The winning streak is alive and well, much like the sound of music. I was able to squeak out a one-point victory over Kristen in Week 11. We both missed wildly on our “Locks of the Week,” so ultimately, this week came down to Green Bay’s slight victory (against the spread) over San Francisco. I hit 7 picks and Kristen hit 6. Here are our standings heading into this week:

Matt +4
Jim +3
Kristen +1
Dave -1
Chris -1
Harry -1
Amanda -3
Ryan -6

This week, we’ve had to flip-flop order a bit. While it is Jim’s turn to pick this week, I have switched he and Dave for convenience purposes (I’m typing this at Dave’s apartment as we speak). Therefore, Dave will pick in Week 12 and Jim will pick in Week 13. If anyone has a problem with this, they probably don’t have a lot to do with their time. On to our picks.

Jason’s Picks
Green Bay (-11) over Detroit
Oakland (+14) over Dallas
New York Giants (-6) over Denver
Tampa Bay (+12.5) over Atlanta
Miami (-3) over Buffalo
Cleveland (+15) over Cincinnati
Indianapolis (-4) over Houston *
Carolina (+2.5) over New York Jets
Philadelphia (-9) over Washington
Seattle (-2.5) over St. Louis
Kansas City (+14.5) over San Diego
Jacksonville (+3) over San Francisco
Minnesota (-9.5) over Chicago
Tennessee (-3) over Arizona
Pittsburgh (+2) over Baltimore
New England (+2.5) over New Orleans

Dave’s Picks
Detroit (+11) over Green Bay
Oakland (+14) over Dallas
New York Giants (-6) over Denver
Tampa Bay (+12.5) over Atlanta
Miami (-3) over Buffalo
Cincinnati (-15) over Cleveland
Houston (+4) over Indianapolis
Carolina (+2.5) over New York Jets
Philadelphia (-9) over Washington
St. Louis (+2.5) over Seattle
Kansas City (+14.5) over San Diego
San Francisco (-3) over Jacksonville
Chicago (+9.5) over Minnesota
Arizona (+3) over Tennessee
Baltimore (-2) over Pittsburgh
New Orleans (-2.5) over New England *

Intentions and their subsequent results often vary greatly and this is one of those cases. I have in my Inbox, a probably 1/3 written blog entry. It will never see the light of day, however. At least not in the near future. It was going to be a literary Venn diagram comparing and contrasting my two homes, Taunton, MA and Washington DC. However, I have not the time to complete the other 2/3.

With that, I will be gone for 10 days from the Mid-Atlantic Bias. I will make every effort to get a picks column up for Week 12, but other than that, you’ll have to read something else.

Have a great Thanksgiving folks! I’ll be seeing some/most of you very soon.

(Editor’s Note: Spelling errors need to be ignored. I got this up before 8:00 P.M. which is a miracle in its own right)

Well, I took it upon myself to try to make this a little more competitive, or at least give everyone else a shot at first place, and I must say, I’m fairly satisfied with my redemptive victory last week. Matthew destroyed me in week 2, as you’ll remember, but I was able to get back two of the points he gained with an 8-6 victory. The big key was Matt losing on his “Lock of the Week” (despite the Colts winning the game) and me just scraping by on mine (Baltimore (-12) over Cleveland). After 10 weeks of fun, here are our standings:

Matthew +4
Jim +3
Kristen +2
David -1
Chris -1
Harry -1
Amanda -3
Ryan -6

This week is another intriguing matchup, as Kristen looks to hypothetically lock up a bid in our Week 17 title game. To do that, she’ll have to stop my 5 week winning streak. (As a sort of side note, I’d like to thank Kristen for making these picks, as Matt did last week, on very short notice. I really appreciate it.)

