We went to see the movie "Thank You For Smoking" this afternoon. It was really funny. The premise is that there is this guy who is the spokesperson for the tobacco industry. He has to put a spin on everything to make it sound good. Aaron Eckart does an excellent job in this role and pulls it off without a problem. I'd definitely recommend this satire to all.

After the movie we went out for my birthday dinner a couple days early. I've been salivating over the prospect of gorging myself at Bobak's all you can eat buffet. The price was right, only 10.95. Started off with a little salad and then it was one hot beef injection after another. I sampled 4 different types of sausage (they were all good but the smoked was the winner), breaded pork cutlet, pork ribs, a couple types of beef, mashed potatoes and a couple veggies for good measure. My meal concluded with some delicious apple pancakes, an apple blintz and some vanilla soft serve ice cream. There were some good looking chocolate cakes calling my name but since I gave up chocololate for lent, they'll have to wait until next time. Travis, you need to make a trip out here just for this buffet!!

I've been enjoying my spring break by working on my masters portfolio. I'm nearly finished - just have to finish writing the personal statement that is supposed to be 5 pages long. The rest is done and ready to go.

Tonight is our fantasy baseball draft. I'm excited and hope to put together a competitive team. I have a couple players I'd like to get because I'm fans of them but most of my picks will be strictly the best available player.

This picture was taken at approximately 4 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 26th. Anyone guess why I have a big smile on my face?

Boy, was this past week busy. Lots of things happening - our 4th anniversary, 2 concerts, finishing up school before spring break.

We saw Billy Bragg on Monday at the Double Door. He was very entertaining as usual but I had a huge headache that was amplified by all of the smokers in attendance. That took away from the experience a bit but I'm thankful to the Bragg corporation for the free tickets. On Wednesday we saw the Minus 5 at the Abbey Pub. It was great to see Peter and Scott play again - they bring the rock. I was able to snag Scott's setlist after the show and he (as well as Peter) were kind enough to sign it for me. Scott even remembered my name which was kind of cool. Show didn't end until after midnight so it was a nice way to start our 4th anniversary. Wish the day could have ended on the same note but too many missed shots will do that to you.

Friday after school I went up to the Sun-Times show in Rosemont. It was a lot more crowded than the November show and I attribute that to the multiple Chicago Bears signing autographs that night. I was able to pick up some nice gloves and great bat for some reasonable prices. s you can see from the picture they are all in good shape. Flea Market/Antique Show season is kicking into full gear soon - hope to find some good stuff!
And last but not least, thanks to all of the Duke basketball players for an enjoyable season. Losing is always tough and the best team doesn't always win but I enjoyed every second of the season and wish you all the best. It's nice to know that there are still teams that goes to class, play hard and don't get arrested for stealing laptops.

Sweet! Another trip to the round of 16. It was nice for the rest of the team to show up today and give Redick and Williams some help. Paulus played much better but still needs to cut down the needless turnovers. McRoberts was really active today and did a good job helping Shelden on the boards after the first couple minutes of the game. Keep it up guys - 4 more wins!!!

Here are the 2 books I read in the past 2 weeks:

A Great Day in Cooperstown : The Miraculous and Unlikely Beginning of the Baseball Hall of Fame by Jim Reisler - This book was very interesting and enlightening about the first day of the Hall of Fame and how it got started. The author obviously did a lot of research and it shows. There are brief biographies of the players that were inducted and it makes you want to learn more about them. I'd really like to visit Cooperstown again after reading this book.

The Camel Club by David Baldacci - Another thriller about the Secret Service. The book was interesting and paints a pretty good picture of how people view the USA in this day and age. I know it is a work of fiction but some of the personalities were definitely "borrowed" from some of our politicians. Fun, quick read!

Great game yesterday! Gald Duke got some momentum going into the NCAA's. I think their bracket is pretty fair. There are teams that could give them difficulty but I think they will make it to Indy. Right now I also have BC, Gonzaga and UConn going. I'm doing my best to make UConn lose but their bracket is pretty easy. Hopefully I'll gain confidence in either MSU or UNC (gulp) to knock them off. Maybe I should pick Illinois since they play tough D. We'll see.

The freshmen picked it up today! Way to go Josh and Greg! I thin Duke is starting to get over their little lull step by step - watch out. Woo Hoo!!

What an odd site at work i must have been today around 1 p.m. - a guy getting the play by play of the Duke game on the phone from his wife, yelling "YES" when Redick hit a jumper and Melch & JJ hit their free throws. Glad they won so I can watch tomorrow. Wake Forest is palying pretty well but they still don't play D so expect the score in the 80s/90s. Here is a nice article out there for all the Duke haters who are fans of their state school - I'm sure the taxpayers don't have a clue.

If any CBS people are reading this blog I have found the perfect song for your NCAA coverage - "I bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" by the Arctic Monkeys. You can thank me later.

And i would like to thank my wife for letting me prove that a man with a broken hand can shovel the heavy, wet snow all by himself. :)

FACT: The referees in the ACC are terrible
FACT: The referees were upset that they got in trouble last time DUKE/FSU played so tonight it was make up night.
FACT: There will be no headlines about the discrepancy in fouls in the national media tomorrow because the calls went against Duke.
FACT: I'm am royally PISSED OFF!!
FACT: FSU students saying Duke is overrated means that FSU must not really be that good in beating them.
FACT: UNC is in for a royal butt whooping on Saturday night.