Blogging Book Report

I just finished reading John U Bacon's epic tome Three and Out about the Rich Rodriguez years as Head Coach of the Michigan Football Team. It left me with mixed feelings.

It was great in that it provided insight to some of the questions that had been lingering around the program the past few years, but it didn't quite deliver on all fronts. I was hoping for more meat between the buns. I think part of the problem is that Bacon was unable to get interviews with Carr, Martin and Coleman. And I can only imagine how tight-lipped that Carr interview would have actually been.

The book was hard to read knowing just how frustrating the story would end up. I had put that 2009 Illinois game behind me and tried not to look back, and having to relive that game was tough. Going back and having to remember being in the Big House for the loss to Toledo was another tough one. Three MSU and OSU losses weren't fun to remember either. It made me go back and wonder how things may have been different had one or two small things had gone the other way. The one that really gets me is the Antonio Bass injury. It's impossible to say, but I'd like to think that he is one player that could have really made a difference when Rodriguez arrived. He would have been a mobile senior quarterback perfect for the Rodriquez offense in 2008. A major upgrade over the Sheridan/Threet combo, I think he could have won us a few games and put the entire program on a different trajectory. But Butterfly effect and all, maybe with him we win the 2006 National Championship and Lloyd doesn't retire. Hard thing to predict, but it still sits in my mind.

My favorite part of the book was seeing the players behind the facade of the program. I liked the stories about how the players saw those years and what their views on the team were. It was also interesting to see people I knew and hung out with get mentioned in the book, though never in much detail.

Tomorrow night John Bacon is going to be in Seattle doing a talk and Q&A type thing. I've been thinking about the various questions I want to ask him. The one that's really puzzling me is the minimal mention of Justin Feagin in the book. Feagin was only mentioned as a high risk recruit when they were discussing the Demar Dorsey fiasco (which is another thing I want to ask about). But I clearly recall that there was some very negative backlash when he got kicked of the team for setting up a bad cocaine deal and then having the guy he set it up for try to burn down West Quad. I wonder if that just got left on the cutting room floor, or if there was more to it that only someone with access would have seen. It would also answer my questions on how a players dismissal affects the coaching staff, player, and team. The Boubacar Cissoko dismissal was mentioned in the book, but Bacon never talked about how that affected the team to see one of their own leave the program like that.

I read a book

I read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I was told that it would change my life. It didn't.

I'm not a literary critic but my major complaint was Rand's neglect for certain parts of the story. Like when Lucious Heyer dies and leaves Peter Keating with $200,000 in the 1920's. That was a huge sum of money, but it is merely mentioned and then doesn't seem to affect any aspect of his life.

The other thing that pissed me off while reading the book is the storyline between Peter and Toohey's niece Catherine. She appears and then disappears for years at a time. Then they get engaged but then on page 262 Toohey encourages Peter to go after Dominique knowing that he was engaged to his niece. On page 329 Toohey again has to be reminded that Peter was engaged to his niece but this is like 2 years later and there has been no mention of Catherine in between. Then on page 376 Peter and Catherine decide to get married the next day. That night Dominique proposes to Peter and he says yes despite that he is supposed to get married to another girl the next day. WTF? Then she isn't mentioned again for years.

But if they were in love before Toohey drove Peter towards Dominique why did years go by without them seeing each other. Also, why didn't she do anything except sit at Toohey's house and wait for Peter to show up? It was like 'Oh hey, by the way Peter is still courting this girl even though he promised to marry her several times but then never did but we're not going to talk about that for another couple of years until it is convenient'.

Also, she didn't mention the fall of the stock market in 1929. It was briefly touched upon a few years later that no one was building. I would think that the Great Depression would have a bigger effect on an Architect in New York City.

Life in Chi-Town

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile I've been pretty busy. Actually that is a lie. I wrote one of the best story blogs I have ever written. It is at Tucker Max level. It's about going back to Ann Arbor and a wedding over last weekend. I would publish it but it's a little raunchy, and it is one of those things I would never want my kids or any girl to read. I have a few blogs that are really good but I just can't bring myself to publish them because they involve some nefarious acts, perhaps with readers of this blog. I guess I draw the line just below pooping in a box. And the point of this blog is to get chicks, not scare them away. So instead I'll share with you a little look into my life.

My life has fallen into a bit of a routine but I like it. I've been cooking for myself, which is something that I really can't do in the Box house. The best I could do at school was Michealinas, which were 10 for 10$ at Meijer. Michealinas has three levels of pricing which is; budget for 1$, regular for 1.50$ and gourmet for 2$. The thing is that some of the budget entrees are the best, and since they all cost the same at school I just got the ones I wanted. In Chicago however, they actually form to the pricing plan, and oh boy do I look poor when I buy the budget Michealinas and Wacky Mac (which btw has absolutely no branding on it). But just last week I made Chicken Parmigiana. It only took 4 ingredients but it was one of the best dinners I have made in a long time.

I have also been reading more. I didn't really read much between the ages of 12 and a month ago. I read a few books for high school classes but I missed out on a most of the great classics. I even took a class my second semester senior year called reading for enrichment, which was designed for kids who were planning on graduating and was "taught" my the drama teacher. I didn't really read anything unless you count The Multiple Man as a book (high school newspaper reference). I think I spent a week in that class reading a road map. Luckily my roommate has a great collection of books so I've been catching up on some good novels and autobiographies. I just finished reading some J.D. Salinger short stories, and while I did read Catcher in the Rye in high school, and as much I hear that I remind people of Holden Caulfield, I dislike every character Salinger has ever created. I think it stems from his overuse of the word "goddam".

I also try to watch a movie every night from my roommates 1000 disc collection. I'm finally watching all of those movies that you have always wanted to see, but never wanted to rent/admit it. I also watch at least one episode of South Park every night. I like to see the shows transition from plot based episodes to mainly pure social commentary.

On the weekends I usually wander around Chicago getting gay and seeing the city. I am going to try to make it up to the school where they filmed Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I also play beach volleyball once a week, go out with the other interns and "hang out" with Vickery's GF.

I have some better posts in the works, but in the mean time, WTF with the coinage comments? And thanks to everyone who wrote/texted/gchatted about taking office poops. It easies my work load to know that your easing your work load.