A Night of Legends.

Recently, I pretty much lucked into an event at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was at the Assembly Hall and was titled "A Night of Legends". The basketball program had deemed it time to hang some famous jersey numbers, and they wanted to invite everyone to watch, with an all-star UofI basketball game thrown in for fun.




Not only did we get to see a game played by such UofI stars as - [from the News-Gazette] "There could be some no-shows, and some unexpecteds, but the rosters (or confirmed attendees) for A Night of Legends at the Assembly Hall are taking shape. Players who have said they'll be there Saturday include four of the five starters from '04-05: Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell." [...And] members of the 1989 Final Four squad who have said they'll be there: Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson, Stephen Bardo, Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty and Larry Smith. Then some others, spanning the Kruger-Self-Weber years: Kiwane Garris, Brian Cook, Frank Williams, Jerry Hester, Jarrod Gee, Kevin Turner, Lucas Johnson, Cory Bradford, Sergio McClain, Sean Harrington, Jerrance Howard and Victor Chukwudebe."

But we also got to see (from afar) Deron Williams' Men's Olympic Basketball Gold Medal and a very nice ceremony for the unveiling of the jerseys, done by each player or one of their living family members (some of the jerseys were from players in the 30s and 40s). All in all, a pretty cool, historical night to be a part of.

[I know, crap pic]

We also found a new place to hit before events at the Assembly Hall - Houlihan's. I know, I know, you're thinking "Houlihan's?" - but the food was good and better yet, you can arrive early for dinner, park in their lot, then literally walk across the street to Assembly Hall. The restaurant is part of a new conference center and hotel, just south of Assembly Hall.

Austin Ghost Tours.

Ok, ok, I'm a liar. I have one more Austin story - geez, gimme a break.

One of the nights, we decided to do something a little more "touristy" than normal. We paid online and made our way downtown for an "Austin Ghost Tour".

The tour was of the walking variety and only comprised about 7 square city blocks, not too bad. Plus, the sun had gone down, the crowds on 6th Street were coming out, and it was interesting. All of the buildings we visited on the tour had stories of hunting's. Usually someone, er, some spirit was still in each building on the tour, doing the haunting. Most of it was pretty tame stuff, but all the stories seemed to be real to those who experienced it.

One of the most interesting was a building now owned by a pretty famous photographer named David Grimes. He does lots of print work for companies in and around Austin, like Dell Computers. Better still, he also has a whole section on his site devoted to the ghost stories of his current studio. I'll let him take you through them, here... IF YOU DARE!!! Muuwhooo-aaaa-aaaa-aaah!!!!

Brain Teaser, #2.

Using an empty 5-gallon jug and an empty 3-gallon jug, how can you measure exactly on gallon of fluid, without spilling, dripping, or losing any of it?

Discuss, Poll #35, Celebrity News.

Does anyone have a good celebrity story? Uhmmm... I've seen a few notables in public, but never a long conversation or anything. 

For a variety of reasons, one of my favorites was just having Hilary Swank walk by me in NYC. This was also after all the Million Dollar Baby Oscar stuff, when she was pretty popular. It was a quiet winter evening on a small street in the Village, no one else was around and I couldn't even gossip to anyone about it, b/c no one else saw. But she looked great (I hardly even noticed her then boyfriend/manager alongside her) and none of us said a thing. Kind of surreal at the time, but I'm pretty sure I started texting anyone that might reply right after. And when the friend I was with came out of the restaurant, it was the first thing I blurted out.

Oh, Hilary and I have the same birth year, but I don't follow too much celebrity news.

Results, Poll #34, NFL.

The gridiron poll is done, let's see what we got:

> 2 people (12%) chose 'yes, i see multiple games per season' - lucky ducks. though, who can blame them, if something's good, more is better. (right?)
> 7 people (45%) chose 'yeah, i've seen some' - not such a bad way to spend the day, is it?
> 1 person (6%) chose 'no, i like college games' - well, if you like college games, then the nfl is for you! bigger, fatser, more accurate. though there is something about the purity of college sports.
> 2 people (12%) chose 'not yet, but someday' - that's it, glass half full kind of people, this is what the world needs more of. i'd be happy to indoctrinate you into the nfl, just name the game (and pickup my ticket).
> 4 people (25%) chose 'wah? what's the nfl?' - you people need help. i'd suggest a quick and painless nfl-indoctrination. bring beer, grilled meats, team colors, rowdy fans and blend.

Interesting news for the NFL? Perhaps. (I don't think they read my blog though) Maybe they have some people to win over still, but for those of us that already like a football game in 20 degree weather, they'd be preaching to the choir.

Thanks to the 16 voters and for using all of the choices.

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum.

As if you couldn't figure it out, the LBJ Library & Museum is in Austin (I promise, it's the last Austin post). We decided to duck out of the 90 degree sun one afternoon and head over to the only presidential library that is free to all (LBJ made a point of making his library no charge). Wait, you know that Lyndon Baines Johnson was our 36th President, right? He took over after JKF (uhhh, John Fitzgerald Kennedy) was assassinated (that means murdered).

This was my first presidential library visit and I have to say, I was impressed... I was entertained... I learned lots of things... and I was glad I went.

I'm not sure a caricature is presidential, but they're the ones that put it up. Lady Bird (also with the initials LBJ) has her own "wing" on one of the floors; pretty cool. She was also an important UT-Austin alum (aka, Texas Ex) and a 6 year regent at the university.


Above is the Roman Catholic missal that bears JFK's initials. LBJ was sworn in using it.


This '67 Lincoln maybe the first example of a pimped ride. 13,000lbs when done, bullet proof tires, armor plating, lots of gizmos, and slick too.

Having been elected on the same ticket as JFK, as VP LBJ was put in charge of education and the space program. He had a knack for both... wonder if that's why much of NASA is in Texas?
This was a "life-like" view of a NASA meeting. They're all figurines (mannequins?). I'm not sure how or why, but it was entertaining.

Pretty sure this a the "real deal" of what astronauts wore on their backs to keep them breathing (also filtering out air coming in, keeping it humid, temperate, etc).
Gotta get the kids behind the space program too... who better to help than Snoopy!?

And for what was probably my favorite thing in the place, a life-size animatronic figure of LBJ that told 5 funny stories. They were told in his voice, from recordings made in the White House. The figure did "robot" around a bit and really was fun to watch and listen.

Below is a seven-eighths scale version of LBJ's Oval Office. It was full-on 70's motif, but still very presidential and interesting to see.


Last but not least, two teeny, tiny items I found in Lady Bird's wing.
For any sports fan, these might be the coolest things in the whole collection. As I understood the little placards, all presidents receive lifetime passes to all NFL and MLB games. The MLB version looked like a fancy driver's license, but the NFL version was pimped out and looked stamped from brass. They can go and see any game they want - waaaay cool.

If you have a chance to see any presidential library, I would jump at it. Of course, if you happen to be in Austin and have even 2 hours (that's all I took), you should definitely put this place on your list of stops.

The Univeristy Co-Op @ UT-Austin.

I'm going to come right out and tell everyone from the beginning - the campus bookstore at the University of Texas-Austin is the Cabela's of campus bookstores. I've been a few times now and each time I am re-mesmerized by all the burnt orange, hook 'em horns, and wacky stuff they have to show their pride in being a current, past, or future UT student. They actually have a special name for alums, "Texas Ex" - it's literally the name of the alumni association.

Like the Cabela's camo post ("An Ode to Camo"), we'll go from normal, to not-so-normal, to wacky-ass-shit:

The normal college bookstore stuff:

Blah

Blah

Bill. If your name's "Bill" or almost any other, they have a mug for you. But not "Blah".

Now, some kinda out there items:

Starting off small, just like the camo Crocs at Cabela's, but only in UT's burnt orange.

What every smart frat boy will be wearing at the tailgate... and puking on at the hayride.

How about a stained glass, pool table lamp shade that will let everyone who comes over to play know you mean business when it comes to UT.

And if that doesn't show your Longhorn pride enough, grab the $350 Lucchese cowboy boots. You can stomp your affiliation all over town.

Then you can grill everyone a burger with your Longhorn grill mitts.

Finally, the wacky-ass-shit you won't find at your TIS, Follett's or IUB - get ready, it ain't pretty:

UT Bath Rugs - how could you splish splash onto your school's colors like that?

Complete your UT rug collection with a set for your truck.

Is Santa a Texas Ex? It's never the wrong season for ornaments, is it?

Surprise, now your baby can show their allegiance at play dates.

And your dog can too, at the bark park.

When you come back from walking the dog...

Finish your "honey do" list with this new hammer you got (notice football inspired handle grip).

Put this new gnome in our south 40.

And brush your teeth before kissing me "good night".