New Years Eve

I started the last day of 2009 with a yoga class. It was not super hard or challenging, but it was a nice way to start the day. While I was at Yoga, Barbara went to the zoo with her family. We'll be posting a video soon.

Unfortunately, my class was undone at lunch. We went to a hot new place called Cochon (pig) for some Southern Cajun cooking. Barbara's cousin (a local) recommended it and my brother-in-law David and his wife Meg had a good meal there previously in the week. I will say this, the food was great. We started with the boudin balls, (spicy sausage) and the fried okra which were both excellent. Barbara got the Cochon as an entree and I got the brisket with horseradish potato salad, which was perfectly spiced and delicious. The alligator and the ribs also got good reviews. Here is the bad news. The waitress didn't show up until I had been sitting at the table for 10 minutes. She brought me an ice tea twice, despite the fact that I asked for lemonade. She finally took our order, then 15 minutes later came by and asked if anyone had taken our order yet. It took over an hour to get the food and when it did come, all four entrees came at different times, as much as five minutes apart. We were there for almost two hours. Another insult, it was pretty expensive.

After lunch, we shopped for the New Years party and got home to get ready. People showed up here in the French Quarter around 9 p.m. We had a few cocktails, then went down to Bourbon Street to watch the action. It was great to see the thousands of revelers streaming down the street, there was a couple of near misses, no wipeouts considering how high some of the girls heels were. We came back up on the roof to watch the fireworks and to ring in the new year. It was a great way to welcome 2010.

A quite day in New Orleans

We started the day a little late as the street car did not get us back to our beds until 2 a.m.

Brunch was the first order of the day, and we made our way down to EAT in the French Quarter. This is a great little restaurant off the beaten path. Unlike most places in New Orleans it is full of light and bright colors, which make it very friendly and welcoming. They serve breakfast and lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner after 5 p.m. I had a great potato and leak soup followed by a very nice crab cake po'boy. My one complaint was that the curly fries were not very hot. Barbara opted for several sides to go with the gumbo. The fried green tomatoes were very nice, as were the red beans and rice, and the smothered greens. The waitstaff were nice and efficient and the prices were reasonable, so it is a place I will go to again.

It was raining pretty hard yesterday, so we only took a short work through the Quarter, checking out a few of our favorite galleries. It was a perfect day for a movie, but I have to say I was not excited by any of the choices, so I gave it a pass and spent the afternoon reading my book. Barbara met up with her sister and watched The Blind Side, which she gave two thumbs up. I am a big fan of Sandra Bullock, but I have yet to enjoy a movie she has been in, so I was not heartbroken.

We ate dinner over at Barbara's mom's house, where her sister Tish had prepared a great pot of red beans and rice. It was just the right amount of spice and mixed well with my strawberry margarita daiquiri. I also enjoyed watching Nebraska manhandle Arizona in the Holiday Bowl. The Cornhuskers could have a really good team next year.

Yoga in New Orleans

I started out the day with a yoga class in New Orleans. I have been doing yoga 3-4 days a week in Portland, so I thought it would be good to keep it going. This studio came highly recommended and my sister-in-law had already done a few classes, so I headed down there. Because of an abbreviated holiday schedule, it was packed out. I have to say it was a good class and I felt energized after it. Luckily it was an all levels flow class, not the power yoga class they advertised. I try to avoid "power" or "core" yoga. If you are ever in New Orleans and you want to get in some yoga, I can recommend Wild Lotus Yoga.

After yoga, I undid all the hard work with a roast beef po'boy from Quick Check out in Metarie. I have talked about this place a few times before, so I'll just say, it wasn't as great as usual, but still good. There are a million places to get a good sandwich in New Orleans, so unless you are in the neighborhood, I wouldn't make this a must eat place.

After the big lunch, we took a walk around Audubon Park, where we dreamed about owning one of the amazing houses that back on to the park. This is a great place to go for a walk or a run. It is right across from the zoo and Tulane University. There is also a nice (but short) golf course within the park. The main attractions are the beautiful live oaks, with Spanish moss growing off them.

There is nothing like reading a book about New Orleans, when you are in New Orleans. I finally started Zeitoun, Dave Eggers new book, which tells the true story of the Zeitoun family's experience during Katrina. So far it is great, but I'll give a better review later.

We closed out the night with a flurry. We stopped in at the newly renovated and reopened Roosevelt Hotel to check out their bar and to get the most talked about drink in New Orleans (outside of a hurricane) the sazerac. The hotel looks great and very swanky. The bar was packed out, but the waitress was very nice and we were able to get a seat. The sazerac is supposedly the official cocktail of New Orleans, and was invented by an apothecary. It is made with rye whiskey, bitters and sugar and tastes a little like cough syrup. If you get the chance, it is worth checking out.With the warmth of the sazerac in our bellies, we took the street car to the end of St. Charles and got a burger at Cooter Brown's, which also a good place to get raw oysters and beers from around the world. They also have about 20 TVs, you can watch a few games as well.

No trip to New Orleans would be complete without hitting the Maple Leaf to see the Rebirth Brass Band. They have been around since 1983 and in my opinion are one of the classics. They started playing after high school marching band was over and continued the tradition of New Orleans music, through many line up changes. Despite it being 35 degrees outside, they were still able to pack out the room (way past fire code) and generate a sweaty mess of people swinging and dancing. If you ever check this out, don't be scared off by the long line, it moves fast and it is well worth it.

