So the y! has been doing this live sets thing down in santa monica for a couple years now. I haven’t been paying too much attention to it, though. every now and then a band will show up that peaks my interest and i’ll catch a couple of the songs online, but that about it. to be honest, my interest in music has waned dramatically since leaving the dungeon.

anyway, getting back to the point, weezer performed recently and, well, they knocked the shit out of the park. Instead of giving just another concert, they invited the crowd to bring their instruments. here’s a taste of what ensued:

and here’s the behind the scenes action:

the final set list:
pork and beans
creep (radiohead cover)
island in the sun
automatic
jaimie
say it ain’t so
el scorcho
beverly hills

you can check it out in all its glory here.

talking to the chuburys the other day, it occurred to me that my career will be turning ten years old in a few short months. I’m not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I feel a retrospective is in order. On the other, I feel like I’m too young to be thinking about a retro anything. I wish I had something more substantive to say about this mile marker.

I guess what I can say is that this past decade I’ve been incredibly lucky to have worked with some really wonderful people with whom I’ve formed enduring friendships, and for that I am very grateful.

So, thanks y’all!

Here’s to another ten. Cheers.

Non-obama lovefest posts have been scarce lately. Things have been busy, what can i say? Here’s what i’ve been up to:

1) The new navigation on the ol’ s.y.c. If you haven’t noticed, there’s a new nav on sports.yahoo.com. I have to admit that i wasn’t much of a fan of the new nav when i saw it, but apparently, i’m in the minority. anyway, this is merely phase one of a three or four parter.

2) Yahoo! Sports Minute: This was sorta a big deal. It marks the first time Dunkin’ Donuts has advertised with us, and i think it went off pretty well. Check it out at http://sports.yahoo.com/sportsminute

3) Finally, with a great deal of effort, UFC PPV dropped last night. This is our second live broadcast deal with a sports league (the first being nfl game pass, also brought to the masses by yours truly). Overall, i think we did a pretty good job and, personally, i’m stoked that we got to do this. If you’ve got $45 laying around and don’t mind using any other browser other than safari, feel free to give it a look-see at http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/ufcppv/82.

next up is a santa monica-new york sandwich.

Looks like the Y! is having a little promo for our new kickstart project. Here are the rules. Go get ‘em.

So a few months back, the Y! sports team did a little redesign. We spruced things up a bit, updated the look, put a big ass picture on it. Personally, i really liked it. I know that others didn’t. So, today, we snuck in a little something, something. A slimmed down, bare bones, hold-everything-just-the-meat-and-bun digest for y’all. Let us know what you think over here. enjoy.

In a frakkin’ awesome deal for us, we signed with the NBA to get 2007 playoff highlights for Yahoo! Sports, everyone’s favorite destination for all things news, scores, rumors, and fantasy. It’s a pretty sweet package. We have highlights for every game, post game interviews, top ten plays and more. I’m pretty stoked about it. Of course, i’d be more stoked if my kings were in the playoffs, but why bog down a good thing with crushed dreams and broken hearts?

I’ve started taking the 6:30pm bus home lately. I had been taking the 6pm due to the physical limitations that prevented me from spending more time in the gym. Thankfully, those limitations are now in retrograde. One of the downsides of the 6:30pm bus (affectionately known as the Van Ness line), is that it drops me off at Van Ness and Grove. The intersection of Van Ness and Grove helps form the locus of points in the city that are farthest from my home. It often takes another 40min to and hour to get home from that stop. Just for some background, the 6pm bus (The Glen Park line) drops me off at 19th and Judah where it takes me about 15min to get home.

Anyway, so i’m on the 6:30pm and we’re waiting to leave sunnyvale when a woman steps on and asks “Does this bus go to Glen Park?” I kindly tell her that the last Glen Park bus was 6pm. She then turns to her comrade and says “Sorry about that . You can take a cab home and expense it.” I have to say i was slightly aghast. To me, that’s an egregious misuse of company funds for multiple reasons. I mean, you’re going to get into the city at 7:30/7:45. You have to stay past 8pm for a free cab ride in most financial institutions in new york! Also, if you need to get from Van Ness and Grove to Glen Park, you should take the Bart for $2 instead of running up a $30 cab ride. sheesh.

Has sailed! No stopping it now. Be on the lookout cause it’s coming your way.

In case you missed the press release, go get some (if you don’t live in the U.S. that is).

Yours truly had a hand in this. imagine working on something that you’re not supposed to be able to see . . . yeah.

Today was three weeks in the making. I tipped the scales at 160.5 last night, went to bed with little to eat and drink and woke up feeling pretty good. not too achy, not too weak. skpped the morning cp of water. skipped breakfast. had to be under 160. just hopped into the shower and got on the bus.

