A Duquesne Student's Blog

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Aaron Jackson was one of the most loved players to play at Duquesne in years. His unselfish style, raw athletic ability, and skills with the basketball made him the leader of the 2008-2009 Duquesne Dukes. After his 46 point final performance in the first round of the NIT in West Virginia, Jackson went on to play in an NBA scouting tournament and has attended workouts for numerous NBA teams.

Jackson has spent most of the spring in Florida at the IMG Basketball Academy and Pro Training Center with fellow collegiate players DeJuan Blair and Tyrell Biggs. So far, Jackson has had workouts with Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Indiana, Cleveland, and Atlanta. Other workouts might be scheduled before the June 25th NBA Draft.

Currently, Jackson appears to be on the outside looking in. There is still a chance he could be picked up in the late second round if one of the GM's from the teams he has workedout with likes him. The single season record holder for assists has already recieved offers to play overseas but hasn't lost hope in playing in the NBA. Even if left undrafted, he could still play overseas and return to play in the NBA in the near future. This is exactly what Duquesne Alumni Mike James did on his way to being a started in the NBA.

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I watched most of Tiger's round today at Bethpage Black where he is currently at +3. I think Tiger has unfortuantely gotten the short end of the stick weather-wise. There is a clear disparity between the players who got to play yesterday afternoon and this morning and those who started thursday and finished their second round this afternoon. Those who have played in the good weather have shot amazing scores (Ricky Barnes -8, Mike Weir -6).

Tiger has not been hitting his puts but has overall been hitting the ball pretty well. After his second round Tiger made some comments about the trouble he has been having with the rough around the greens. He said he hasn't gotten a feel for the thickness of the grass and the slickness of the greens in the rain.

The cut is projected at +4 so Tiger has just slipped by and could start his third round this afternoon.

Poor Paddy Harrington played a horrendous second round and was actually booed during the last few holes. He couldn't hit a fairway to save his life and only stayed somewhat respectable by making some incredible par saves. In the end the Irishman couldn't keep it up and triple bogeyed the final hole of the round.

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Trumpeter Sean Jones from the Duquesne Mary Pappert School of Music performed on Monday, June 15th at the White House for the first session in First Lady Michelle Obama's Music Series. Jones was joined by fellow trumpeter Wynton Marsalis among others.

The event's purpose was to educate the public on Jazz and music in general. Jones participated in a Jazz workshop for over 150 grade schoolers that were in attendance. The workshop was a success and ended in a concert performed by the Marsalis brothers, Sean Jones, and other Jazz musicians from around the country.

Sean Jones is well known and respected in the international Jazz community and periodically performs in and around the Pittsburgh area and the throughout the country.

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Primati Brothers is a popular destination for Duquesne students while visiting Southside. This restaurant's combination of fries, cole slaw, and regular sandwich meat all on one sandwich is truly delicious. These greasy sandwiches go especially well after a night enjoying your favorite alcoholic beverage. With their late hours and convienient location at the corner of Carson Street and 18th Street, this place is busy late into the night on the weekends. While lines at night can be long, orders are taken quickly at the counter and cooked right away. The Southside location also has a bar that allows cigar smoking.

Primati Brothers originally started in the Strip district during the 1930's to feed passing truckers on their way through. The story goes that one such trucker came with load of potatoes that he wished to have fried up and put on his sandwich. The rest of the people in the restaurant thought this looked good and asked for it as well. The trend caught on and has since been the signature of Primati Brothers.

My personal favorite on the menu is the Pitts-burgher Cheese Steak # 2 best seller, as the menu reads. The number one best seller is a mystery to me. Needless to say if you havent been to Primati Brothers, you must check out this Pittsburgh dining classic. There are now 15 Pittsburgh locations and two locations in Florida.

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After a couple lines of thunderstorms moved through the Columbus area this morning waking me up, I am tuning into DirecTV coverage of Tiger Wood's group. Tiger is playing pretty well and is at +1 for the first round, which is being continued after the rain on Long Island yesterday.

Tiger will start his second round later this afternoon. The leader is currently at -2. the U.S. Open is famous for its difficult course conditions, so good scores should be hard to come by. Conditions today however, after the rain yesterday, should make for some good scores.

It will be difficult for all the players to make it through two rounds today. The pace on the course is very slow.

Update: Tiger finished at a respectable +4 after a terrible last four holes. He had pulled to even at one point on the back nine but ran into some trouble on 15 through 18.

Cover of Dynamite

One album in my collection that never seems to get old is Dynamite, by British band Jamiroquai.

The album combines the soul of the 70's with dance themes of the mid 2000's. While a lot of the album is quite danceable, there are a few heavier tracks that help complete the album. The general mood of the album is fun and enthusiastic. It makes great background music for hanging out at lower volume levels and makes great dance music with a good set of speakers. There are numerous love songs on the album but also some party songs. The music is very soulful and has could easily pass as funk.

"Feels Just Like it Should" is one of the many highlights from this album. The title track, "Dynamite", also has a memorable groove and lyrics that will call for a night out on the town. In fact, most of the songs on the album could be on your playlist for a night out on the town. One of my favorite tracks on the album is "Seven Days in Sunny June", a great summer classic that makes you feel like "sippin wine and killin time". While the album wont see playing time at the clubs in the strip district, it is plenty danceable and makes for an enjoyable listen.

If you like music by Jamiroquai be sure to check out their previous albums.

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My Dad just called and it looks like he got tickets for my brother and me to the sold out Clippers game in Columbus. The AAA baseball team has a brand new ballpark downtown called Huntington Park.

I have been to one other game this year and enjoyed it.

looked

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Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to get free tickets to the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, OH. I only got to go on Saturday but was able to see Tiger Woods play several holes. My Dad and I hopped a couple holes ahead of Tiger to get a good spot and waited for his group to pass through and repeated the sequence again. I really recommed this strategy because you get to follow about three groups for most of the course. Fortunately the groups ahead of Tiger were interesting, otherwise it could have been quite boring.

There were some incredibly large and beautiful houses along the Muirfield Village golf course. I am jealous of the people who get to host parties there during the tournament. I looked online and found that one for sale on the course was going for 3.25 million dollars.

I started watching the U.S. open this morning but no sooner had I turned it on did the horn blow for the suspension of play due to rain. Tiger is +1 but it is still very early. I am rooting for both Tiger and Phil Mickelson. Phil's wife unfortunately was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.

The U.S. open is being played at Bethpage Black on Long Island. Heavy rain is expected intermittenly today but should slow down tomorrow.

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I don't know what to make of the unrest in Iran. I dont like Ahmadinejad but dont really know if the other guy would be any better. I guess whoever the people actually voted for should win the election.


If you are even vaguely interested in this I would recommend Andrew Sullivan's blog at The Atlantic. He has been covering the story since it began.

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My cousin has created a "microcountry" somewhere in Maryland. He wanted me to blog about it so that it might have some legitamacy. The name of the country is Sandefreistikhan.

Cover of The Killer Angels

Books I have recently read include:

Oil! by Upton Sinclair
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1776 by David McCullough
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

I am currently reading Hawaii by James Michener. It takes place from the time the islands were settled to the mid 1950's.

Any suggestions?

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Music that I have recently been listening to include:

Passion Pit: "Manners"

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-Some pretty upbeat electro/rock music

Phoenix: "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"

-Some good summer music, it will make you happy

Dirty Projectors: "Bitte Orca"

-Possibly the strangest music I have heard in a while.

A funny thing happened just now. Since I don't have a job and have been thinking about money I realized I had started a "store" on zazzle.com last year. Well today I looked to see if I had ever sold anything. It just so happens that I sold a silly NASA poster a few months ago and earned $1.90 in royalties. So if you are reading this blog, check out my store at http://www.zazzle.com/qwertysoc

It's summer time and 85 degrees and sunny. Nike plus sensor thing seems to have broken so I am running without it. I have ran everyday this week on my usual trip over the Hoover dam and around the nature trail.

I have given up on finding a job since it seems quite fruitless. I had two interviews, both of which did not pan out. I'm looking forward to getting back to Pittsburgh and moving into my apartment. I also have a trip to Tennessee with a bunch of family that should be a lot of fun.

I went golfing with my Dad for my first time this year last week and shot a 56. Yeah I suck but I tied my Dad so that is something.