Wild Lotus Yoga
4842 Perrier Street
New Orleans, LA 70115-3950
(504) 899-0047

Roosevelt Hotel
123 Baronne Street
New Orleans, LA 70112-2303
(504) 648-1200

Cooter Brown's Tavern
509 South Carrollton Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118-1005
(504) 866-9104

Maple Leaf Bar
8316 Oak Street
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 866-9359

Eating well in New Orleans

The day began pretty late with a walk around the French Quarter and the pursuit of coffee for Barbara. Unfortunately the Cafe du Monde was packed out, even the to-go line, so it got a little tense. We decided to do some window shopping and wait for one of our favorite places, the Gumbo Shop, to open for lunch.

The Gumbo Shop is a consistently good Creole style restaurant that we have been going to for over 15 years. It is not always perfect, but you can count on great boudin (spicy sausage), good gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, and etouffe. As long as you stick with the main stays you should be in great shape.

To help the food digest we took a walk around the French Market. There are a lot less vendors than in years past and the focus is on food more than the usual tourist crap. But there is still plenty of tourist crap, and there is no better place to get a cheap ugly hat.
The capper to the night was the family dinner at Arnaud's. We had seven of the nine Baugnon siblings plus spouses and mother-in-law Gracie. We got a private room, which was a nice change from years past when we have been in the regular dining room. I have reviewed this restaurant several times before, so I won't go through it all again. Just stick with the classics and the specialties (they are in red on the menu) and you will be fine. Also, make sure your bank balance is flush, it is not inexpensive. We had the waiter take a great picture of everyone on the balcony, which I got from David.

Gumbo Shop
630 Saint Peter Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 525-1486

Arnaud's Restaurant
813 Bienville Street
New Orleans, LA 70112-3191
(504) 523-5433

Driving to New Orleans

My mom made us a great breakfast then we began the five hour drive to New Orleans. I usually like making this drive, but I have to say there were too many crazy drivers on the road for me. People passing on the right and cutting in front of you if you leave any opening at all. Out of no where some lady in a loaded down Cadillac pulled up to be and shot the bird as she passed on the right. I had no where to go, as there was a line of cars in front of me, so I am not sure why she was so mad.

For the second year in a row, we stopped at Prejean's Cajun restaurant in Lafayette for lunch and for the second year in a row it was very good. We both had gumbo, Barbara had seafood, and I had chicken and sausage. Make sure you ask for the rolls, they are very tasty.


We are not staying at Barbara's Mom's house this year, as it is full, so we rented a place down in the French Quarter. I was pretty worried about what the place would look like, but was relieved that it turned out to be OK. It is a little small and the bathroom is not super nice, but the location is good and there is a nice party area up on the roof, where we are hoping to have a pre-New Years party. The one thing that is hard to find in the Quarter is a good grocery store, we ended up spending a lot more than we should have on sundry items.

With all the great restaurant choices in the French Quarter, we made a bad decision last night and got a slice of pizza to go with a frozen daiquiri. It held us over OK until we met everyone at Pat O'Brian's for drinks. It was a good time to be at Pat O's as it is not too crowded yet. As soon as the Sugar Bowl fans start to arrive that will all change.

Golf and Sushi

I started the day with a yoga class at my brother's club. It was pretty different from my usual class. First off it was only an hour and secondly it was more like a work out class than a yoga class. That said, I am very glad to get to go as it was a good workout and I felt a lot better after it.

I played a lot better golf today and my dad's course. I just needed a par on one of the last two holes to break 90, but I missed a 10 foot put by an inch on 17, then put my drive in the water on 18 to shoot a 92. I made a tricky birdie put on 15 which helped the score a little. After the round, we had the best chips and salsa in Houston and I got to see my favorite guy, Scooter, who is a locker attendant and also a preacher.

That evening we went to Ginza, our favorite sushi place. The food was awesome and we sat across from James Baker. You may remember him as the Secretary of State under President G.H.W. Bush. Two star sitings in a week is a pretty big deal in Houston.

Merry Christmas

It was a great extended Christmas at the Smith house. We woke up and went over to my sister's house for breakfast and we got to see all the stuff the kids got. The best present was a 50" TV for their play area and a new PlayStation. After breakfast we headed back to my parents house and all the kids came over and opened their presents from us. They were all supper excited and it was awesome to watch them tear into the loot. After they settled down, we opened our stuff. I already got a new TV and Blu-ray, so there was no big stuff to open. I got some great clothes, a book and some CDs. Barbara also did well, with new clothes, some bath stuff and golf lessons.

Golf and BBQ

I played my first round of golf at the Houston Country Club, where my sister is a member, despite living in (or going to) Houston for over 30 years. It is a very nice club in the Tanglewood area of town, with a lot of wealthy, old Houston members. I have eaten lunch in the dining room back when I was in high school, but that as close as I came to greatness in the past. The course is pretty long, with most par fours over 400 yards. There is one strange par five, that almost goes in a circle. If you could hit a straight 300 yard drive over a bayou, you would easily reach the green. If you can't you need to go around the circle about 550 yards. Otherwise the course is a pretty straightforward layout. The clubhouse is very nice as is the dining room and the other amenities. It would be a great place to live in Houston as you could easily walk to the club.

After golf, we ate lunch at my favorite BBQ place, Goode Company BBQ, where the motto is, "You should seriously think about thanking your lucky stars you are in Texas." They have great Texas BBQ, jalapeno bread, and chocolate cream pie. We had panned to go out for sushi for dinner, but everywhere was closed for Christmas eve, so we got some BBQ to go and we ate it for dinner too. Barbara also had a star sighting, she saw the long bearded singer from ZZ Top.

Barbara posted this picture on facebook, to which one of her friends commented, "I have seen clearer pictures of Big Foot, I guess we will have to take your word for it."

A movie with the kids and lots of eating

We had to wake up early today to make our 6 a.m. flight to Houston, but luckily all went well and the flight was uneventful. I even got upgraded, which Barbara was not happy about, but I did offer her the seat and she refused.

Once we got to Houston, we stopped in at one of my favorite burger places, Southwells. The original is a few miles from my parents house, but they have opened a second one by my old high school. The menu at Southwells is pretty straight forward. They only make burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches. The burgers are old school and very tasty. They also serve skinny fries and not so skinny shakes. The restaurant is pretty nondescript. There are a few booths and a few dozen tables, not much to look at, but the burgers are great.

After lunch Barbara and I took my nieces and nephews to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. This is the new stop motion animation film by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket). The voice talent is amazing, George Clooney is Mr. Fox and Meryl Streep is Mrs. Fox, Bill Murray, Willem Defoe, and Owen Wilson also play roles. The story is pretty simple. Mr. Fox is a hen thief, but he promises to stop when he finds out Mrs. Fox is pregnant. After a few years he falls off the wagon and is relentlessly pursued by the farmers he steals from. I thought the animation was amazing and the kids, ranging from 5-11 all liked it too.

The evening ended with a Tex-Mex food at Armando's. I have been there before, but it was not as good this time around. The margaritas tasted watery and my fajitas were over cooked. Worse yet, a couple of others at the table had cold crab enchiladas. Overall it was very disappointing, as our previous meals have always been good. It also made me sad that this was the one Tex-Mex meal we had on the docket.

comune Accanto

You may remember we went to the re-opened and re-modeled Genoa for our anniversary last week and I referred to the cafe they have for more casual dining. Well we checked it out last night and it was great. They are focusing on snacks and panini's, but they also have larger plates - ravioli, polenta, lasagna, pork shanks and rockfish.

We were looking for lighter fare so we started out with the seasonal soup of the day, a great pumpkin and apple soup. Then we had the liver pate costini with a nice arugula salad. To finish up the evening we had the chef choose selections from their Salumi and Formaggi list. My personal favorites were the Pecorino Toscano Staginoato, a hard sheep cheese from Tuscany, that is a lot like Parmesan, but the Gorgonzola Dolce was also amazing.

They have a great cocktail list and several nice wine by the glass selections as well. The service was great and the prices were very reasonable. I look forward to coming back and checking out the wild boar ragu and provolone panini.

ESPN ScoreCenter

If you are a sports fan the ESPN Scorecenter is a must have app. You can choose which sports you want to keep updated on and also customize within the sport. For example, I choose the Scottish Premier League and I put Celtic as my favorite team, so I get the entire season of scores, but Celtic always comes up first. For the PGA, you can pick favorite players to highlight, so you'll always see where they are on the leader board. For college and pro sports, you can also pick your favorites so, they come up first, but you can also focus on divisions like the Big 12. It's the best app I have seen to get all your scores fast and in one place.

Up in the Air

Up in the Air has been getting a lot of buzz and award chat, so we finally got out there and saw it. I am a big George Clooney fan, so I will give just about any movie he is in a chance. I have also enjoyed Ivan Reitman's other movies, Juno and Thank You for Smoking. This one lived up to the hype, this is definitely worth the extra few bucks to see in the theater.

This movie is based on a book of the same name and has an interesting premise. Ryan Bingham's (George Clooney) job is to fire people, he is a freelance hatchet man. As he says, he does the job that others are too afraid to do. He lives out of a suitcase, travelling over 350,000 miles a year and he loves the lack of attachment. When a pilot asks him where he is from, he says here - they are sitting on an airplane. The tension starts when his boss hires the young Natalie (Anna Kendrick) who has developed a system for firing people over video conferencing, saving travel costs and threatening everything that is good to Bingham. In an effort to show that her system won't work (and to save his way of life) he takes her on a cross country trip so she can see what it's really like out there.

This movie easily could have been a sappy love story, but Clooney and Reitman manage to keep it raw and edgy. Any time you think things are going to get too sugary, they take an interesting twist. Anna Kendrick, of Twilight fame, is also great. The fact that Clooney's character does not hook up with her in any way, and instead is with a more age appropriate woman, was reassuring. Expect an Oscar nod for Clooney.

Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose

Loretta Lynn has been making records since 1963 and has released over 40 of them, but I only own one. Sure I have seen the movie Coal Miners Daughter and she has over 70 top 40 country hits, so I am sure we all know a lot of her songs, but Van Lear Rose is one of the all-time great records of any genre. It also has one of my all time favorite songs "Portland Oregon." If I had my way, we would make this the official song for the city.

Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes produced this record. They are huge Loretta Lynn fans, and dedicated their first record to her, covering one of her songs as a B-side. When Lynn heard about this, she followed Johnny Cash's example and teamed up with the young Whites to make this amazingly raw record.

The New Genoa

Genoa is back! As you all know Genoa closed down last year after 30+ years. They were closed for almost a year, but are now back in business. That said, you would not recognize the place if you were a customer in the old days. There is a new bistro/bar area that serves lighter fare on the left side of the building that is brand new. The inside has been completely redecorated, adding a fireplace and a nice private dinning room. The kitchen has been updated and looks shiny and new. All the waitstaff and the host are also new. What has not changed is the great service and the great food.

The old Genoa was a seven course set meal with three entree choices for $75. They have reduced that to five courses for $55 and you now have a pasta choice as well as three entree choices. We were offered salmon, quail and beef tenderloin and we went with the latter two. Both were amazing. But I get ahead of myself. We started with Bagna Cauda, our favorite antipasto and a Genoa classic, a fondue of cream, anchovies and garlic served hot with crisp seasonal vegetables and house made bread sticks for dipping. For pasta we had Agnolotti alla Piemontese, small pasta envelopes stuffed with a mixture of beef, chicken, pork and escarole served in a rich meat broth with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. The salad was Insalata de Patate e Tartufi, a salad of sliced Yukon gold potatoes and mâche, tossed with shallots, red wine vinegar, black truffles and extra virgin olive oil. It was the simplest, but best tasting course we had. The desert choices were amazing, my favorite was the pistachio and blood oranges.

We had a very nice bottle of wine, that was reasonably priced, but I was a little sad to see they have changed their focus to concentrate more on Italian choices and much fewer Oregon wines. They also have a full bar.

Everything about the new place was wonderful and I hope they have a good long run. I am looking forward to this being a special place for us again.

Hours: 5:30PM - 9:30PM; Tuesday - Saturday

Genoa

2832 SE Belmont St.

Portland, OR 97214

(503) 238-1464

info@genoarestaurant.com

Christmas Party

The Christmas party was a little sad this year. Instead of a big lavish party, with spouses and clients, it was an agency only party. We all got together at 2 PM in the atrium and got $10 each. Then we all went out and bought the best gift we could find for the money. About an hour later everyone got back and put the presents under the tree. Then the white elephant exchange commenced. It was fun to watch folks stealing the good stuff and getting stuck with the crap. Things picked up after that as the party continued over at the Crystal Ballroom.

Christmas Cookies

Jesse's mom just sent him a two dozen individually wrapped Christmas cookies. She put them back to back, then wrapped them in cling foil so they would not smear. I am here to tell you they are some of the best tasting cookies I have ever tasted.

Heisman Trophy

I have to say I think it is a crime when the winningest quarterback in NCAA Division 1 history does not win the Heisman Trophy. That said, I can only hope this plays out as it did on 2005 when Vince Young was outvoted by Reggie Bush and then blew the Trojans away in the championship game. Clearly winning your league championship game by a big margin is more important than an amazing season or career. If I had my way they would hold the vote until after all the bowl games were done.

OK, so do the Longhorns have the Tide right where they want them? Now that all the Heisman pressure is off, Colt can relax and play a great game, while Ingram is worn out from all his travelling and talk shows. Another interesting piece of history - Texas is 7-0-1 against Alabama. they have beaten them in every bowl game they have played and every time Alabama was the favorite.

Unfortunately history does not win games, great offensive and defensive linemen do, so we are still in a little trouble.

Funny People

Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler, this could be the perfect combination or too much good stuff. Luckily, Sandler seems to have come to the show as an actor who was ready to embrace the close to home role.

Sandler plays the very successful and self-involved stand-up comedian George Simmons who learns that he has an incurable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. One night he catches Ira Wright's (Seth Rogen - a struggling up-and-coming stand-up comedian) show and decides to hire him as a personal assistant and opening act. George and Ira form a close bond as George helps Ira with his act and Ira helps George deal with the fact that he is dying. Here is where the plot takes a big twist, George finds out he is going to live. This inspires him to get back with an old flame (Leslie Mann) and re-evaluate his empty life.

While Sandler's character is the center of the story, it is the supporting characters, played by Seth Rogin, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwatzman that keep the movie fresh and interesting. As up and comers in the Hollywood world, they are more mature douche bags than we have seen in previous Apatow flicks, but basically still the same guys. Their interaction with Sandler as the star they all want to be seems very believable and makes this movie work. There are also several cameos that are priceless, the best being a rant from Eminem when he goes off on Ray Romano for looking at him at a party.

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the last great record the Smashing Pumpkins made and it is a major piece of work, lasting over two hours and 28 songs. Most would give the nod to their second record Siamese Dream, but one song "1979" puts MCIS over the top. This is easily one of the greatest, if not the greatest, pop song ever made. So don't wimp out and buy the greatest hits record. Do yourself a favor and pick up both Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Siamese Dream.

Santa visits W+K

Santa came to Wieden+Kennedy today, but unfortunately everyone has been bad, so he took a few pictures with the kids and left. No love.

Three Doors Down Cafe

I hadn't been to Three Doors Down in over ten years. When we first moved to Portland it was one of the better restaurants in town, specializing in Italian fare. The good news is it seems to have progressed with the times and is still a vibrant and relevant place. Located just off SE Hawthorne on 37th Street it is easy to miss if you are walking or especially driving by.

