link). And why? Why must they? After all, their own movie reviewers scorn such foul play (as inked so eloquently only weeks ago -- ironically in a story blasting other publications for jumping the gun prior to "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" hitting theatres). Now I'm a news guy (or used to be); I understand competition with television and the internet, I understand break-neck news cycles and selling copies, but still, couldn't you wait an extra day? Couldn't you have left the bit about the Hallows out (isn't that a bit like showing off)? Couldn't you at least slap a spoiler warning below the headline? I put one up above, it was incredibly simple.

Sigh, I suppose not. Thanks for ruining a bit of the magic, guys.

(Oh, and good luck Harry Potter).

So long, freedom

2007-07-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Ah, the wilderness; Pecos Wilderness. Three days spent stalking trout through cold rapids was not nearly enough to wash off the work grime, but it was a nice escape. Now my whiskers are shaved off again, my hair is washed, and I'm back in the tie again. Surprisingly few misadventures, though we did have a lightning storm the first night that put any severe weather I've seen in Lubbock -- which is plenty -- to shame.

Sadly, my next big adventure involving a lightning bolt will take place in a book. Yeah, THE book. The one about the kid with the owl and the wand. I'm sure I'll know if he lives or dies or winds up bedridden for life after a nasty tumble from a Firebolt by Saturday night -- Sunday morning at the latest. And that would be latest. I'm not wearing robes. I'm not wearing robes. Damn, I'll probably wind up in robes.

I thought this was an interesting bit of dust-up: I'm not planning on watching Sicko and really hate to give Michael Moore any kind of publicity at all, considering that his movies only thrive because of his purposeful creation of controversy, but I think this spat with CNN over the facts of his movie gives some interesting insights into how he juggles numbers and creates controversy out of, well, nothing.

Fourth of When?

2007-07-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Fireworks flashed as usual but my Fourth fizzled. I ate no watermellon; I touched not a drop of standing water; the only grill I came anywhere close to was the one I was sitting behind... all day long... in my car... on the road.

My brother and I managed to stretch what is typically like a five-hour drive from Fort Worth to Lubbock into a 10-hour trip. Of course, we did make a stop in Midland, but let's just say that by the time we pulled into town at a quarter of seven I was doing 55 mph on the shoulder following a Firebird with a blown-out tire in the trunk, a semi-flat donut spare playing the crutch and duct tape holding the fender in place. We'd made two stops at the Town & Country in Lamesa and one at the parking lot for the Golden Peanut Company.

So talk about losing your pet... cow. 21-foot wingspan? Man, might as well have a private plane on the prowl. Sankar Chatterjee, the curator of paleontology at the Museum of Texas Tech and Horn professor of Geosciences and Museum Science, found that this menace of the Andes glided lazily on updrafts and thermals. Click here to see John Davis break it down for ya. Suddenly I don't mind the pidgeons so much.

Isn't Beckham enough?

2007-06-28T08:01:00.001-07:00

Great, just what the world needs -- a microwaved infusion of Girl Power. All the bouncing and jiggling and giggling that turned my nerves into banjo strings circa 1997 has the mold wiped off or airbrushed over and is back with a vengeace, apparently (must be vengeance. I can't imagine any other reason I'd have to suffer through this again). Spice Girls reuniting? This promises to be more crassly exploitative than ever!

And not to sound too Perez, but is that Posh? She looks a bit like an EA Games rendition of a comic book serializing the exploits of the charicature sketch of a cat burglar; maybe a bombshell (aren't they all?) diamond thief... maybe... Black Cat, Spiderman fans?. Interesting look -- a daring dash of over-the-top "Los Angeles" perhaps representative of the Beckhams new stomping grounds. Anyway, sorry for that burst of cattyness. I'm just a bit terrified of this prospect.

On a cooler note (somewhat literally), our Wind Science and Engineering Research Center and a coalition of partners have been selected by the Department of Energy to receive up to $2 million in test equipment to develop large-scale wind blade test facilities, accelerating the commercial availability of wind energy. The Lone Star Wind Alliance will design, build, and operate new facilities to test the next generation of wind turbine blade.

Also, this is just neat -- especially for a wannabe world traveler and humanitarian-in-theory who consipered joining the Peace Corps and didn't fit the criteria. Texas Tech is now offering a Master's International Program in which students can recieve graduate degrees while serving as Peace Corps Volunteers abroad. Apparently we have had 360 Texas Tech alumni serving as Peace Corps Volunteers. Sigh... I wish I were still a student.... for many reasons, but this is now one of them.

Spike!