The ride to work was a bit long. The stomach started growling a bit. felt a little woozy. seventy minutes is a long way to go on a parched mouth and empty stomach. anyway, we rolled into campus and i headed straight for the scale, stripped down and weighed in. 160.75. good. the offical scale is a pound lighter than the one in the locker room. I head out and get on the official scale and balance it out. half a sliver left of 160. sweet. didn’t even have to run any weight off. I called the attendant over as a witness, got the measurement, dressed and quickly found the closest donut.

One donut, one banana, one cliff bar, and some orange juice and i’m feeling better than i have in weeks. Now, just needed to wait for 11:30 game time.

I leave my cube at 11:00 and head over to the gym to warm up and stretch out. a five minute run. stretch. a little jump rope, stretch. feeling good, time to get the game face on. I don the bandana.

First event, log press: a 120lbs “log” that you must lift from the ground and press above your head as many times as possible in 60 seconds.

We draw numbers to see who goes first. I luck out and get to go last. knowledge is key. Matt goes first. He puts the log up 5 times. Some other dude goes second, i think he got 3 or 4, then Will goes. 11. wow. that’s a lot. My turn. So, the key to this event is the pelvic thrust. you want to lock your hips as you pick the weight up off the ground and get it to just below your pubic bone. once there, you want one big pop of your hips to get the weight moving out and up and then catch it on your shoulders. if you do it right, you’ll be in a half squat and then your legs are set up to propel the weight up and over your head. complicated, i know.

I step up to the platform. take a deep breath. It’s been a while since i’ve had an audience. I remember my crew days. The pre-race jitters. I feel that kind of excitement again. a tingle. It’s been a while. except now it doesn’t make me nervous. it makes me smile. it makes me want to laugh. i ponder throwing a peace sign and thanking everyone for coming out cause they could have been anywhere in the world . . . i think better of it. stay focused. it’s game time. step up to the log. deep breath. get down. hands on. 1 . . . oh but a peace sign would be so cool . . . 2 . . . shut up and focus . . . 3 . . . careful. get under it, jason . . . 4 . . . use the legs . . . 5 . . . 6 . . . whoa, had to work for that one . . . put the weight down . . . deep breath . . . deep breath . . . 40 seconds . . . pick it up . . . 7 . . . 8 . . . 55 seconds . . . 9 . . . time. what’s a brother to do? Move on to the next event.

Sled Pull: 200lbs sled pulled toward you through the sand from a sitting position

The order now switches to reverse points. so, whoever is in the lead goes last. unknown dude gets 17 seconds, matt pulls 23 seconds or so. my turn. this event is all back. you can start out compressed through the legs, but that’s about it. after that, you want nice long back movement. stretch out grab the rope, pry open with the back and repeat. I start. i finish. 14 seconds. pretty good. Will goes 16 seconds. sweet. back in the game. bring on the next event.

Crucifix Hold: 20lbs dumbbells held at arms length to you sides for maximum length of time.

Matt goes first. He shucks the shirt. he means business. 30 or so seconds. unknown dude puts in for about the same time. Will is up next. it’s a long hold. 53 seconds. 53 seconds. holy cow. alright. clear the mind. get to that special place. there is no weight. just me, my arms, and a whole lot of people. and, lift. There’s no trick to this one really. you just lift and hold . . . lift and hold . . . 20 seconds . . . breath . . . 30 seconds . . . inhale . . . exhale . . . breath . . . 40 seconds . . . the arms start falling . . . breath . . . falling . . . hold it . . . hold it . . . . focus . . . deep breath . . . use your core . . . inhale . . . ooooooooooph. 51 seconds. so close.

Medly event: Pick up two 95lbs dumbbells, walk 100ft, put dumbells down and drag 200lbs sled back 100ft.

So, this is it. one more for the tie. I go first. Only trick here is to keep the feet moving. Here we go. get down, hands on. lift. movemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemove drop weight. pick up the sled. pullpullpullpullpullpullpullpullpullpullpull . . .. finished . . . “keep going!” shit. i missed the line. pullpullpullpullpull. finish. fuck. i still have the fastest time so far, but fuck.

Will is up. he picks up the weight. he isn’t moving as fast as i was. i might have a chance. he grabs the sled and gets to the other side. it’s going to be close. very close . . . i lose by .13 seconds.

So, it looks like i’m not the strongest man under 160. damn. oh, well. maybe next year.

Many thanks to the team for coming out to support me. sorry i didn’t bring home the trophy. Special thanks to boss 1 for the videos and boss 2 for the pictures. next year dammit. next year.