Jason’s Picks
Carolina (-3.5) over Miami *
Indianapolis (-1) over Baltimore
Washington (+12) over Dallas
Detroit (-3.5) over Cleveland
Green Bay (-5.5) over San Francisco
Jacksonville (-8) over Buffalo
Pittsburgh (-10) over Kansas City
Minnesota (-11) over Seattle
New York Giants (-7) over Atlanta
Tampa Bay (+11.5) over New Orleans
Arizona (-9) over St. Louis
San Diego (PK) over Denver
New England (-10.5) over New York Jets
Cincinnati (-9.5) over Oakland
Philadelphia (-2) over Chicago
Tennessee (+3.5) over Houston

Kristen’s Picks
Carolina (-3.5) over Miami
Indianapolis (-1) over Baltimore
Dallas (-12) over Washington
Detroit (-3.5) over Cleveland
San Francisco (+5.5) over Green Bay
Jacksonville (-8) over Buffalo
Pittsburgh (-10) over Kansas City
Seattle (+11) over Minnesota *
Atlanta (+7) over New York Giants
Tampa Bay (+11.5) over New Orleans
Arizona (-9) over St. Louis
San Diego (PK) over Denver
New England (-10.5) over New York Jets
Oakland (+9.5) over Cincinnati
Philadelphia (-2) over Chicago
Tennessee (+3.5) over Houston

One of my favorite George Carlin bits, found in his books, was “Short Takes.” Sometimes, the best comedy is one-liners. Most of my favorites I choose not to publish in this mostly family friendly space. But, for example:

“Griddle cakes, pancakes, hotcakes, flapjack: why are there four names for grilled batter and only one word for love?”

With that, I’m in a bit of a scatter-brained mood, so allow me to rip off perhaps the best stand up comedian in history with a few of the thoughts that have been troubling me recently. Some will be intended jokes, other observations:

-Who invented stand up comedy and why do people enjoy watching some guy or girl talk about how pathetic their life is?

-This college kid on the train today kept talking to his friend about the concept of “loneliness” and how the concept is not real. His “argument” was that society makes us believe in it. And while his banter was just typical college-kid nonsense, I really hoped that about twenty years from now, he comes home from work to find that his wife and two children have packed up and left him alone.

-How much money do you think those two guys from Los del Rio made from one song?

-On that subject, listen to the “Macarena” and tell yourself that you couldn’t have come up with that song.

-There are so many awful sports announcers. I find myself constantly yelling at the TV having to correct things and I wonder, “Why is it so hard to get a job in sports media?”

-Also on the train today, a man with visible chunks of dandruff kept scratching his head and I could see the pieces of dead scalp falling to the ground and I thought, “Hat?”

-The MAAC will get two teams in this year’s NCAA tournament: Siena and Niagara.

-Why do people still watch “Family Guy?” The same thing happens every episode.

-I really enjoy that I live so close to West Virginia. Sunday, I wanted to go for a drive, so I just drove to West Virginia. That used to take 10 hours. Now it takes 1.

-I know everyone loves revenge and all, but the death penalty is just really stupid. A man was put to death in Virginia today who murdered two people 8 years ago. It was the only crime he ever commit and he did it to impress a stripper. Do you think maybe life in prison and psychiatric counseling would have worked a little bit better than lethal injection?

-I’m making progress on my “Best Of The Decade” mix. I have successfully listed every album of worth that I own from this decade and my next project will be to list my favorite song from each album. I will then whittle down the list to 15 or so, saving room for great singles.

-When I watch college basketball or football, I really wish I had gone to a Division I university.

And that’s it for now. A cheap way to have a blog post and thus feel like a productive person. I’ll leave you with another Carlin gem:

“You live eighty years, and the best you get is about six minutes of pure magic.”

Last Saturday was one of those days where I connect with D.C. The weather was as beautiful as November weather can be and the college football slate was rather bare. With that, Amanda and I got lunch, walked downtown across the Ellipse (grassy area in front of the White House) and over to the Corcoran Art Gallery.

There were two very different, but both very good exhibits on display. The first was a profile of John Singer Sargent’s seascapes, containing many of the sketches that led to his finished products. It was an easily accessible and enjoyable exhibit, that wore a little tiresome towards its conclusion. The other exhibit was Edward Burtynsky’s “Oil.” Burtynsky, a modern photographer, has traveled the globe and documented the production, consumption, and eventual disappearance of oil. His photographs are vibrant. My favorite was of the beautiful American landscape known as Breezewood, Pennsylvania, also known as Sleezewood or “America Town, USA.”

Post-art, we walked up 17th St. (with a brief stopover at the Gap for Amanda to fawn over clothes) and sat down in Dupont Circle. During our sit, we encountered adorable children, singing Jesus freaks, a man eating prosciutto and milk, and one particular, shall we say, dweller of the streets.

