Hoosier Hysteria

Indiana: 73

Kentucky (1): 72

12-10-11

This is not an accidental victory. This is years of hard work and persistence. This is Tom Crean not allowing the damage inflicted on the Hoosiers by Kelvin Sampson--the scholarship cuts, the recruiting restrictions, the probation--to stand in his way. This is the fan base of Hoosier nation never giving up on the program and believing we can put another banner up in Assembly Hall, even when our record reflected otherwise. THIS IS INDIANA. 

This is a win Hoosier Nation will talk about for years to come. It is an exciting time for Hoosier basketball. There are still a great deal of games to be played this season and improvement to be made. I am excited to see what this team can do, because I know this is only the beginning of good things to come.

I compiled some media clips and articles below for those of you like me who can't get enough. I still get goosebumps watching Watford's last second 3 pointer and I don't see that effect wearing off anytime soon. When Crean first arrived at Indiana to take over the head coaching job the fun new slogan for IU b-ball was "Crean and Crimson." After last night I heard "Dream and Crimson." And boy, do we have big dreams!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313440084

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7340166/catharsis-tom-crean-indiana-hoosiers-beating-kentucky-college-basketball

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=AvfHmaiEkkg6iof66VjCHvE5nYcB?slug=pf-forde_indiana_breakthrough_sinks_kentucky_121011

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/bigten/story/2011-12-10/indiana-upset-is-beginning-of-new-era/51789132/1

http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/indiana-university-basketball-beats-1-kentucky-buzzer-24593/

Best of 2011

Here is the list of the Top 50 albums of 2011 according to Sterogum.com. It's a very interesting list that deserves a look through. If you go to the site you can listen to one track off of each album (some are available for free download!). I will admit, a lot of the albums are new to me so I am excited to explore some new music! Hope you enjoy!

50 Youth Lagoon – The Year Of Hibernation

49 Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine

48 Oddisee – Rock Creek Park

47 Wilco – The Whole Love

46 tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l

45 Adele – 21

44 James Blake – James Blake

43 Twin Sister – In Heaven

42 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra

41 Das Racist – Relax

40 Kendrick Lamar – Section.80

39 Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise

38 Burst Apart – Burst Apart

37 Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde

36 Cut Copy – Zonoscope

35 Atlas Sound – Parallax

34 Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo

33 SBTRKT – SBTRKT

32 St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

31 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

30 Radiohead – The King Of Limbs

29 Washed Out – Within And Without

28 Pictureplane – Thee Physical

27 Destroyer – Kaputt

26 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Belong

25 Cold Cave – Cherish The Light Years

24 Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra

23 Wild Flag – Wild Flag

22 Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

21 Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape

20 Real Estate – Days

19 Iceage – New Brigade

18 Beyoncé – 4

17 Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica

16 Neon Indian – Era Extraña

15 Zola Jesus – Conatus

14 Austra – Feel It Break

13 Yuck – Yuck

12 M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

11 Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

10 Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne

09 ASAP Rocky – LIVELOVEA$AP

08 PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

07 EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

06 Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact

05 The Weeknd – House Of Balloons

04 Fucked Up – David Comes To Life

03 Bon Iver – Bon Iver

02 Drake – Take Care

01 Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Come on, Americans

 {Ellie Goulding}

 {Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine}

{Adele}

{Coldplay}

We need to step it up over here in the good ol' US of A. 

The Christmas Code

1. No Christmas decorations shall go up until the day after Thanksgiving (or at least after your Thanksgiving meal if you seriously can not contain your excitement about Christmas). If you can hold out until December 1, you will appreciate the decorations that much more.

 2. No Christmas music shall be played until after Thanksgiving. 

3. If you are going to have a fake tree, you must get pine tree scented candles so you have the smell of a real tree in your house.

4. Gingerbread men can be made year round, but you cannot decorate gingerbread men or make gingerbread houses until December 1.

 5. Christmas claymation movies (Rudolph, Santa Claus is Comin' to town, A Year Without a Santa Claus, etc) must be watch at least once between December 1- December 25 but not more than twice. You may view the movie ‘ELF’ up to four times during the month of December.

6. You should incorporate the Christmas Challenge into your daily life in the month of December. This means anytime you laugh, try turning it into a “ho ho ho.” It should be a seamless, flawless transition from the ha has to the ho hos. Christmas Challenge!

7. Remember to leave a special treat for Santa on Christmas Eve. The man works hard to get all those Christmas presents delivered in time, so be sure to leave him a nice treat. Remember, Santa is NOT lactose intolerant.

8. Remember Christmas is not just about gifts. On Christmas day you must take some time to cherish your family and friends and all of the good fortune in your life.

