Snow at the Hutch

2011-2012 Memphis Tiger Basketball Intro Video

Tigers..., Leggo!

Today, goes to 11!

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...

Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make

ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.

What would make a chubby guy run a half marathon? Tony Oliveira and St. Jude.

St. Jude Half-Marathon for Tony Oliveira

Memphis...., Elvis, BBQ, rock n' roll, BB King, Stax Records, the Civil Rights museum, cotton, the Blues, the Grizzlies, and of course your the Memphis Tigers. All of these things are great; they help make the Bluff City awesome. But the thing that is the heart of Memphis, St. Jude Children's Hospital.

I've lived in downtown Memphis for almost 1o years. I have driven by it countless number of times. I still remember my first visit. It kicks you in the gut and then fills your heart. The place rocks. The kids have more courage in the little pinky finger than I'll ever have.

I was always impressed by the place but it never meant as much to me until my first year teaching at SBA, (St. Benedict at Auburndale). Before I ever taught a class there I found out that one of the students in my 12th grade religion class had been diagnosed with cancer. The class with Social Justice and Death & Dying. In addition I found out that the young man was supposed to play baseball for me in the spring (He did!). What the heck I am supposed to do with that information.

I meet the kid, his name is Tony Oliveira. I find out that he fought and beat cancer in his 8th grade year. Fighting cancer in your 8th and 12th grade years is not fair, not fair at all. Over the course of the next few weeks I'll be telling some stories.

How his buddies all shaved their heads when he was going through chemo.

The ridiculous and fantastic end of the day class we called religion with those seniors.

His return to the team in spring.

The Oktoberfest Brat cooking contest victory.., ok only a little of that one.

Tony fought cancer numerous more times.., he never let it win. Cancer may have taken his body here on earth but it NEVER beat his spirit. That young man lived more in thirty years than most people live in a lifetime.

So what possess me to run a half marathon? It comes down to this, if Tony and thousands of kids and people like him can battler cancer than I can put down my beer and sandwiches a run a few miles.

I've been training since the summer. I'm putting in the miles. I won't win the race but that's not the point. I'm going to try and fight my way through it. The victory is in the battle not the outcome.

A story about Tony

A Toast to Tony: Seven-course meal is four-star salute to chef fighting for his life

Tony's Obituary

Here is his obit.

A typical teen, chef Tony Oliveira would bum a few dollars from his father, Cody, here and there. But not for bars or new clothes -- he wanted a fine dining experience.

An athlete, outdoorsman, accomplished chef, husband and son, Mr. Oliveira lived every day like a treasured gift, friends and family members say.

He died Thursday evening after a 16-year battle with cancer. He was 29.

"Tony was a fun kid, watching competitive cooking shows and telling the chefs on TV what they were doing wrong," his father said. "He never once asked to go to Chuck E. Cheese's."

As a boy, he won regional and national cooking awards, entering under the names of family friends to bypass the age restrictions. He was an athlete training for triathlons.

At 13, his story changed.

For years, doctors helped him fight lymphoma and osteosarcoma, later taking tumors from his brain and lungs. They removed the majority of his spleen. Surgeries followed chemotherapy and convalescence. Through it all, he excelled.

Two years into a University of Tennessee-Martin education and baseball scholarship, he left for Louisiana's Nicholls State University and the John Folse Culinary Institute.

His talent wooed his colleagues; his charm wooed the gifted and ambitious pastry chef Brandi Hannon. The two cultivated a passionate rivalry and were married last March.

"They were a great team, always trying to outdo each other," his father said. "He'd create a magnificent, four-course meal and she'd dazzle you with dessert."

Mr. Oliveira went on to earn a scholarship at the prestigious Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, and worked as a sous chef at La Tour in Vail, Colo., quickly moving up to chef de cuisine. In Memphis, he helped a dear friend establish Restaurant Iris at 2146 Monroe as a premier New Orleans-inspired eatery.

"My son had a pretty bright future," Cody said. "He accomplished most of his goals, lived the way he wanted. He just ran out of time."

Mr. Oliveira, husband of Brandi Oliveira, also leaves his parents, Cody and Linda Oliveira of Memphis; sister, Christin Anne and her husband Capt. Russell Streif, of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and two godsons, Jackson Graham Streif and Anthony Marshall Streif.

The funeral will be Monday at 1 p.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church on Park Avenue with burial services to follow. Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery has charge.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Tony Oliveira Scholarship Fund at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School or to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

If you could donate a few bucks to St. Jude it would go a long way.

LSU Football

In Baton Rouge for some Tiger football. Awesome tailgate with old friends.

Just watched a women pull a flask from her bra. I love SEC football!

Lucian

Play that funky music white boy!

Canoe trip on Ghost River

About to spend the day on the Wolf River with the lads.

Good times.

Perfect Fall evening in Memphis.

Memphis Madness in the FedEx Forum down the street.

Good friends dropping in and out.

It will be an early night because I have half-marathon prep in the morning. But enjoying some Ghost River brewed from the aquifers of Mid-South

An awesome evening. This is why I love Memphis.

High School football in Middle America

Went to see a close friend's youngest play football on my way to Chicago for fall break.