My typical reaction when I see a homeless man while I am stationary is, “Ah crap, he’s going to talk to me and guilt me into giving him money.” It’s a stereotypical and very elitist liberal white response. Naturally, when he said, “Hey you, Hey!” at me, I acted as though I was stricken with deafness. The man endured. I looked up and he said to me, not “Can I have some change?” but rather, “Put your arm around her.” I looked directly at him. He asked me if I went to Duke (I had my Duke hoodie on) and before I answered, he said that he came from near Duke. Wilson, NC, which I’ve driven past a few times in my travels. I smiled and told him I liked that area and that for his support of Duke I’d put my arm around Amanda and I did. Then he told me, “I got this here (pointing at blanket) as my mattress. Let me tell you, never take anything for granted in this life. Not even a moment with your girl.” And he walked away.

Writing this now, almost a week later, I’m still struck by the poignancy of the moment. I love unsolicited advice from strangers. I always take it as some sort of sign. I don’t believe in god. If he or she is there, that’s great. I’ll eat my crow at the pearly gates. Until then, though, I’ll live my life with logic and common sense. But there’s always something really touching to me about moments when someone chooses to give me simple, but vital and often overlooked life advice. Why did he single me out? Was it because my sweatshirt reminded him of better times in his own life? Was it because he truly wanted me to be happy? I’ll never know why this man approached me. I’ll likely never see him again. But his advice and his kindness really impacted me on that lovely autumn late afternoon.

Phase 2 of the Picks Challenge began last week with a fight to the finish between Amanda and I, with me just slipping past her 8-7. I hit the early games, while she hit the late ones, with it all coming down to Pittsburgh’s win on Monday. Here are our overall standings:

Matt +6
Jim +3
Kristen +2
David -1
Harry -1
Chris -1
Amanda -3
Ryan -6

This week sees our leader, Matt, back to try to pad his lead. With such a gap between Matt and the rest of the pack, I’m leaving it up to myself to try to make this a competitive race. Let’s see who we pick.

Jason’s Picks:
Chicago (+3) over San Francisco
Atlanta (-1) over Carolina
Tampa Bay (+10) over Miami
Minnesota (-15.5) over Detroit
Jacksonville (+7) over New York Jets
Cincinnati (+7.5) over Pittsburgh
New Orleans (-14) over St. Louis
Buffalo (+6.5) over Tennessee
Denver (-4.5) over Washington
Kansas City (+1) over Oakland
Arizona (-9) over Seattle
Dallas (-3) over Green Bay
Philadelphia (+3) over San Diego
New England (+2.5) over Indianapolis
Baltimore (-12) over Cleveland *

Matt’s Picks:
Chicago (+3) over San Francisco
Atlanta (-1) over Carolina
Miami (-10) over Tampa Bay
Minnesota (-15.5) over Detroit
Jacksonville (+7) over New York Jets
Pittsburgh (-7.5) over Cincinnati
New Orleans (-14) over St. Louis
Tennessee (-6.5) over Buffalo
Denver (-4.5) over Washington
Oakland (-1) over Kansas City
Arizona (-9) over Seattle
Green Bay (+3) over Dallas
San Diego (-3) over Philadelphia
Indianapolis (-2.5) over New England *
Baltimore (-12) over Cleveland

This week for the “Person I Admire” series, I’m going with a recent edition to the admiration society: Anthony Bourdain, host of The Travel Channel’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.” I became cognizant of Bourdain’s presence some time ago, but because his show is on the Travel Channel, I assumed that it wasn’t good, because nothing on the the Travel Channel is particularly stimulating to any part of my brain other than the, “Wow, that looks like a pretty place!” segment. What makes Bourdain’s show so great is that it stimulates that segment of my brain, but also stimulates the “I’m learning something and enjoying it” part.

Bourdain’s show sees him travel to cities, islands, or countries where he eats their food and talks to their people. There’s no resorts. This is not Bourdain’s mentality. He’s a modern day, sarcastic, honest explorer, who, unlike explorers before him, isn’t armed with blankets infected with smallpox. Bourdain immerses himself as much as possible in the culture of the area he is in. When he was in Montana, he went fly fishing. When he was in the Greek Islands, he ate with a group of dancing “tribesman (of a sort)” and drank the drinks they drink and ate the food they eat.