9. Christmas decorations must come down by mid-January at the latest. January 3rd is the best date to take down your Christmas decorations. Waiting until February is just lazy and March is beyond ridiculous.

10. Write one of your own rules for the Christmas Code in the comment box below. What do you think should be the 10th and final rule governing the Christmas holiday? 

Muppet Mania

If there is anything that both pulls on my heartstrings and tickles my funny bone, it is the Muppets. Sometimes I forget they are puppets and get lost in the beautiful, funny world they create. And talk about star power! The Muppets get some of the best actors and actresses to appear in their movies! Seriously- Bob Hope, Dom DeLuise, Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Liza Minnelli, Brooke Shields, Michael Caine, Tim Curry… just to name a few. Plus I can’t even begin to list off all the celebrities that make an appearance in their new movie. It’s slightly ridiculous but just goes to prove everyone loves the Muppets!!

The Muppets are making a comeback this year in “The Muppets” and I have a sneaking suspicion they will make an appearance on SNL this weekend with Jason Segel as host. Before we make new Muppets memories together, I want to take a moment to look back on some of my favorite Muppet moments:

The Rainbow Connection, from “The Muppet Movie”-

Moving Right Along, from “The Muppet Movie”-

Scrooge, from “The Muppet Christmas Carol”-

Cabin Fever, from “Muppet Treasure Island”-

One of the most underrated Muppets, Pepe, from “Muppets from Space”-

Seriously, how can you not love the Muppets?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

I am currently on a huge Mindy Kaling kick. I have been excited about her book, “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” to come out. It is one of those books I want to physically own, not just on my Kindle but in hardcover because I can just imagine myself referring back to chapters for a good laugh every now and then. Entertainment Weekly (which I subscribe to and I recommend you do as well if you like pop culture) has been raving about her book since the summer. It seems like every magazine I open, Mindy’s book is on their “MUST” list for November. I “MUST” get myself a copy! My friend Demi and I entered a contest on Goodreads.com for a free copy of the book. Demi tabulated that we had a 1 in 100 (or was it 200?) chance of winning, which I thought were pretty good odds! However, unless a copy magically appears at my door, I don’t think I won.

Mindy seems like a smart and funny gal, which we can never have too many of in this world! If you don’t follow her on Twitter (@mindykaling), you definitely should. Also, here is a link to her blog you can check out if you really want a Mindy Kaling overload (just go for it) : http://theconcernsofmindykaling.com/

OK, I’m done with the Mindy Kaling promotion (gesh, you would think I should get a free copy of the book after all this free promo). Here are some other things I’m currently digging:

·      TV Show: New Girl

·      Music: Shake it Out- Florence + The Machine

·      Movies: Anticipating “The Muppets” and “Martha Marcy May Marlene”

·      Comfy cozy sweaters

·      Boots

·      Pumpkin Bread

·      Knitting

·      Cinnamon Tea

Alright, that’s it from me for now. Bye friends. If you need me, I’ll be reading Mindy’s book! I wish I was one of those cool blogs that had give-a-ways... maybe one day! 

Gaga for Gaga

OK, I guess Justin Bieber and I do have something in common… we both want it to be Christmas NOW! The Biebs is probably thinking about Christmas time in regards to how much money his new Christmas CD will make, but I have found myself longing for everything that is associated with Christmas time… decorating the tree, Christmas lights, peppermint hot chocolate, fires, snow, family and friends coming together and most importantly… CHRISTMAS MUSIC!   

Am I crazy to be thinking about this now? Probably. But it is always nice to have something to look forward to! Also, I found myself thinking about Christmas music a lot after I stumbled upon the following music video:

I realize this is not a Christmas song, but after listening to Gaga sing with Tony Bennett I decided I would love nothing more than a Gaga Christmas Album. None of her crazy pop stuff, rather back to basics, old school Christmas carols. I’m thinking of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Nat King Cole’s “Christmas Song"-- all those songs that make you want to cuddle up on a snowy day and watch "It's a Wonderful Life."  After listening to Gaga duet with Tony Bennett I found myself thinking she is the perfect candidate to make an old school Christmas album. Am I crazy? How can I get this post to Gaga’s people and make this happen? Anyone have connections?

Doggie Paddle

My boyfriend's dog, Leo is quite the swimmer... 

... even when there is no water. I can't get enough of this video. Enjoy!!

Gentle Giants

Here’s a confession, I have a strange love for elephants. It’s not an obnoxious obsession- It’s a slight tug on my heartstrings every time I see one. I attribute it partly to the Serrano side of the family. My dad played college football at Tufts. Tufts’ mascot happens to be an adorable elephant, named Jumbo. Throughout my childhood, I remember attending sporting events at Tufts and seeing the elephants on the jerseys and one specific time, the athletic director gifted me a beautiful elephant statue he claimed he would, “Never give to just anyone.”