It was a beautiful fall night, after sunset their was an ever so slight chill in the air.

He and his team played fantastic and won the game 49 - 0. He's the youngest of three boys, the other two went to the Ivy League for school/football, which means that he tough from getting the shit beaten out of him by his older siblings.

Great weekend

Such a relaxin weekend. Enjoyed hanging out, grillin', socializing, and maybe a cold libation or two. This was were we hung out and stayed. A great time.

Bottle Tree

Morning coffee in the Delta

The Shack Up Inn

Enjoying a few nights at the Ernz Shack in Clarksdale, MS.

Friday evening ride

Had a great ride through downtown this evening. The sunset along the Mississippi was spectacular.

This is what college athletics should be about!

This is just awesome!!!!

On the first day of his Senior year at Green Bay, Coach Brian Wardle surprised Valentin with an awesome surprise. Valentin is the same player who walked onto the men's basketball team and broke the Guinness World Record for most half court shots made. Video courtesy of Green Bay Athletics.

Here's a little Memphis love

Here is the latest video from the Memphis band, FreeSol. Shot in and around downtown Memphis and it even features Justin Timberlake.

Morel mushrooms

The find of the morning was this huge morel mushroom. This woul be
quite expensive at a market.

A walk in the Bavarian woods

This morning I went on a wonderful walk in the woods of the mountains
of Bavaria, middle Franconia to be exact. We went mushroom hunting.
During the walk I received a great lesson in finding mushrooms,
identifying which ones are edible, and how the tell the really tasty
ones from the average.

Here is a photo of the my mushroom posse and the spoils of our two
hour walk in the woods.

Last view of the city

Franken wine fields

We stopped by a wine cellar, Michl was buying a gift for a friend's
50th wedding anniversary. The owner was a classmate of Michl's sister
and he not only runs the wine cellar but he grows the grapes.

Here are a view of his wine fields. Just gorgeous.

Rothenburg's city wall

Great view of the city wall. This side of the city has a series of
three walls to provide defense.

A sword from the crusades

One of the benefits of visiting a museum that someone used to live in
is that it provides one with some unlikely scenarios.

Here I am holding a sword from the Crusades in @1300AD. The museum
director, he knows Michl, opened up the case it was in and let me hold
it. It's crazy to put your hands on something that has so much history.

A day in Rothenburg

On Wednesday Michl took me to his home town, Rothenburg ob den Tauber.
Anytime some one takes you to their hometown it's special but this
trip was awesome. Michl's father was the town's mayor around the
turbulent years of World War II.

We visited the city history museum which was also one of the places he
lived in Rothenburg. He has so many stories about every place in the
town.

Many may recognize the city as one of the most visited cities along
the "Romantic Road". Everywhere one turns you see a view that is
postcard worthy. Michl took me past the tourist areas and everywhere
we turned someone knew him.

Music in the beer garden

Once someone says, "Germany", aloud there are a few definitive images
that come to the mind of most. Two of which are beer and oompah pah
(sp?) bands.

Tonight I had both. Michl, Isle, and I met the Pfeils in town to have
a few beers, something to eat, and listen to the band. Tons of fun!

The place was packed, not a free seat anywhere. As the band played
people jumped on the table tops, danced, and sang. In German you say,
"Gemöglichkeit", there isn't really a literal translation for the word
but "Good times and health" will have to do.

And yes the sax player is in the crowd. The band mainly played German,
specifically, Bavarian songs. (think about a German version of county
music). They did end with two cover songs, "We are the champions" and
"you shook me all night long".

City crests of the area

This pole is in the city center. It has the crests of some of the
towns and villages of the area. The symbol of Gunzenhausen is th light
blue one on top.

Frühstuck beim Schmidt

Here is the view of the backyard as we eat a classic German breakfast.

We had meat, cheese, and bread to die for.

Being here with the Schmidt's where I spent a summer over 20 years an
have visited several times since makes me realize a few things. One,
I'm old. Two, although some specifics details fade, great memories
always stay with you.

A view from downtown Gunzenhausen

I'm strolling around the downtown with a cup of coffee. Sunny and 68
degrees. Ausgezeignet! (outstanding)

Long conversations into the night

This clever bag/candle lamp provided us light well into the night.

Safely at the Schmidt's in Gunzenhausen

With an effiiency only the Germans can muster I arrived via mass
transit in Gunzenhausen and was picked up ny Michel.

From there we went to their back porch which overlooks the Franconian
countryside.

Beer and sausage, I guess I'm in Germany.

All is well in München

I'm sitting on the train ready to head out to Gunzenhausen. Made the
connections from airport to S-Bahn to Deutsche Bahn with no problems.
I even had a few minutes to pick up a samich for the ride.

Arrived in Germany!

The flight and luggage pick up went smooth. I'm on the S1 to Munich's
central trainstation to buy a ticket to Gunzenhausen.

Tschüs!

Heading to Germany and my birthplace, Gunzenhausen!

With a tearful goodbye to Finland I head to Germany, specifically
Gunzenhausen.

