Freezing in College Park, MD

Marcy and I survived the snarling Maryland Terrapin fanatics at Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD on Saturday. Needless to say, it was a rout. Marcy retreated to the heated women's restroom during the third quarter to thaw out. We slapped hands with the players after the game as they paraded into the locker room. Two FSU cheerleaders gave their digits to me for Keller. Place kicker Graham Gano gave us a "hell, yeah!" And quarterback Christian Ponder blew air kisses to Marcy.

And the 100 mile-return to Richmond without gridlock was priceless. And regular unleaded at the Wawa in Woodbridge-$1.57. And safety Myron Rolle was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship at 5:00 PM on Saturday. He is the first FBS player of his generation to win what is considered the most prestigious postgraduate academic scholarship. Rolle interviewed in Birmingham, AL and with police escorts and a Gulfstream V from BHM to BWI, he entered the game late in the second quarter.



If Boston College wins at home in their regular-season finale against Maryland next Saturday, the Eagles will play in the ACC championship. If not, Florida State will go to Tampa. And how fat is Ralph Friedgen, the head coach for the Maryland Terrapins?

Tears at Nights in Rodanthe!

Exerpts from Big Storm is Brewing (hurricane, too)!
by Manohla Dargis
New York Times
September 26, 2008

Hollywood used to know how to make a lady suffer. It might have thrown her around a little and smudged her mascara, but it also gave as much as it took, delivering the pleasurable goods along with the pain. The emotions were as phony as the tears, yet with the right director, star or script, all that weeping could send an arrow straight through your heart. The audience worshiped Our Lady of Masochism for her misery but also for her triumph, for the mink swaddling her shoulder pads, for the 100 sobbing violins, for the celestial halo circling her head. She was a glamorous sacrament, a delectable offering for the big-screen faithful. It’s no wonder the faithful continue to forsake the movies, given junky embarrassments like “Nights in Rodanthe.” There’s no joy and not even much cruel laughter to be had from the spectacle of sympathetic actors — Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Viola Davis, James Franco — mouthing some of the most pitiful, platitudinous, risible dialogue in recent memory, particularly if you were suckered into watching this movie specifically because of its performers...
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I have a few suggestions for Nicholas Sparks...

Afternoons in Assateague
Mornings in Rehoboth

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Marcy and I suffered through Nights in Rodanthe but only after premiering Quantum of Solace. As we exited the theater, there was more Kleenex on the floor than popcorn. Is $9.50/ticket an outrage? Not necessarily-the outrage is Nicholas Sparks and his scandalmongering romantic love propaganda. There is no redemption for the beleaguered American male strapped with unrealistic expectations.

Trick or Treat...Alpine, UT

Rehoboth Beach, DE...through the Eastern Shore

There is an alleged reverence surrounding the Eastern Shore where..."heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man's habitation..." except for the mosquitoes, foreclosed commercial real estate, and chicken farms. Visit the Eastern Shore of Virginia at http://www.esvatourism.org The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel pointed us in the direction of Atlantic City, NJ through the peninsular Eastern Shore shared by Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Marcy and I visited the touted Assateague Island State Park beyond the city of Chincoteague. Pretty, pretty, pretty good, however my memories of the Eastern Shore will unfortunately include images of the corporate headquarters of Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods in addition to a plethora of chicken farms. What do they do with the feathers? And the chicken shit?

Assateague Island Lighthouse

The Eastern Shore at Assateague Island

Paperback cover to Afternoons in Assateague by Nicholas Sparks

Chincoteague Seafood Shack

Lewes, DE-Cape May, NJ Ferry

Sunrise at Rehoboth Beach, DE

Atlantic City is what it is-Las Vegas on the beach. After a night in Sin City, we backtracked to Rehoboth Beach, DE to attend the Maryland Association of Nurse Anesthetist Annual Fall Meeting. Rehoboth Beach is and continues to be a favorite beach destination.

It was a dumpster fire!

Wake Forest University 12
Florida State University 3

Chevy Rock & Roll 400

Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Start


What's the lap time?


Restart


Emerson Radio 250 Start

Tropical Storm Hanna not only soaked the East Coast but also postponed the anticipated NASCAR Nationwide Emerson Radio 250 and the Sprint Cup Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway until Sunday. That's approximately 500 miles of racing on a three-quarter mile track. And it was spectacular-every wind gust of carbon monoxide laced with aerosolized Good Year tires; the fusion of a thunder clap and an F-18 afterburner that splits your sternum like a maul to pine; that constant melodic roar of 43 engines screaming at 8000 rpms; every militant, sunburned Dale Earnhardt Jr. fanatic that leaped to their feet to salute Jr. with a fist pump and deride Busch with a middle finger (see below). Marcy was seemingly enraptured...for hours. $4.00 Powerades and 4 coats of sunscreen primer.
















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Where's FSU?

USC vs UVA ...To Be Continued

The Rotunda and Academical Village, circa 1856

Megan's Baptism...To Be Continued

Day Trip to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Marcy and I day-tripped 64 miles to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello http://www.monticello.org/ and then, of course, to Charlottesville's Downtown Mall.

Aerial view of Monticello

"...all my wishes end,
where I hope my days
will end, at Monticello."
Thomas Jefferson, 1787

West Elevation

Vegetable Garden and Vineyard

Garden Pavilion

"No occupation is so delightful to me as
the culture of the earth, and no culture
comparable to that of the garden."
Thomas Jefferson, 1811

West Elevation and Lawn

East Elevation

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Thomas Jefferson referred to Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, and John Locke as “...my trinity of the three greatest men the world had ever produced,” and thus hung their portraits along the top tier in Monticello’s Parlor.

Sir Francis Bacon

Sir Isaac Newton

John Locke

Salome (Herodias) with the Head of John the Baptist by Guido Reni

Jesus in the Praetorium by Jan Gossaert (copy after 1527 original)