2007-06-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

So Gretchen told Lisa who told me and then blogged about it that the Texas Tech Website got a nice viewership spike -- inundation would maybe be the better word -- in pageviews for the May 2007 Commencement video featuring our newly appointed Queen of the, well... er, Queens, Susan Polgar, thanks to a posting on chessbase.com. Thanks Chessbase.

And if you've been brushing up on your Hungarian (which, incidentally, I haven't), you might find this interesting. Susan Polgar and Paul Truong (assistant coach for the Knight Raiders and head of marketing for our new Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence), are in Hungary this week and getting a ton of press. I can't read any of this, but maybe you can.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=polgar+Zsuzsa+sakk+Budapest&btnG=Search

http://www.origo.hu/sport/sakk/20070624polgar.html

http://inforadio.hu/hir/sport/hir-131502

http://www.boon.hu/hirek/im:all:sport-chess/cikk/sikert-aratott-a-polgar-sakknap/cn/haon-news-FCUWeb-20070625-1129015900

http://www.magyarhirlap.hu/cikk.php?cikk=131186

http://www.blikk.hu/cikk.php?cikk=58613

http://www.blikk.hu/Nyomtat_cikk.php?cikk=58613&

http://www.mon.hu/hirek/Sport-chess/cikk/sikert-aratott-a-polgar-sakknap/cn/haon-news-FCUWeb-20070625-1129015900

http://www.icenter.hu/cgi-bin/automatic/bianko.pl?szo=4841&cikk=0706145005088

http://www.fn.hu/sport/minden_mas/0706/polgar_sakknap_szazas_szimultannal_166018.php

http://www.origo.hu/sport/sakk/20070614szaz.html

http://www.portfoliolight.hu/cikk.tdp?cCheck=1&k=4&i=3053

http://www.boon.hu/hirek/im:all:sport-chess/cikk/a-polgar-noverek-szimultant-adnak/cn/news-20070622-06051318

http://www.meoszinfo.hu/hir_0282.php

Texas Tech in 3-D

2007-06-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, fine, I've been watching too many movies this summer; well, more than is typical of me, at least -- four in four weeks (three, technically, since I watched Pirates twice). Which means that I helped fuel that revenue surge that smashed the box office into all kind of pulp for a few weeks there. But if I have to sit through another commercial for Rat-tat-tat-a-tat-toe-ear I swear I'm boycotting the theatres for the rest of the summer. Bad enough to spend five freakin' dollars on a bag of corn kernels and butter (maintenance on those poppers must be insane), but to chug it all down while watching a six-minute commercial that all but spells out the movie for you -- a movie I think I'd shave mountain lions rather than see -- is just almost too much for my spirit, or my wallet, to bear.

Speaking of which, check out this awesome -- or at least passably readable -- summer double feature from Texas Tech Today (featuring a story by your's truly). If you are a Texas Tech student, professor, whatever, check this out. The Library now has a 3-D animation lab. There are all kinds of fun toys for creating animated sequences. Here's the story. Be there or be square... but not Square Enix.

Is that four?

2007-06-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Well the confetti flew, mostly to boos, but who cares? After a bit of a scare -- I swore I wouldn't be anxious, after all, they were up 3-0, I didn't necessarily want Cleveland to be humiliated, I like Lebron James and hate how he's being percieved, yada, yada -- the Spurs managed to stifle yet another fourth-quarter resurgence to take the broom to the Caveliers.

Granted I can't imagine how anticlimactic it would be to win in an arena where your colors aren't in sight and the fans are hanging around mostly to cuss you, but still, they looked happy enough.

Not that it was pretty. Tim Duncan forgot his driving glasses and the Spurs seem to have been reading all the press about how no one was watching this finals series because they were determined to let Cleveland creep back in and give them a run at every game before pulling it out again. In retrospect, it seems a bit perverse, like the cats who, after having captured a mouse, let the paw up, let the victim scurry and scramble for miniscule seconds, the whiff of freedom in the air, before pinning the claws in again.

The game was a nice break from my otherwise hectic life. Good hectic, but hectic. I have been getting a lot of work on the freelance illustration scene. I just finished this flyer for an upcoming concert featuring the White Mice and Finger of God. By the way, if you're in town, please go. Bash's on University, $5 at the door for 21-up. I also got asked by the Hive Gallery to enter a group art show in Los Angeles -- my first gallery showing and I guess it's getting off on the right foot. That will be in August. I'm doing some more posters and t-shirts and such, so it's coming along. Granted, there is ink and paint and whatever else all over the house, but I guess you make sacrifices for the art lol.

iKTXTunes

2007-06-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

And it rained and rained and rained and rained. So far Lubbock -- arid, dusty Lubbock -- is sitting at 16 inches for the year, ten more inches than average. I haven't watered my yard so far this year and can't mow it fast enough. I'm jealous of people who get this treat all the time.