I was born there a little over 40 years ago when my parents lived
there while my Dad participated in Fulbright exchange program. As a
German teacher in the states he taught English in the Simon-Marius
Gymnasium (school no a gym) and the English teacher there came to the
states and taught German.

I was an exchange student there the summer between my junior and
senior year of high school. So my birthplace does feel like my home
town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunzenhausen

Moi moi, Soumi! Paljon kiitoksia!

Sayin goodbye is terrible so let's just say, "Till we see each other
again."

It was GREAT to see everyone. I can't thank everyone enough for their
hospitality, kindness, and generosity. From hosting me, joining me in
Russia, and making time to renew and strengthen old friendships. It
was also great to start new ones that I hope will grow over time.

There are not words to express how heartwarming an life affirming it
is to travel to a foreign country but feel so at home.

I love history and touring the museums and churches of a new city.
There is no substitute to sitting at the someone's home and sharing a
meal, drinks, and conversations. If the world did this more there
would be less conflict and war.

Twain, wrote that, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-
mindedness." No truer words have been spoken.

Päivi, our families have known each other for years and I hope for
years to come. In fact it is far more accurate to say we are family.

Thanks!

Sent from John Stephany's Old iPhone

Dessert

Päivi made the dessert. The cake tasted even better than it looks, and
it looks great!

Everyone made something.

Grilling fishes

Timo and a small fish. He breaded and grilled a bunch of these. Tasted
great.

Slow and low in Finland

Yesterday Timo and I floated around the markets and butchers of
Helsinki looking for a piece of pig to BBQ.

We found a great cut and then we prepared a feast for my last evening
in Finland.

We rubbed the pig with some local and
Memphis spices, yes I travel with BBQ rub, and then we smoked it in a
box on a grill. The smoke box is usually used with fish but it worked
great.

Here is the final product.

Tubing

They estimated that over 8,000 people made the float. Very impressive.

Tubing cont.

Although the lion's share of the tubing enthusiasts use store bought
ships, some were a bit more creative. They were actually grilling on
this.

Tubing in Finland

Every year during the last month of July there has been an unofficial
tubing excursion down a small river near Vantaa, a suburb of Helsinki.

Here are the masses preparing. Very similiar to the Norm led tubing
excusions down @the fourth of July weekend. Yes, lots of beer.

BBQ, Finnish style! Part 4

The finished product of the Finnish smoked salmon! It was fantastic.

BBQ, Finnish style! Part 3

The smoke box.

BBQ, Finnish style! Part 2

You add the salmon. All of this is placed into a smoke box which is
placed on the grill.

BBQ, Finnish style! Part 1

First you add some wood chips and then some small planks of wood to
place the salmon on.

Great market in downtown Helsinki near the harbor

Orthodox Church in Helsinki

Beautiful church and it's many icons.

Coffe house / Boat

We took a short break from oir toiring and had some iced coffee.

The stone church in Helsinki

After a fantastic cruise around the waters of the Gulf of Finland/
Baltic Sea we toured around Helsinki. One of the sights was a striking
stone church. It was where Päivi and Timo where married.

Outdoor clubbing in downtown Helsinki

Diili, the Finnish version of Donald Trump's Apprentice

Today while we ate breakfast we were offered a chance for some free
tours and a meal. There were a bunch of women in yellow shirts being
followed by a cameraman and sound boom offering people this deal. It
turned out they were a team on the Finnish TV show, Diili. The Finnish
incarnation and Trump sanctioned version of, "The Apprentice". No
wonder most of the world dislikes us, we farm out or crap TV to the
world. Is "The Apprenctice" the US version of the Roman, "Bread and
Circuses"?

Breakfast of champions

This am before our cuise of the Gulf of Finland/Baltoc See we had
"presidential coffee", the official Presidential residence is right in
the square, and a delcious meat pie. It was like a homemade "hot
pocket". It was awesome.

Outdoor market in Helsinki

Beautiful sunny morning in Helsinki.

Central Market in Helsinki

We came downtown for breakfast to the central market. In this square
there are vendors with fresh vegetables and fish mongers.

Th square also houses the Hesinki mayor's office and the official
residence of the President. In fact when Finland's hockey team won the
Euro hockey championship the square hosted over 100,000 people in the
square. From what I hear it was quite a party.

Who's your Haddadi!

The biggest casualty of the my photo erase incident at the Spb airport
was the fact that I nervously erased the crown prince of photos from
my phone. Serves me right for taking a stupid picture and practically
messin' my pants when I got caught doing it.

I mentioned that there was a large group of Iranians headed out of Spb
airport. I also mentioned that I cut in line several times.

Each time no one seemed to mind so I didn't think a thing of it. So
when I was sitting drinking my last few rubles away I saw the group
looking at me. Then they pointed to me. My word, what have done this
time?

No worries here folks, they saw my Memphis Grizzlies hat. For the non
Grizzlies fan; First, shame on you and second, we love our bench
sitting Iranian Hamed Haddadi! We spoke about the Grizzlies, Haddadi,
and how he should play more. We took a photo with me and three
Iranians holding my hat with #1 signs flashing. That photo and what
could have been will haunt me for a long time. I'm an idiot.