In Eckleburg's Eyes - 1/14/2009, Part 3

News & Notes from Tuesday, January 13th, 2009, Part 2

-I spent Tuesday night on University of Tennessee campus, first for class and then for a basketball game.

-On Tuesday night, I attended the first night of my class Ethical Issues in Adult Education (a.k.a. EP 527). RGB is teaching the class. It will be an applied ethics course as opposed to conceptual.

-The class was moved from the Bailey Education Complex to room 115 of the Humanities Building as the size of the class enlarged significantly once MHZ’s classes were cancelled for the semester.

-The class met from 5:05-7:35 so I had some time to kill before the Tennessee basketball game tipped off at 9 pm. I decided to drop my bags off at my vehicle and the walk over to Thompson-Boling Arena early.

-Knowing that we would get out of the game late, I decided to eat. I purchased a hot dog and a water. The hot dog cost $3.50 and the water was $4! The water was not bottled water, but rather out of the tap. I am not sure what alarmed me more, the prices themselves or the fact that the water cost more than the hot dog. At what point does/did this constitute gouging?

-I did get to watch the team warmup for the first time all year and was introduced to (subjected to?) some new hip-hop music (new to me anyway). The two songs that stood out were Ludacris’ “I Do It For Hip-Hop” and T.I.’s “Swing Ya Rag (Louis Rag)”. The chorus of the latter is as follows:

“Alright, okay, I don't dance, no way
I just take my Louis rag out and wave it round in the air
Take my Gucci rag out and wave it round in the air (X2)

-Eventually, I was joined by MPW and RAW to watch the Vols play Kentucky. The game had a big game feel with Bruce Pearl making a rare appearance in his orange sports coat.

-ALK was at the game but did not join us as she had during the last game, a loss. I texted her as follows: "If you feel like company and causing the team to lose, come and visit. :)"


-On this night we were privy to one of the most impressive shooting exhibitions I have ever seen: 54 points including ten three-point buckets. Unfortunately, the player did not play for the Vols. Jodie Meeks broke the Kentucky record for most points in a single game. Dan Issel had the previous mark of 53 set in 1970. The ten three-pointers were also a school-record. The sad thing is that most of the shots were well defended.

-Despite the fact that the rest of the team scored only 36 points, Kentucky won the game 90-72. After having gone two seasons without losing at home, the Vols lost for the second time in a row in Thompson-Boling.

-On the plus side, I may try to sell my ticket to a Kentucky fan on eBay...

-The halftime performance was Ted Bowen's trained dogs highlighted by Jumping Jack the Maniac, a frisbee catching dog in a Superman cape. Fittingly, the act hailed from Metropolis (Minnesota).