I can't really remember what the place was like the first time I was there, but it is open and airy now, with a clean and elegant palate. You can sit in the dining room or get the full menu in the bar, they also have a nice wine and cocktails list. We started with the cured meats, cheese and olive plate that was very nice. For entrees we tried a pasta dish and the grilled chicken. Both were huge plates with plenty of food to take home. The highlight of the meal though was the banana cream pie desert. It was truly delicious.

So next time you are shopping on Hawthorne or catching a movie at the Baghdad Theater, make the extra effort to find Three Doors Down for a great meal.

Three Doors Down Cafe

1429 SE 37th Ave.

Portland, OR 97214-5103

503-236-6886

Tuesday through Thursday 5 pm - 9:30 pm
Friday - Saturday 5 pm - 10 pm
Sundays 4 pm - 9 pm
Closed Mondays

College Football Bowl Breakdown

All the bowl games have been selected and I have listed them all here. I have to say there are lot of games that I am excited about and looking forward to watching. There are still way too many bowl games, but over all this should be a fun year. My initial pics are in bold (some games I passed on).

New Mexico
Fresno State vs. Wyoming
Dec. 19 - ESPN
I have seen both these teams and if the team that beat Houston shows up, Wyoming should win

St. Petersburg
UCF vs. Rutgers
Dec. 19 - ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans
Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee
Dec. 20- ESPN

MAACO Las Vegas
Oregon State vs. BYU
Dec. 22 - ESPN
This should be a good game, I hope OSU wins, but my money is on BYU

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia
Utah vs. Cal
Dec. 23 - ESPN
Another good game, I think Cal bounces back and wins this one

Sheraton Hawaii
Nevada vs. SMU
Dec. 24 - ESPN

Little Caesars
Marshall vs. Ohio
Dec. 26 - ESPN

Meineke Car Care
Pitt vs. North Carolina
Dec. 26 - ESPN
I will be watching this one, Pitt should have beaten Cinci, they'll win this one

Emerald
Boston College vs. USC
Dec. 26 - ESPN
I can't see Pete Carrol not getting his team up for this

Gaylord Hotels Music City
Kentucky vs. Clemson
Dec. 27 - ESPN
Clemson looked good in the ACC Championship game and KY won't be able to keep up with them

AdvoCare V100 Independence
Texas A&M vs. Georgia
Dec. 28 - ESPN2
If the good Aggies show up this will be a good game, if not it's a blow out

EagleBank
Army or UCLA vs. Temple
Dec. 29 - ESPN

Champs Sports
Miami vs. Wisconsin
Dec. 29 - ESPN
I thought Miami would be a lot better this year, a chance to finish well

Roady's Humanitarian
Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Dec. 30 - ESPN

Pacific Life Holiday
Arizona vs. Nebraska
Dec. 30 - ESPN
This should be a great game, the Holiday Bowl is usually a wild affair

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Houston vs. Air Force
Dec. 31 - ESPN

Brut Sun
Oklahoma vs. Stanford
Dec. 31 - CBS
Another great game on paper, I hope the good OU shows up, but I am not betting on it

Texas
Navy vs. Missouri
Dec. 31 - ESPN
Fear Navy, they beat Notre Dame and will give Mizzou a great game

Insight
Minnesota vs. Iowa State
Dec. 31 - NFL Network

Chick-fil-A
Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Dec. 31 - ESPN
Great match up, we'll see how the ACC stacks up against the SEC

Outback
Northwestern vs. Auburn
Jan. 1 - ESPN

Capital One
Penn State vs. LSU
Jan. 1 - ABC
I believe a decent SEC team always beats a good Big 10 team

Konica Minolta Gator
West Virginia vs. Florida State
Jan. 1 - CBS
Another good match up, sadly WVa will send Bobby out a looser

Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi
Ohio State vs. Oregon
Jan. 1 - ABC
Another Big 10 embarrassment

Allstate Sugar
Florida vs. Cincinnati
Jan. 1 - FOX
This is a tough call, Cinci will be up for this, hopefully Fla is too

International
South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Jan. 2 - ESPN2

Papajohns.com
South Carolina vs. UConn
Jan. 2- ESPN

AT&T Cotton
Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
Jan. 2 - FOX
The two preseason darlings that didn't live up to the hype, should be a great game

AutoZone Liberty
Arkansas vs. East Carolina
Jan. 2 - ESPN

Valero Alamo
Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
Jan. 2 - ESPN

Tostitos Fiesta
Boise State vs. TCU
Jan. 4 - FOX
Awesome match up with two undefeated teams, a must watch

FedEx Orange
Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Jan. 5 - FOX
The crappy BCS game that no one cares about

GMAC
Central Michigan vs. Troy
Jan. 6 - ESPN

Citi BCS National Championship Game
Texas vs. Alabama
Jan. 7 - ABC
If the Texas offense and defense both show up for the same game, this should be fun; if not, it's a walk for Bama.

Big 12 Championship

The Big 12 championship game was a big letdown. To be fair the Texas defense played great, but it should also be said that the Nebraska offense was pretty miserable. Barely more miserable than the Texas O. With three interceptions I think Colt McCoy lost his place as the Heisman Trophy front runner. I hate that he ended the season like that, but he did not get much help. Nebraska was able to get an amazing pass rush from their four down lineman, so they could drop as many as seven back into coverage. This led to nine sacks, 4-1/2 by Ndumakong Suh, Nebraska's amazing defensive end, who has to be considered a top three pick in the NFL draft.

I think all the hard hits and pressure got to Colt as he looked a little out of it in the forth quarter. On what could have been the last play of the game, instead of calling a time out to get the field goal team on the field, Colt took the snap and threw the ball away as time ran out. Luckily the referees conferred and correctly put one second back on the game clock. In the post-game interview Colt said he had it the entire time, but neither ESPN nor any other TV talking head agreed.

While Texas fans all got to exhale and feel good for a few minutes after Hunter Lawrence made the field goal to win the game, it soon became apparent that the close call hurt the Longhorns BCS Championship bid. Instead of everyone talking about a clear #1 vs. #2 game, the door was now open for speculation on how TCU or Cincinnati got shafted. While it is hard to hear this, clearly a more decisive win or even a more offensively exciting game would have made a huge difference.

Clearly Alabama will now be the big favorite in the BCS championship game. Shadows of 2005.

NW Film Financing: Movie Marketing

Today I made my way down to the Red Lion to sit on a panel about movie marketing. The funny thing is I have only marketed one film in my life, so I am not sure I was super qualified, but it was interesting none the less. I was on the second panel of the day that consisted of four people. The others were experts in social marketing, film festivals and getting your movie exhibited (in movie theaters). The panel before mine was all local film makers. I am sure this was a lot more interesting and probably more pertinent to the people in the room as they were all making or aspiring to make movies. That said, I think the presentation went pretty well.

I showed a short video that gives an overview of the marketing we did for Coraline, and then gave an overview of my involvement. I got a lot of questions about social marketing and how people could get the word out. While most of these people are making movies for $100,000 or less, less than what we spent on making our trailer, I think there are a lot of parallels. There is no doubt you are going to have to make a good film to get it widely seen and you are probably not going to make money. Once you come to terms with this, there are a lot of things independent film makers can do to get their movie seen.

Instead of investing a lot of money in a website, I suggested they try to get attention where people may have natural connections to their films. For example, I talked to one person who is making a film about street dogs in Chile and the people who try to help them. She was looking for funding help, which I am no expert on, but I suggested there would be a huge audience across the US of people involved in animal rights. If she were to go on tour and screen the finished film to people involved in these types of organizations, I am sure they would help promote it for her. I was surprised at how little people had thought about the potential audiences for their movies, as everyone I meet seems to have an opinion on how they could do my job better.

One of my favorite panelists was Kelley Baker. He is a local film maker that Barbara knows and he has been quite successful, i.e., he doesn't make any money, but this is his full-time job. I should clarify that by saying I doubt he makes any money on his films. He has been the sound designer on several of Gus Van Sant's features and he uses that money as well as his constant fundraising efforts to make his own films. In fact, he once sent out 100 letters to friends asking for $100 to make a movie, all he offered in return were tickets to the premier. We contributed to that effort as did 48 other people. If you want to check out Kelley's films or buy his book on making the extreme no-budget movie check out his website, the Angry Filmmaker.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Another soundtrack? That's only two out of one hundred records, and surely you'll allow O Brother, Where Art Thou? as it went way beyond a typical soundtrack. It was actually more popular than the amazing movie that inspired it. It also spawned a separate tour, featuring artists from the soundtrack as well as other like minded musicians. I think it is safe to say that this record single handedly brought back old time music and started the onslaught of re-releases we saw from record companies trying to cash in. So, to the radio show American Roots and to Arhoolie records, I say sorry, I know you have always been there for American heritage music, but this record put it back on the map.

Meet Jackson

We have a new edition to the W+K dog family today. Dez adopted a beautiful black lab/healer mix from the Oregon Humane Society over the weekend. He was pulled in by the "Black Friday" promotion, which offered a discount on all predominantly black animals. Even though Jackson was too young to qualify, they could not resist.

Win Nike Golf Stuff for Christmas

If you are on Facebook, you have the chance to win free Nike Golf stuff every day from now until Christmas. Just become a fan of Nike Golf and click on the "Holiday Giveaway" tab to enter. They are giving away lots of equipment, autographed stuff from all their athletes and a grand prize trip to the Oven in Ft. Worth to get custom fit for a set of golf clubs. Sadly, I am not eligible, but I won't be bitter if you win.

Christmas is Here

As is tradition in our house, the Christmas tree is up the day after Thanksgiving. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, Mr. and Mrs. Snowman are in the front window and the wreath is up on the front door. It all looks great and it makes the house feel very festive.

W+K also got their Christmas trees up. Now, let the parties begin.

Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

I have really been hesitating to add this record to the line up, but it has to be done. This is one of my all-time guilty pleasures. This is one of those records that I played so much I wore it out. This is Meat Loaf: Bat out of Hell.

Marvin Lee Aday never revealed how he got the name Meat Loaf, but we know this was the moniker he used from his earliest days as an actor in Hair and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 1977 Meat Loaf teamed up with classically trained pianist and songwriter Jim Steinman to produce the masterpiece that is Bat out of Hell. The record spawned three Top 40 singles, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," and "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth," on its way to becoming one of the best-selling albums of the 70's. BOH has sold over 40 million copies and is also one of only two albums that has never exited the Top 200 in the UK charts.

