Damien and Football (or Unpleasant Surprises)

Let's just get this over with. I bought the new Damien Rice CD, "9," on Tuesday with very high expectations. I planned to post my thoughts on the CD that day and share some of the awesome songs I found. But there was a problem: I didn't really love the CD. So I've been dragging my feet the last few days, hoping that if I spent a little more time with the CD I would love it. I think it has a lot to do with me not being into this type of slow, sorrowful music right now.

Don't get me wrong, "9" isn't that bad. I do like the CD, and Damien Rice fans will definitely find something on the disc to enjoy. Some of it is just beautiful, reveling in Damien's typical heartfelt misery. But some of it is just there, offering nothing new or interesting and sometimes lyrically disappointing. If you are interested in Damien Rice, I highly recommend his first CD, "O." It is still his best and most ambitious work to date.

Coconut Skins.mp3 from the CD 9
Grey Room.mp3 from the CD 9

Now, onto today's photo post. I had today's posting all planned out. I covered an away University of Arkansas football game today, which means I got to ride the phat corporate jet to Starkville, Miss. We fly in and out the same day, rock-star style, and I was going to post some pics from the ride. Sadly, when I got to the stadium, I reformatted all the cards in my camera before I download the photos to my laptop. Booo.

I'm not a huge fan of head coach Houston Nutt, but I liked the expression on his face after his team got the win to clinch a spot in the SEC Championships. If you concentrate on the photo, you can almost hear his thoughts:

"It was so worth selling my soul to the Devil for this winning season..."

I didn't shoot my best Saturday. I had decent action art, but nothing that was really important to the game. Here's an example:

I was all over this guy as he nabbed this interception. The interception didn't amount to much since it happened near the end.

And when he swooped in and intercepted this ball earlier in the game, I was so there too. But after a penalty the interception was overturned. Grrr.

So of course on the interception that counted (the one he turned around for a touchdown) I dropped the ball. There he is about to catch the interception in the background on the top photo. In the bottom photo, there he is breaking away with the interception, partially blocked by some ass standing across the line on the field.