communication breakdown

Ramble On

Do you ever just feel like everyone's out to get you? First, it was my run of bad luck with my car, which I have detailed in my previous posts. Lately, it just seems that I've got a target on my vehicle when I'm on the road. Luckily, I haven't been involved in any problems since my fender-bender a couple months ago, but it seems that the number of drivers gunning for me has taken a sharp upturn recently. In the last few days alone, I've had to take evasive maneuvers just to avoid several idiots who either pulled out in front of me or tried to cut me off. (Note: "evasive maneuvers" is probably overstating it a bit, but I just felt like saying it) And if that wasn't bad enough, the vast majority of these fools were on cellphones. If I were King (and I should be), I would force everyone who uses a cellphone while driving to talk with Paris Hilton on the phone for an hour. That ought to teach them - more than likely, they'll throw their phone in the river and run away screaming...

Lions, and Bears, and Concerts, oh my!

Well, continuing my latest trend of attending concerts, I saw Audioslave at the Gwinnett Arena two weeks ago. The show was insane. There were two opening acts, and we planned on getting in early so that we could maximize the advantage of our floor seats and get right up to the stage. Unfortunately, my complete inability to find my way around town once I take a wrong turn resulted in me showing up 30 minutes late, even though I left an hour ahead of time. This is a painful subject - don't ask. Anyways, we missed one of the opening acts entirely, and I was sure that all the die-hard fans would have already been in place, preventing us from getting good position. Boy, was I wrong. When we got in, there was almost nobody on the floor - we walked right up to about the 4th row. It took almost no effort at all to get up the 2nd row, which is where we spent the rest of the show.

The opening acts were OK, but Audioslave was tremendous. We were on the right-side of the stage, directly below where Tom Morello was standing. Simply put, he's the greatest guitarist I've ever seen in person. Not only is he supremely talented, but he has such a fascinating on-stage persona - he's very concentrated and focused on the music, but he is super intense as he rocks the fool out of his guitars. When he jumped up on top of the speakers (which was often), he was so close that I could almost touch him. It was fantastic. Then there was Chris Cornell - he was very confident and active as the lead singer, and he often came over to Morello's area and jumped up on the speakers to sing. The crowd was wildly into it, and the whole thing was such a rush - I am convinced that, going to a show like that, the only way to do it is with floor tickets. Don't even bother with a seat ticket, it's just not the same.

The setlist was very nice; they mixed it up quite evenly and did almost all of their hits. Despite my love for Audioslave and their material, the best part of the show, bar none, was the Soundgarden throwback when they played Rusty Cage and Spoonman back-to-back. I was going wild - that was definitely the closest I'll ever get to seeing or hearing Soundgarden live, which if you remember, ranked #3 on my list of Top 10 Concerts I Wish I Had Attended. The sad thing was that, when they started playing Rusty Cage (a classic), many of the fans didn't recognize it - several people asked me what song it was. What a shame...

If that wasn't enough, I'm going to see Ben Folds at the Tabernacle (one of Atlanta's best concert venues) in a week. Ben Folds ranks #8 on the previous list, so I'm very excited to be crossing an entry off that Top 10. I think it's going to be a fantastic show.

Site of the Day

Looking for a great time-waster? If you enjoy movies like I do, then beware: this site might consume way more of your time than you intend for it to. Colin's Movie Monologue Page is a database of monologues/dialogues for all kinds of movies, searchable by movie title. This site is based on submissions, so new ones are being added all of the time. I stumbled across this site one day, and got stuck for hours reminiscing about some of my favorite movie scenes. Enjoy!

The Ramblin' Wreck

I'm kind of surprised that I've made it this far into the GT football season without commenting on it. Considering my love for college football, and for my alma mater in particular, it's always on my mind. I guess it's about time that I put down some of my thoughts for others to disagree with:

• First off, we're 6-2. Can't argue or complain much about that. Unfortunately, I feel we're heading for a 3-game skid, after which we'll end up 6-5 and barely bowl eligible. But I sure hope I'm wrong. I predicted either 6-5 or 7-4 at the beginning of the season, and I've seen nothing to sway my feelings yet.
• Best win: Auburn. I was there - it was a textbook "all of the pieces coming together" game. Our QB played well, made good decisions. Our defense caused turnovers and prevented Auburn from scoring. The outcome was never really in doubt - and this was all on the road. Fantastic opening to the season.
• Worst loss: NC State. Forget that we lost 51-7 to VT; they are a great team, and that was a textbook "when it rains, it pours" game. The NC State loss was unforgivable. This was a mediocre team, coming into our house, and stealing a win. Sure, we missed a couple field goals, but that's going to happen at some point. It boils down to the fact that we had a chance to win at the end of the game, and we made a poor playcall. Despite what the apologists say about it being the right decision because we "tried to put the ball in our best player's hands", the fact remains that from the 2 yard line, with 30 seconds to go, an outstanding RB, and a reeling defense, you attempt to pound it into the end zone, not loft a pass over the middle where - surprise! - it can be (and was) intercepted. What a heartbreak.
• Coach Controversy: Finally, I arrive at the taboo topic. Should he be fired or have his contact extended? A lot depends on the fnial 3 games, but my firm opinion is that Chan Gailey is not the right head coach of the future for Georgia Tech football. There are several reasons for this:
  • He has a consistent pattern of mediocrity. He has yet to win more than 7 regular-season games since he's been here, and we're on track for more of the same, despite the fact that our players have matured and become more experienced during his tenure.
  • He lacks big-time recruitability. While he is excellent at finding mid-level recruits, he is not the kind of man to bring in some of the top talent which, on occasion, we should be able to compete for.
  • His playcalling has been suspect at times. See the loss at NC State, along with near-losses to Clemson and UNC.
  • Most importantly, under his tutelage, our teams have always exhibited certain traits which I tend to attribute to poor coaching. This includes coming out flat for same games, not showing up at all for other games, and always losing at least one game which we have no business losing. This year alone, our season already fits the "Chan Pattern": one game we weren't supposed to win (Auburn), one loss to a bad team (NC State), and one blowout (VT). I would much rather have a consistent team that shows up to play hard for every game than one with such ups-and-downs and inconsistencies. To me, that is a sign of suspect coaching.

  Don't get me wrong, Gailey is a stand-up guy who respects academics and has integrity. But I want integrity from my pastor and boss. From my football coach, I want wins - not at the expense of character, but in addition to it. I'm convinced that Chan Gailey will probably prevent our program from taking a dive, but he's not the guy to bring us any modicum of real success.