In case you have not seen the Meat Loaf "Behind the Music" on VH1, what ensued was years of litigation and ultimately a bankrupt Meat Loaf. But not to worry, Meat Loaf has nine lives. In 1990 he got back together with Steinman and released Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell, which sold over 15 million copies.

Happy Thanksgiving

I started the day cleaning up the house and yard for our guests, I was thankful that I got that done in time to go to yoga. The 10 a.m. class was packed out, but it was a great class and our teacher did not charge us for the class as her Thanksgiving gift to us. I am also thankful to be married to such a great cook. Barbara made an amazing dinner, with turkey and all the trimmings. She brined the turkey, so it was super moist. We also had cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts all topped off with a great turkey gravy. I was thankful that Dede and Jesse were able to join us, it was great to have the company. I was thankful for the great berry pie we got from Ja Civas.

Finally, I am thankful that the Longhorns game is over. It was exhausting and I am drained.

Tyson

For an hour and a half, I sat watching the documentary Tyson thinking what could have been.  When he first hit the boxing scene, Mike Tyson had the potential to be the greatest fighter of all time.  He was so powerful and won fights so convincingly, it was scary.  I was a big fight fan when I was younger, and I watched a lot of the old fighters, including most of the big heavy-weight fights from the 70s and 80s.  I have never seen anyone as ferocious and focused as Tyson.  I don't think the film really captured how great he was, but that is probably not the point.  It seems to me they were trying to get inside Tyson's head, to try to find out out why things turned out as they did.

On that level the film is successful.  Tyson is raw and laid open.  You can clearly see this was a young man who was overtaken by the fame and fortune that came his way.  I used to think that if Cus D'Amato had lived a little longer things would have been different for Tyson, and this movie confirmed that thinking.  Cus was the only person Tyson trusted.  Once he died, the downward spiral began.  Tyson was ripped off and played by everyone he interacted with.  He became bitter and he acted out, he had no impulse control.  You can see he is clearly embarrassed by some parts of his life, and feels greatly wronged by others.  If you have ever seen him fight, or at all interested in what makes a person go off the deep end, this movie is a must see. Oh, what could have been.

Wieden+Kennedy Pie Making contest

This is one of my favorite days of the year, the W+K pie contest. As everyone knows, Dan Wieden loves pie, and would rather eat any pie over a piece of cake. So, every year we have a pie making contest that is judged by Mr. Wieden. This year was a little lean in the number of pies, there were only 60; in years past there have been over 80. However, there was still a lot of enthusiasm. The entire agency gathers in the atrium to participate. All the pies are arranged on tables in the middle of the atrium and there are five initial judges per category. If you are are a category winner, you go to the head table where Dan chooses a winner.


There are a lot of people that are very serious about pie making. In fact Allison Bick, who won three years ago, made a pie even though she has left W+K and now works for Nike. There were eight categories this year: berry, apple, specialty apple, wild card, chocolate, pumpkin, cheesecake and one other I can't remember. I had the misfortune of judging the cheesecake category. Most people do not believe that cheesecakes should be allowed in the pie contest, and that was obvious by the two lame entries we got. We did not give a first place, so cheesecake did not get to the top table.

Once the category winners were all announced, we got down to the serious business. Dan stepped up to choose the overall winner. Usually this takes a while as he goes back and forth tasting each one a few times. Not today. As soon as he tasted it, he declared the pumpkin pie the winner. It was a shock to everyone, but I have to say I tried it and it was an awesome pie..

$20 Jeans. Why pay more?

I think I may have said this in the past, but I can not abide paying a lot of money for blue jeans. When I was a kid I wore Toughskins because that is what my mom bought us at Sears. As I got a little older I begged her for a pair of Levis, and when I finally got them I felt like I had graduated. I think that was in fourth or fifth grade, but either way it was a big deal. In high school I faced another jeans decision. Most of the people I went to school with were wearing Wrangler boot cut jeans, or Calvin Klein designer jeans, but I was a Levis 501 guy. I did not and could not fit into either of those other categories. I didn't want to look like a redneck in Wranglers and if James Dean and the Clash wore Levis, that was enough fashion endorsement for me, despite those great Brooke Shields ads from CK.

So, that gets me to where I am today. I will not wear Diesel, Lucky, or any other $200 pair of jeans. I went to the Fred Meyer where they had Levis 505 jeans, normally $44, on sale for $34.99. With my 40% off coupon I paid $21 for my new jeans. That sounds about right to me.

Deschutes Brewery

One of may all-time favorite beers is Deschutes Black Butte Porter. I like it so much, I was able to talk everyone into featuring it in an Oregon Tourism ad a few years ago. At the shoot, we got to tour the brewery and taste a lot of samples. They also have a great little brewhouse tavern down the street from the brewery in Bend, Oregon. So, needless to say I was very happy to see them opening a restaurant and brewhouse in Portland, right down the street from the office.

It is a large, well light space with a modern northwest feel. There are lots of booths and big tables for group lunches or drinks after work. They only serve their own beers, but there are plenty of great ones to choose from. They serve up a good selection of pub foods and pizza. The best way to start is to get the pretzel with white cheddar and mustard dipping sauce, awesome. The pizzas and burgers are really good, I can recommend the Blue Bacon burger, but not the Hawaiian Chicken burger. The Ruben and the Cuban sandwiches are also good.

So next time you are in the Pearl District and you want to get a great beer, stop by Deschutes.

Deschutes Brewery & Public House

210 NW 11th Ave

Portland, OR 97209

(503) 296-4906

Facebooked

I love Facebook, it is great to hook up with friends you haven't talked to in a long time and not really have to talk to them. That said, it does have it's downsides. I am learning how to block people that send you Mafia Wars updates all the time and people who like to broadcast their political views, but what do you do with beloved friends who start posting old pictures?

One of my favorite people from college, Scott Cain, had some time on his hands and he scanned in a bunch of pictures from the old days, several of which featured me. I guess it could have been worse, but it's weird that all the people you work with can now see pictures of you from 20 years ago. I guess it's my fault for friending all of them.

Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions

The Cowboy Junkies are one of my all time favorite bands. I first saw them live in Austin in 1989, and they were so quite and shy on stage it looked like they were in pain. More recently they have played a few gigs at the Portland Zoo and the lead singer Margo Timmins stayed on stage after the show and talked to fans. Quite a turn around. The Trinity Sessions was the band's first major record release and was followed by another great effort, 1989's The Caution Horses. The Trinity Sessions got a lot of critical acclaim, but it never took off sales wise. One of their best know songs is a cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" that Lou called the best interpretation of any of his songs he has ever heard.

The band has continued to record and tour, despite not having a record label deal for years. You can order "Cowboy Junk" directly from their Latent Recordings website, they have a great selection of CDs, DVDs, videos, tour info, etc. You can also sign up to get their newsletter. They are the only band I have ever sent a note and gotten a real response back.

My Grandmother has Worms

I think I have talked about school field trips on the bus before, but to refresh your memory, Portland schools do not have yellow buses, so kids take public transit to school and on field trips. Every so often, 20 or so kids will get on the bus at around 36th street and ride downtown to a museum, the library, or wherever. Usually it is not too big of a deal, but if the bus is full it can be a tight squeeze. This morning was one of those days. One of the teachers was sitting next to me and a couple of kids were in front of us sharing the seat with an older lady. The teacher kept asking the kids questions about where they lived and what high school they would be going to. This led one of the girls to start talking about her grandma:

Girl: They put my grandma in a home, she things she's sick.
Teacher: What's wrong with her?
Girl: She's a hypochondriac.
Teacher: How do you know she's not sick?
Girl: She says she has worms.
Old Lady: People can have worms.
Teacher: When I was a kid growing up in the south we wore shoes so we wouldn't get worms in our feet.
Girl: What?
Old Lady: They cut people open all the time and find worms.
Girl: What?
Old Lady: She probably really has worms and they are driving her crazy. You need to help her.

Il Piatto

Il Piatto is one of the first restaurants we went to when we moved to Portland back in 1995; back when Italian restaurants dominated the landscape. It has always been know as a romantic, cozy place with good food and wine. We had not been there for years, and unfortunately our return visit last Saturday night did not live up to the memories. We got off to a bad start, as our table was very small and way too close to our neighbors. The waitstaff also seemed a little disinterested. Another big disappointment was how well lit the place was, it had lost it's intimate charm and romance. It didn't help that we were sitting across from a door that led to their bar, where a live band was playing. Every time one of the waiters opened the door, we'd get blown out by the music (and for some reason they opened the door a lot).

So, most importantly how was the food? In short it was mixed. One of their old standby appetizers, the portobella con polenta, was still great. But the entree pastas were not. We both got the chicken linguine and it was ridiculously sweet, so much so that it was hard to eat. Luckily we got a fantastic sangiovese off the wine menu, where they were featuring five nice choices for $25 or less, to drown out the food.

Il Piatto
2348 SE Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97214-1627
(503) 236-4997

Trapped on Hyper Island

I just finished a three day master class in all things digital. It was taught by Hyper Island, a two-year university course in Sweden focused on on-line related technologies, products, services and businesses. The Hyper Island Master Class is designed to increase knowledge and competence among its participants, through short-term and intensive courses, when it comes to understanding interactive and digital media and the effective use of it. We spent three days from 9 AM to 7 PM, in the W+K cafeteria (luckily it was rainy outside, so we didn't feel like we were missing too much). There were several guest speakers and a lot of small group exercises, but the most productive part in my opinion was the talk amongst the group about how we can change our business to be more digitally savvy.

Since I have been back at work a lot of people have been asking, what did you learn? This is a hard question to answer as there was a lot of stuff we covered and most of it was big picture. How would we staff or organize the agency differently to be more digitally focused? How can we think about things differently, so we make sure we are addressing digital in everything we do? That said, here are a couple of interesting things to think about:

How good is your network? If all you are getting from your network (twitter, facebook, etc.) is boring updates on Mafia Wars, then change it. Start following people that are pertinent to your life and work On twitter you can follow anyone, so look for experts in your field or people who are doing things you find interesting. It is amazing how much cool (and free) info is out there.

Speaking of interesting free info, check out quantcast.com and kosmix.com. These sites give you lots of interesting info about your competitors sites, who is using them, how they got there, and other interesting demographic info.

Lastly, start thinking about how you can combine existing technologies and ideas to make better stuff. Bread and slicing had both been around for a while before someone put them together and started selling sliced bread. If you combined concert info with your iTunes library, you could get an alert on your iPhone whenever tickets were going on sale for your favorite bands. Unfortunately, that one will have to wait until Apple loosens access to iTunes by outside apps.