“No Reservations” is not a travel show most people would use as a tool to prepare for a family trip to New York. In the most recent episode involving Bourdain’s beloved home city, he traveled to Staten Island with the lead singer of the New York Dolls and ate and drank at a tiki bar. He also traveled to a Chinese shopping center in Queens, where he dined on anything that wasn’t crab rangoon or pork fried rice.

So, much as with last week’s Anthony I Admire, you’re asking, “Why do you admire Bourdain?” I admire him because he lives his life by the title of his TV show. With “No Reservations.” Eels anus? He’ll eat it. Turtle uterus? Not a problem. And he doesn’t do it in a “Survivor” or “Fear Factor” way. He’s not scaring anyone. He’s not scared. He is truly willing to try anything. He strikes me as a man who fully immerses himself in anything that he does. He does nothing halfheartedly. You get the sense that he realizes the opportunity that he has been given with his show and does not want to take it for granted. And he doesn’t want to pander to his viewers. He never comes off as being disingenuous. When he doesn’t enjoy something, he’s honest about it. When he enjoys something, he doesn’t act like an idiot. He simply nods and says, “Mmm. That’s very good.” No sunglasses. No hot rod. No yelling. A real person. Crazy, no?

The final and most important reason for which you are reading about this man is because he cares. When I watch “No Reservations” I’m always impressed by how much Bourdain wants to learn about the cultures of the world. He treats a trip to Washington the same way he treats a trip to the Azores. He asks questions of his guides and of the locals. He asks about the history behind their food and thus, their culture. He conveys a sense of real interest that is so absent from so many of the chatterboxes who have travel and cooking shows. To Bourdain, it’s clear that there’s so much more to a meal than it’s tangible ingredients. And I admire that.

Tonight is the opening night for college basketball. No one cares. I know that I don’t. I likely won’t start paying attention to college basketball until conference play, at the earliest. That said, I feel compelled as always to predict the Final Four. I have no reason to explain these picks, really. I’ve looked at rosters. I know who the coaches are. I know how teams played last year. That’s pretty much that. With that said, here’s my 2009-10 Final Four prediction:

Kansas
Michigan State
West Virginia
Villanova

Kansas is clearly the best team in the country. Michigan State returns more important players from last year than anyone else. West Virginia looks like they’re ready for the next step. And Villanova was almost there last year and have added the big man, freshman Mouphtaou Yarou, that they so desperately needed last year. I like Kansas to win their second title in the past three years, this time beating Villanova in the title game in Indianapolis.

Xavier
Dayton
Gonzaga
Wake Forest

After a week like last week, I’m feeling confident headed into the second go-round of picks. Ryan would have been -5, but missed his “Lock of the Week.” There’s a lot that could happen in phase 2 of the picks, as we near closer and closer to the Week 17 showdown. After phase 1, here are our standings:

Matt +6
Jim +3
Kristen +2
David -1
Harry -1
Chris -1
Amanda -2
Ryan -6

This week, we come back to where we started, as Amanda tries to exact revenge for her 2 pick loss way back in Week 1. A lot has changed since then (for example, Minnesota was only favored by 4 on the road at Cleveland. If that game was played this week, I’d set the line at Minny (-10)). So without further ado, let’s get the second half underway.

Jason’s Picks:
Washington (+10) over Atlanta
Arizona (+3) over Chicago
Cincinnati (+3) over Baltimore
Houston (+9) over Indianapolis
Kansas City (+6.5) over Jacksonville
Green Bay (-10.5) over Tampa Bay
Miami (+10.5) over New England
Carolina (+14) over New Orleans
Seattle (-10) over Detroit
San Diego (+3) over New York Giants
San Francisco (-5.5) over Tennessee
Philadelphia (-3) over Dallas *
Pittsburgh (-3) over Denver

Amanda’s Picks:
Atlanta (-10) over Washington
Arizona (+3) over Chicago
Baltimore (-3) over Cincinnati
Indianapolis (-9) over Houston
Jacksonville (-6.5) over Kansas City
Green Bay (-10.5) over Tampa Bay *
Miami (+10.5) over New England
Carolina (+14) over New Orleans
Seattle (-10) over Detroit
San Diego (+3) over New York
Tennessee (+5.5) over San Francisco
Dallas (+3) over Philadelphia
Denver (+3) over Pittsburgh