When [It] Strikes Me

“Late Bloomer” is an acclaimed short film from 2004 that was an official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2004 Lake Placid Film Festival. Narrated by writer Clay Mcleod Chapman, it tells the story of a young boy (Sam Borenzweig) and his classmates as they experience their first sex education class.

Apparently based upon the works of HP Lovecraft (I don’t know enough about Lovecraft’s many novels to opine on any inspiration or comparisons), the short film is, at times, humorous and equally uncomfortable. It has a very grunge music video vibe, almost as if we’re being transported to a decidedly un-tragic, but still somewhat traumatized version of the classroom where Pearl Jam‘s Jeremy spoke (that epic music video is linked below).

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I haven’t done one of these in a while, so I figured I would feature the most recent lecture I’ve watched.  Supported fully by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Big History Project aims to promote a passion for learning, as well as a more comprehensive, big picture look at the history of how we got here and where we are. Bill Gates talks a bit about it here.

One of their big moments was the spectacular below lecture by Gates’ co-founder David Christian.  Along with Carolyn Porco’s Saturn talk, this is one of the more visually stunning lectures you’ll see.  Definitely worth the next 20 minutes.

Symbolic of the weekend, Tony Kemp slides in easy for a steal on Sunday. One of many great photos from Mike Rapp of VandySports.com. See the link in the Reading List to see the wholle gallery.

Well, the Dores stewed for about four days, chomping at the bit to get a chance to head back out to avenge their first series loss of the year. It didn’t take long once they were out there, making this a fun weekend for Commodore fans. Add in that two games were televised and you’ve got quite the weekend. So let’s jump into it.

The Immediate Progression

Due to traffic on the Long Island Expressway and getting back to the City late, I’m going to crib on the Immediate Progression this week. The victim of my thievery will be a fellow Vandy fan on Twitter, @GREGuthrie, who compiled in-conference stats for the Commodore starting rotation after Saturday’s win over LSU. While Taylor Hill’s in-conference stats are solid (2-0, ERA around 3.5), we’ll glance at the Commodores’ two pitchers competing for SEC Pitcher of the Year honors.

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I cannot attest to the fact that this isn’t photoshopped, but it’s been around the web enough to make me think it’s legitimate. So I’m just going to stand back and say “Whoa.”

Matt Price, along with Michael Roth, represented the difference in elevating SC over then-#1 Vanderbilt. Photo courtesy of GamecockCentral.com, South Carolina's top sports and fan site.

Well, all good things must come to an end. Despite the 2-2 week and the first series loss of the season, things still look up for the Commodores. They have the midweek off after playing one of the great regular season series in recent SEC history. It was a battle of Titans and, while some might want others to kiss the proverbial ring, it was a match-up of near equals that will benefit both squads in the experience category.

The weekend also marked a milestone on the calendar — one which leads right into our Immediate Progression.

The Immediate Progression: Road to Hoover

With the SEC schedule hitting the halfway point, it’s time to take a quick peek at how the Road to Hoover is panning out. As a general rule, a trip to Hoover pretty much guarantees an NCAA birth, with those falling on the wrong side of the line in trouble. While the SEC usually puts no fewer than 8 teams in the regionals, Hoover is a nice safety net.

There are three teams that have pretty much assured themselves of a Hoover berth with early season success. Not surprisingly, those three teams are the beasts of the east.

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If one enjoyed the Ethan Hawke, Julie Delphy vehicle Before Sunrise, that person would likely be somewhat familiar with and perhaps enjoy the below short film by Italian Daniele Napolitano.

The truly intriguing part of the film is that it was shot using stop motion and a high-end retail Canon digital camera. The end result is a bit hard to gauge. The cinematography is, at times, stunning; however, the flow of the film is a bit jarred by the nature of stop-motion photography.

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The Mountain Goats are fronted by singer/songwriter John Darnielle.

So I ventured downtown a couple of weeks ago for a concert by an indie rock band I really hadn’t heard much about before. That’s partly because I just don’t do enough indie tunes or live concerts to get around. On a friend’s enthusiastic recommendation, I got tickets to see the Mountain Goats.

The Mountain Goats are fronted by John Darnielle, who in the past actually performed as a literally-solo act, acoustically and still under the plural Mountain Goats name. He did play solo for a few songs in the middle of the concert. He’s known as one of the truly great indie songwriters and I can say that, going in with no background of listening to the band, I was impressed with the concise, interesting story-telling accomplished by the songs.

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Tony Kemp earned many a high five on Sunday, with what will likely be the play of the year. Photo: Mike Rapp, VandySports.com.

It was another stellar week in the top spot for the Dores as they swept away the competition, including their first sweep of Alabama since 1986, their second highest weekend series attendance ever and their first ever 8 game regular season conference game winning streak. It will certainly be enough to hold onto the top spot in the Baseball America, NCBWA Poll, USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and Perfect Game rankings. With UVA winning 2 of 3 at #14 Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt may not unify the #1 ranking crown by picking up Collegiate Baseball’s top spot, but it’s a successful week, nonetheless.

The Immediate Progression: Leadership

Message boards are often a funny thing. People get worked up over minor criticism of coaches, particularly when it comes to current Commodore Coaches Kevin Stallings and Tim Corbin. While this author happens to be a huge fan and supporter of both, many think that support should be dogmatic. I’m reminded of my old grammar school basketball coach who once echoed loudly when pointing out a poor decision he had made, saying “I’m not infallible; I’m not the freaking pope.” Catholicism aside, he had a point and one which makes a truly great coach: leadership starts with adapting to faults.

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A few months ago, I posted a timelapse piece produced by Mindrelic that featured fantastic still photo compilation and City-suitable scoring.  Well, that piece may have been one upped by this one.

new york city. from James Ogle on Vimeo.

Well, it was a successful second try as the number 1 team in the nation. The last time Vanderbilt held that ranking, they went 3-1 on the week, but lost the spot as Florida swept away LSU in Baton Rouge. This week, all four teams in the running for the top spot took care of business, with Virginia sweeping past George Washington via a perfect game before pouring it on Virginia Tech. South Carolina made their case by besting The Citadel, before sweeping Kentucky. Finally, Florida bounced back from a midweek loss to Florida State to bounce Tennessee out of Gainesville.

The Immediate Progression: Catching Up With Predictions

The immediate progression this week will run back to January, when I revealed my SEC predicted standings. This week marked the mid-point of the season, so what better time to revisit my best guesses at how things will turn out.

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