It's also made the city blindingly green (by our standards) for all the new recruits who are dragging their parents around campus this week. New Student Orientation kicked off this week and will continue into the indefinite future. It's fun to see the eager faces around campus, yet a punch to the jaw to see what kids they are. Am I old? Definitely not. I think.

But anyway, on to the real news. KTXT now has its folder on our Texas Tech iTunes page. The wickedly entertaining DJs there will highlight a new artist each week, post talk-show snippets and much more, so check it often for cool stuff. There will be more collaborations like that throughout the summer, so keep checking.

Sports are so stressful

2007-06-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

If I seem like I'm dragging this morning, blame the Spurs. One minute I'm at my brothers house, feeling drowsy as the Spurs coast on a 27-point lead and then, POW, we're down to what, like, eight points? With like three fricken minutes left (i.e. eternity). What? By the time the game was sealed up, I was on my feet pacing. Needless to say, sleep was shot. I just lay in bed for an hour with my blood pumping through my ears. But 2-0. Go team.

As far as news goes, we've hit a bit of a lull in our office. I'm using the time to get things cranked up with our new iTunes page. Hopefully we'll have a folder for KTXT up here in a day or two.

Crazy, crazy news here on the City Council scene; District 3... a.k.a. my district... will be represented by Todd Klein, a former Democratic Party -- yes, Democratic Party -- Chairman who got only 25 percent of the vote a month ago in an election to replace resigned councilman Gary Boren. On Saturday he won the runoff election for the City Council with 52 percent of the vote. His opponent, who was front runner a month ago, got the same 47 percent of the vote that he got May 12. This is in Lubbock, where the elephants roam in herds. I can't imagine a more ironic twist for the end of this story, considering that he was one of the council's staunchly conservative members. Not that I'm taking sides -- the writer in me just loves the delicious irony.

Sad news

2007-06-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

We got some sad and unexpected news over the weekend. Board of Regents Chairman J. Frank Miller III died suddenly in Dallas Friday. The Texas Tech community is saddened by the loss of someone who has served our system well and was just poised to take the helm of the board. Our hearts go out to his family.

2007-05-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, before I forget (which I will if I wait another five-or-six minut ... wait, what was I doing?), here is the link to the Texas Monthly article I promised. I'm not sure if you can access it without a subscription to Texas Monthly, but if you can, enjoy. The photo of Dirk was taken by none other than Artie Limmer, a photographer in our office. Michael Castellon, who just jumped ship for Austin, was lucky enough to get a signed and framed photo of his choice from Artie as a parting gift. I'm green.

Crash Test Dummy

2007-05-29T06:15:00.001-07:00

Spent Memorial Day lugging furniture in Fort Worth. Actually, spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday moving. On Memorial Day we rested. If I learned anything over the weekend, it's never to attempt moving the contents of a two bedroom house with only one guy and two petite girls. I feel like my body was used for crash testing and we were racing to get the U-Haul emptied in time to meet the 1:30 p.m. deadline. Plus it rained. Plus the U-Haul we rented had a trailer attached, which added its own set of fun circumstances - you know, hitches popping off, tight corners, detours, near collisions, etc.

Wish I were here: My brother and his wife spent a few days in Playa Del Carmen to celebrate a combined anniversary, birthday, medical school graduation and architectural certification. I'm trying not to be too jealous. Especially since it's been cold and rainy for Lubbock in May.

I do, however, forget how pretty Fort Worth is until I see it again. It has such a great feel as far as being a combination between a big city and small town. The streets are wide and green and it just has a nice relaxed vibe to it.

While I was there, I found myself almost unwillingly doing homework (confirming how conditioned I am by my job). While we were in Fort Worth, I did a completely unscientific survey as we were driving and, in the heart of TCU country (the house we were moving the furniture into is only about three blocks from campus), counted three Double T vehicle stickers and one address marker on a curb. That's more stickers than I saw for UT and A&M combined. Good to see that Texas Tech seems to have a solid presence there.

Oh, and I spent some time poking around the TCU campus. When I was graduating high school, I was a hardcore TCU fan and couldn't wait to go there. I spent a great weekend in the then-football dorms and came home burdened with T-shirts, caps and ambitions of being a Horned Frog. Through my own fault, however, that wound up falling through (didn't fill out some of my paperwork correctly so I couldn't get registered, etc.) and wound up in Lubbock. I hadn't been back on the TCU campus since. It is the same beautiful campus I remembered, with some amazing buildings, but it is always striking to me how used to having a pedestrian campus I've become here at Texas Tech. It was disconcerting to see major streets cutting between buildings. Still didn't get a chance to eat at Fuzzy's Taco Shop. Oh well, maybe next time...

