jack mcdoer: cultural learnings of europe for make benefit glorious nation of usa

now that my jayhawks are out of the tournament, and i'm finally
over my jayhawks being out of the tournament, i can start focusing on other important things in my life, like buying pants with lots of pockets, learning everyday french phrases and packing my extra-large suitcase on wheels.

i don't know if i told you yet or not, but my wife and i are taking another mcdoer family vacation, and this time we're going abroad. yep, europe here we come. first we're going to london, then we're going to paris, then we're going to rome (assuming we find our way). planes, trains and chunnels.

oh yeah, and we leave in three days. i can't believe it's time already. i have bought a couple of pairs of pants already. our travel agent says europeans don't wear jeans. that can't be right, can it?

my wife is all worried that i'm going to be joe american and embarrass her and/or get us beaten by hooligans. i told her that just because i bought an american flag fannypack doesn't mean i'm not going to be sensitive to the cultural differences between myself and my european brothers and sisters.

i have also started learning some french. last nite, i picked up important phrases like "ou sont les toilettes?" (i.e., where is the toilet?), "est-ce que dans la chambre il y a des draps?" (i.e., "does the room come with bedsheets?"), "je voudrais un plat avec des saucisses" (i.e., "i want a dish containing sausage"), and "suis-je etat d'arrestation?" (i.e., "am i under arrest?"). i haven't gotten any italian down yet, but it's a long plane ride.

anyways, i'm pretty excited, as you can probably tell. i'm not even worried about the money anymore, although i'm still kinda mad that my wife insisted on bringing chompers along. do you know how much it costs to take a dog to europe these days?

i'm sure i'll have lots of european misadventures to blog about. but for now, i should probably start packing my suitcase. "bonsoir" (i.e., "good night").

staying alive

well, my beloved jayhawks made it past the first weekend of the ncaa tournament, and i couldn't be more excited. survive and advance, baby. survive and advance.

and i'll tell you what, they did it in convincing style. i didn't even have to worry about it. well, i didn't have to worry about it that much.

i can fly my ku flag high, wear red ties with blue shirts and blue ties with red shirts proudly, and collect on all of my brother's bad bets. i had a gates presidential platter yesterday - chicken, sausage, beef, pork, turkey, ham and ribs for seven - all by myself. and later this week, i get to enjoy a 200 nugget platter from chick-fil-a.

rock chalk!

jack mcdoer, expert bracketologist

well kids, march madness is finally here. and i think you know what that means ... time for me to start worrying about ku's first round opponent. this year it's none other than, drumroll please, the niagara university purple eagles.

at least they don't start with the the dreaded letter "b." i'm assuming they're located near niagara falls and their fight song is tlc's "don't go chasing waterfalls," but i could be wrong. i didn't know much about the bucknell bison or the bradley braves either.

anyway, i am sitting here, working my way through my bracket, picking the jayhawks to win it all, like i always do. it hasn't exactly worked in my favor the past few years, but i'd much rather lose a few bucks than pick north carolina or florida or any other damn school. and this year, we look good. we've got a #1 seed. we've got some more experience. we're primed to make a run!

this year will be different. i'm watching it someplace different, certainly not at johnny's. i'll wear something different. i'll order something different. everything will be different!

it's the search, not the find

i know, i know, the arcade fire just released their sophomore album. that's all well and good. i'm sure it's great. but son volt, yes son volt, just released an album of their own. it's called THE SEARCH. and it is blowing my mind. you can buy it at best buy for $9.99 and get a 3 song bonus cd. or you can buy it at a participating indie store and get a different 3 song bonus. or you can buy it on itunes and get 8 additional songs. i've only done 2 of the 3, so far, but they're all good. trust me.