2006 NCAA Final Four

There's no real way to tell which team is going to win, so just use the Mascot test.

We've got the Florida Gators vs. the George Mason Patriots and the LSU Tigers vs. the UCLA Bruins.


Gators eat Mel Gibson












Tigers eat Bruins
Those were easy

Now, a tiger vs. a gator is tricky. If the gator can snap down on the tiger's nose, the tiger is history, but the tiger is really fast. I know a grizzly bear can beat a gator because I saw it on the Discovery Channel, but a cat has to catch it's prey from behind - that's why you never turn your back on a cat of any size.

Therefore, Gators eat Tigers and Florida wins it all.

*********
Well, I had the Gators correct. Being a UC Berkeley alumni, I'm just anti-UCLA, so I guess the Bruins aren't really baby bears.

49er Gold Rush - the 2nd strangest thing that's ever happened to me

I love the NCAA Basketball tournament – March Madness. I don’t know anything about any of the teams, but I like to pick them anyway and compete and I like running a pool. I had made my picks last week and decided to enter a couple of free contests online. I got an email from KNBR (for those not in the Bay Area, KNBR is the main sport radio station) and I went to their website to enter my picks.

I saw this:

WHAT ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS TO JUDGE THE GOLD RUSH (The Gold Rush is the SF 49ers cheerleader squad) We're looking for one discerning individual to help judge the 49er Gold Rush Auditions Saturday, March 25 at Stanford. What are your credentials? Send your resume to murphandmac@knbr.com by Noon this Friday, March 17. This could be the best assignment you've ever had!

Of course, I have no credentials to judge much of anything, but just to amuse myself, I decided to send something in and I sent the following:

My Gold Rush Judging Resume (top 10 reasons I should be chosen to be the discerning individual)

1. I love admiring beautiful women
2. I haven't had a date in over a year
3. I enjoy the beauty of the female form shaking their money maker
4. I can judge without being judgemental (the mental part comes in because I have a Mensa level IQ)
5. I like to have fun
6. I watch American Idol and I'm a trained improvisor, so I could play either the Randy Jackson or Simon Cowell role - I wouldn't try to do Paula after Barry Bonds nailed it and I don't look that good in a wig and high heels.
7. I know what discerning means
8. did I mention I love admiring beautiful women?
9. I am a big sports fan
10. My all time highlight of my Fantasy Football career (I've been playing it since 1979 when I got a copy of the original rules from the Kings X bar) is when I was in Australian outback and didn't find out until a week later that Joe Montana had thrown 5 TD's to Jerry Rice against Atlanta and I had both of them on my team, so I'm a big 49er fan.

Not all of this is true – I have had a date in the last year and I’m only a 49er fan when I have their players on my fantasy football team, but I figured that didn’t matter much.

Today I found out that they’ve picked me, so this Saturday, I’ll be going to Stanford and spend 2 grueling hours judging 250 potential Gold Rush dancers.

They announced my name on the radio as the winner and on March 16th, they mentioned my entry - http://www.thomascoates.com/media/goldrush-maybe-pile.mp3

Update...

49er Gold Rush Cheerleader Auditions 2006

Below are the two best photos I was able to get. The guest judges (mostly luxury box holders) were up in the stands at the Maples Pavilion at Stanford. There were over 400 auditioners and by the time we got there, they had pared it down to around 150. It was really hard work - they were there since 8am. It's just like any showbiz thing, there are some that can do the steps and then there are those that feel the music and have fun. There are 40 dancers on the squad and they make all those returning audition also. You could tell some were more experienced than others.

They practiced about 15 times in big groups before the auditions started. Then they broke into groups of three. I heard this Jealous, Jealous Boyfriend song about 75 times and I hope I never hear it again. #124 in the hot pink & white was my favorite, so her final audition is in the second part of the video.

Here is the link for the video - http://www.thomascoates.com/media/goldrushmovie.wmv

Video Blogs

I've put all my videos on several Video Blog/Video Sharing sites. Just search for Carbubble.

Yahoo Video is the best one because you can see all my videos on one page.

DailyMotion

Google Video

You Tube

MetaCafe

Clipshack

vSocial

Revver

vMix

VidiLife

Snow in the Dreamland Gardens

I took this photo on 10-March-2006 at 11:30pm. It was the first snow in the Dreamland Gardens.

The Narrow Margin (1952)

This is from my favorite Film Noir "B" Movie - Narrow Margin made in 1952. This is Marie Windsor (Mrs. Frankie Neall) along with Charles McGraw (Det. Sgt. Walter Brown). She plays a tough talking broad and he's the cop transporting her to Los Angeles by train.

Before he meets her in person, his partner, Gus Forbes, asks him about her.

Forbes: "What about this dame?"
Brown: "She's a dish."
Forbes: "What kind of dish?"
Brown: "A sixty cent special... Cheap, flashy and all poison under the gravy."

You just don't get that kind of dialog any more...

Of course, another reason I like this movie is that her name is Frankie, which is close enough to my theory posulating that 80% of all US movies have a character named Frank.

I can't live without Dilbert

Deal of the Century

Deal of the Century is one of my all time favorite wierd movies. It stars Chevy Chase, Sigorney Weaver & Gregory Hines. I hadn't seen it for a long time and now that it's finally out on DVD, it was a lot darker & sarcastic than I remembered.

Here is my favorite scene from Deal of the Century.

Gregory Hines as Ray: “I see you’ve got a nice flame job on your car. How about a little touch up?”

You Can't Rollerskate in A Buffalo Herd

I'm not sure why, but I had some conversation and we were trying to remember the lyrics to Roger Miller's song - You Can't Rollerstake in a Buffalo Herd and especially the chorus - Knuckle down, buckle down - do it, do it, do it. So just for future reference, here are the lyrics.

You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd
Artist: Roger Miller as sung on "The Return Of Roger Miller"
Smash SRS 67061
peak Billboard position # 40 in 1966
Words and Music by Roger Miller

Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't take a shower in a parakeet cage
Ya can't take a shower in a parakeet cage
Ya can't take a shower in a parakeet cage
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

All ya gotta do is put your mind to it
Knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it

Well, ya can't go a-swimmin' in a baseball pool
Ya can't go swimmin' in a baseball pool
Ya can't go swimmin' in a baseball pool
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't change film with a kid on your back
Ya can't change film with a kid on your back
Ya can't change film with a kid on your back
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't drive around with a tiger in your car
Ya can't drive around with a tiger in your car
\Ya can't drive around with a tiger in your car
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

All ya gotta do is put your mind to it
Knuckle down, buckle down do it, do it, do it

Well, ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't go fishin' in a watermelon patch
Ya can't go fishin' in a watermelon patch
Ya can't go fishin' in a watermelon patch
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
SPOKEN: "Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd"
FADE
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd