A Nice Little Saturday

Lots of running around on Saturday. I got up bright and early to drop Riley off at school so he could ride the bus with his band as they traveled to Santa Theresa High School to play at the Music in the Park competition. I drove down to watch the performance and Riley and the rest of the band did a great job. The students then were bussed over to Great America where they spent the rest of the day (I did not go to the park).

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Then I went to Quinn’s baseball game. While he has taken a number of walks this season, he so far has not yet made contact with the ball (in large part due to not swinging at the ball very much). So, we were pleased that Quinn made contact and his the ball in fair territory. While he did get an out, this is good progress. Speaking of progress, Quinn is really developing into a fine ballplayer, as you can see by the form on his throw below (one of my favorite shots).

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Quinn Pitches

The first half of the baseball season ended last night, and our coach let Quinn pitch one inning at last night’s game. Quinn was a bit wild and had several walks in a rough five-run inning. Quinn also had several great pitches and had a few hitters on the ropes. To Quinn’s credit, he kept himself very poised even though he wasn’t consistently in the strike zone. Later in the the game Quinn played shortstop.

Fearless Baseball Predictions

mlbI did crap-tastically lousy at my baseball predictions last year but here we go again since today is opening day (well, sort of).

American League

  • East: Yankees
  • Central: White Sox
  • West: Rangers
  • Wild Card: Rays and Angels

National League

  • East: Phillies
  • Central: Reds
  • West: Giants
  • Wild Card: D-Backs and Nationals

World Series Winner: Yankees over Phillies

Spring Baseball is Here

Some nice shots of Quinn from so far this season. Of course, it has rained three Saturdays in a row so no photos of the wet, drenched field and players. But some nice ones of Quinn nonetheless. This year Quinn is playing for the Diamond Backs, and so far this season has been playing mostly Second Base and Right Field.

Geocaching at Quarry Lakes

Last week I took Riley over to Quarry Lakes regional park to do some reconnaissance on some geocaches within the park. This was in prep for a hike today with Quinn and the Cub Scouts (see blog post).  It was a lot sunnier and nicer last weekend, as you can see in the shot with Riley. Quinn did find a way to have fun though.

Fearless Oscar Predictions

Here are my predictions for tonight’s Oscars. Going out on a limb in both Best Actor and Best Actress, as if you could call picking Streep and Clooney that.

Updated with winners in Bold. 18/24 this year…

Best Picture
The Artist

Actor In a Leading Role
George Clooney – The Descendants

Actress In a Leading Role
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

Actor In a Supporting Role
Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Actress In a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer – The Help

Directing
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Midnight in Paris

Animated Feature Film
Rango

Cinematography
The Tree of Life

Art Direction
Hugo

Costume Design
The Artist

Documentary Feature
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Documentary Short
Saving Face

Film Editing
The Artist

Foreign Language Film
Iran, “A Separation”

Makeup
The Iron Lady

Music (Original Score)
The Artist

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets

Short Film (Animated)
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Short Film (Live Action)
Tuba Atlantic

Sound Editing
Hugo

Sound Mixing
Hugo

Visual Effects
Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Hipness Test 2012

As previously posted, I’m a huge fan of the breakout hit song “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and Kimbra. But awareness is not high among the masses so I thought this would be a good test of whether you are “hip to what the kids are listening to” these days. So, I posted this on my Twitter feed yesterday:

2012 hipness test: Have you heard “Somebody that I used to know” by Gotye?

So, smug me, I sat back and waited for the expected “who, what?” responses. Instead, I got this response from Jim MacLeod who is one of my 600 followers.

The real test is whether you’ve seen the Somebody cover video by “Walk off the Earth”, where 5 people play 1 guitar.

And do you know what? Jim is absolutely correct. This cover version is absolutely incredible!  Definitely go and buy this on iTunes today! Kudos to Wall off the Earth for a great version. Their YouTube channel has some other interesting covers and originals, too.

Last Week with Paper Newspaper

I called to cancel the San Jose Mercury-News this week. February 17 will be the last day with a paper newspaper. The reasons for dropping the paper shouldn’t be surprising to anyone paying attention to the industry trends, but I’ve long tried to support the paper by continuing to subscribe. But, lately, I haven’t been reading it.

This is how far the last three issues have gotten to being read. Piled in my car, unread.

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The Majesty of Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Here’s a great photo of the mountain range over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This is a shot taken by my wife Julie of the Expedition Everest attraction, and it almost looks like it is a painting and not a photo. This has not been retouched, other than with iPhoto’s ‘enhance’ feature.

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Expedition Everest is my favorite attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The ride is thrilling and I love the look of the mountain and the entire section of the park where the ride sits. It feels like you’re walking around in Asia, not Florida.

The Yeti is seen in the attraction, and this was a much-hyped component of the attraction when it opened. Unfortunately, there are problems with the massive figure and it no longer moves. Instead, a flashing light shines on the beast, causing some to call it “Disco Yeti.” And, yes, it’s a bummer. But considering you see the figure for less than two seconds it is hardly a huge disappointment. Especially when even at stationless figure is thrilling. Who wouldn’t want to avoid this paw, eh?

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