But the love does not come solely from Tufts. It is deeper than that. My dad’s father, my grandfather Grampy, was from the city of Catania, Sicily. And guess what the symbol of Catania is? 5 points to those of you who guessed an elephant. It wasn’t until I was walking around downtown Catania a few years ago that I even realized the significance of the elephant. When I saw the huge elephant statues in Catania I thought back and realized there are small elephant statues scattered in my grandparent’s house. And my dad went to Tufts, where their mascot is an elephant. Elephants seem to be woven throughout my Serrano family history.

In keeping with the elephant theme of this blog post, I want to share some elephant related news with you. One of my amazing friends Emily Max recently traveled to Africa (how awesome is that?), where she kept a blog of her travels and adventures. One of my favorite posts was about her experience at an elephant orphanage.  Here is an excerpt from Emily’s blog about what she learned at the elephant orphanage:

"First, Linus, our driver, takes us to theThe David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: A Haven for Elephants and Rhinos. We pull into the long, gravel drive to be greeted by a family of friendly monkeys hanging out in the trees. Once we pull into the parking lot we find small tribes of mzungu each escorted by their appointed Kenya leader. The feeding of the baby orphans started at 11:00. We were just in time to file in with the rest of the small groups and find a place along a roped off viewing area. In came six baby elephants. None taller than Katie and I. They were fed by their keepers, 24-48 pints of imported human baby formula from Great Britain. The elephant keepers then recited their information about elephant orphans, life in the wild, and unique features of elephant care. 

Elephants can become orphaned for many reasons, but the causes boil down to three main issues. Elephant poaching is still a problem and becoming an increasing issue as ivory and game mean has become more and more valuable. Therefore, as poachers kill off the adults for their tusks and meat, typically snaring them with trip wire, the children elephants become orphaned. Secondly, elephants have become endangered (as Simon Hoffer could likely tell you) because of the drought that Kenya has seen over the last years. In particular, a few of the orphaned elephants we saw were found at the bottom of dried up wells! Quite sad. Lastly, elephants have become orphaned due to trouble interaction with humans, fighting over land and resources. The Sheldrick Trust is then established to take these orphaned animals in and reintroduce them to the wild. 

However, this reintroduction can be very hard and takes a couple years due to the wild life of elephants and their unique features. Elephants are hard to reintroduce into the wild because they are very emotional and highly social animals. Firstly, becoming an orphan can be traumatic, and many orphans have been known to die in the first few days of coming to the orphanage due to the stress they have undergone in becoming orphaned. One elephant we saw was much greyer than the rest and had a blanket tied around it. We learned that this elephant was one of the newest and was very sad to be an orphan. He needed extra warmth to encourage him to stay well; the other elephants were also aware of his sadness and often huddled around him to bring him friendship. 

We also learned that these elephants have a hard time being reintroduced because of the strong, maternal connection that they have lost in becoming orphans. They develop much like humans. The females mature in their early teens and then begin to have babies. However, much like we do, elephants look to their family to find out how to act and how to raise their young. They have a very strong familial connection. Unlike humans, it is the females who establish leadership in the herd because the men leave the herd to establish dominance among the other males to determine who is the best to mate. Talk about natural selection! To find out who is the strongest, the males will play games that look aggressive, but the weaker elephant is quickly revealed and backs down. We also learned that, in keeping with the emotional nature of elephants, they are among a hand full of mammals that bury their dead and can often be found tracking back to those burial sites. 

Because of these emotional and familial features of elephants, the Center is careful to phase the elephants from human and individualized care to allow them build relations with other orphaned and wild elephants until they choose to become wild. This process takes from two to five years. However, they center has seen some great success! "

--Taken from Emily's Blog

 Seriously guys, how interesting is that!? It made me fall in love with elephants even more, and want to go out and rescue them. The fact that elephants not only bury their dead, but also track back to those burial sites is beyond amazing to me. It breaks my heart that orphaned elephants initially have a tough time in the orphanage, but I am glad that with a little love and support they eventually can get back out into the wild. One day, I want to volunteer at an elephant orphanage. Anyone want to come with me?

Click here for a CNN story on an elephant orphanage

I hope you learned a little about elephants. If you’re interested in learning more about Emily’s African Adventure, please check out her blog. It is a very interesting, entertaining and eye opening account of everything she went through.  

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything on my blog, but now that the summer is coming to a close I will make more of an effort to post regularly! So check in often and leave your comments! And as always, stay curious, Actualists!