I know that face...

2007-05-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

So I got home from work last night and noticed my latest issue of Texas Monthly lying atop the Everest of mail that tends to pile up on our dining room table.

Typically I let the new magazines stew for a few days while I finish picking through the pages of last month's deluge (if there's one thing we don't lack, it's magazine subscriptions); however, guided by indiscernable whim or the clever hands of fate (or whatever else), I picked it up. The pages fell open to the intriguing piece of artwork pictured here.

Why intriguing? The piece was too hip for most fine art and too artful for most concert posters. It had text, so I figured it must be advertising something, but the words were too vague to be part of a paid advertisement. Then I noticed a name I recognized. Dirk Fowler, one of my former Texas Tech professors, had designed the piece. It was one example in a feature section about Dirk's poster work. Texas Monthly doesn't have the issue up online yet, but I'll post a link when there is one.

For now, though, I've settled for including an example of his awesome work. Oh, and he's got some great ones on his website. But don't take my word for it. Go here to see more posters and commentary.

I had Dirk's class back in the days when I deluded myself with the thought that I could be a graphic designer. Design, I found the hard way, is not my forte. However, I do still dabble in illustration, drawing and such. I keep telling myself I'm going to start trying to make some money at it, but can't seem to get around to doing so. Here are a few examples.

The Good Times are Killing Me

2007-05-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

So as a child of the eighties and a Tim Burton fan, I felt pretty secure in my nomination of Jack Nicholson as the best Joker ever. That certainty got jarred a bit yesterday when I saw this picture. I was having trouble picturing Heath Ledger as the Joker, but I'll be fascitated to see what they do with the part. More Dark Knight fun here.

Anyway, on to the real business at hand, which was my weekend. Imagine this scenario: Thirty-four people, most of them family, in an unfamiliar town. Three days of marathon events. Missed instructions. Frayed nerves. Kisses. Hugs. Arguments. Hugs. Hangovers. Hugs. "How are you?" "How are you?" "How are you?" "How are you?" And hugs -- did I mention hugs? We managed to survive the weekend without major bloodletting, but it was a close call at times. Amazing how celebrations can be so stressful.

But congratulations to my sister-in-law Rachel, who graduated from the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center this weekend and is about to begin her residency in dermatology in Lubbock. Also: good news for her husband, my brother (obviously), Andy, who just finished taking the nine gruelling tests required to be certified as an architect. He got the good news nearly four years to the day after graduating from the College of Architecture, which I hear is about as soon as you can get that done. He passed all nine tests on the first attempt. So good for them, even if they did raise the bar for me as far as accomplishments are concerned.

Oh, and then some bad news. We're losing the de facto intellect of the office this week to Austin. Michael Castellon got an offer to do something at some place having to do with computers or something... yada yada yada, you know how it goes. Anyway, we'll have a definite hole to fill. He's done much to push Texas Tech's communications into, well, at least the 20th century as far as being technologically integrated and internet savvy. He's missing a golden opportunity to further befriend himself with Apple Inc. as the head of our iTunes initiative, but I have no doubt he's off to bigger and better things.

2007-05-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

So you squander the last of your youth spinning for The Man and finally you look up from the treadmill one day and you're getting fat and growing bald and you've got a few gray hairs and you are surrounded by students who look younger every passing day... but now you've got a blog. Which is how I console myself knowing that our entire student population has fled campus for at least a few weeks. I miss summer break. Losing those lazy, sunny, precious golden summer days (and sleeping in, and getting christmas break, and having free afternoons) is about the only thing I regret about having broken into this quagmire of muck and grime and looming deadlines that we call the real world.

In the news: Texas Tech made what seems like one of its best decisions in recent history by hiring chess dynamos Susan Polgar and Paul Truong to head a new institute devoted to chess outreach, education and research (see exciting story here). I don't think any other universities are doing anything of this caliber, and having two chess champions heading the team will be great for recruitment (along with being one of the only universities in the country to offer scholarships). Go Knight Raiders.

And along the lines of good decisions, we also recently announced a partnership with Apple Inc.'s iTunes. All those crazy kids on campus with white cords hanging from their ears will now have a new spot to hang out... on their own iTunes page. And somehow, technophobe that I am, I'm now going to have the monumental task of making sure people are putting content on the site. We've got some good ideas brewing and student radio station KTXT is ready to jump in with content within the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted.