The Happy Music Gene and Glee

A friend of mine has claimed I lack the happy music gene. I have never questioned this but never thought this was a bad thing either. 20 miles into a marathon I am not particularly interested in listening to girl groups from the early 1960s or cheerful Broadway show tunes. Metallica and the latest Norwegian death metal sounds about right. When I go to concerts James Taylor or Carole King is of little interest but Judas Priest or Zeppelin definitely rocks. Pink Floyd is about right for any occasion.

But then Glee changed all that. I watched the show with my family, my daughter bought the discs and/or downloaded the music, and suddenly I am sped along the running to cheery mashups of Stop in the Name of Love and Free Your Mind or Living on a Prayer and Start Me Up. Redos of Journey songs are suddenly hot again. I hesitate to admit I have even enjoyed the Glee versions of Total Eclipse of the Heart, I'll Stand by You, and (shudder) I Dreamed a Dream (from les Miz).

What gives? Have I suddenly discovered a long dormant happy music gene? Have I developed one for the first time from environment factors (nurture not nature?). Even worse, what if it isn't the happy music gene afterall but the cheezy music gene? That would of course explain why so many of the greatest hits of the 70s were already on my iPod.

NYC Marathon

Okay, so the good news is that today I claimed my automatic admit for the 2011 NYC Marathon.  This isn't exactly a badge of honor.  In the old days I used to qualify by running 9 races . . .  This time I did it by losing in the lottery three years in a row.  Hey guys, what do you think of Antitrust Marathon V, NYC??

NYC Marathon -- Couch Potato Edition

Okay, so I applied for the NYC Marathon and didn't get in this year.  It's my third rejection in a row, so I've got a guaranteed entry next year.  Woohoo!!   I've abandoned my plans to run the Philadelphia Marathon in two weeks because of lingering Achilles issues.  So, I counted it as a victory when I went for a slow 9.5 mile run with a colleague yesterday morning.  Then I settled in to stretch and watch the Marathon on TV.  Usually I feel a pang of regret when I watch the big show on the television. This time, I was guilt free. 

Great race!  How about that Shalane Flanagan. . .

Comparative and International Antitrust

I'll be teaching this course as a 2-credit quasi-seminar next spring. I know Spencer has taught something similar (though I think in 3 credits, if my research is accurate). What text is best? Any advice on dealing with students who haven't taken the basic antitrust course?

Discretion/Valor II

This morning was the Hot Chocolate 15K the last big race of the year downtown. It is known for the terrific technical running jacket in the goody bag and the hot chocolate at the finish line this year by Ghiradelli. Got the bib and the jacket at the most inconvenient expo location possible in downtown Chicago (and uninteresting exhibitors as well).

For less noble reasons than Max, I too took a pass. The race was at 7:30, the temperature was below freezing, I wasn't feeling well, there were 30,000 people (mostly for the 5K that goes first causing even longer wait in cold), the dog ate my home work, etc. Instead I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Now I am taking the dog for a walk and going to do my personal 15K in a spiffy new running jacket along a nice sunny 45 degree lake front.

Okay Ted, your turn.

Discretion/Valor

This morning was the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. It is the third running (I think) of the only marathon that starts and finishes in downtown Indianapolis. My colleague Peter is the race treasurer; Alex, the spouse of another of my colleagues, is the incoming race president. I am stuck in the midwest this weekend (wedding in Cincinnati), I badly need the miles (JFK 50 mile is 2 weeks away), and I really enjoy running marathons. What's a guy to do?

I didn't. Rather proud of myself, I must say. Tried out the legs on Thursday after being brutalized in the Marine Corps Marathon last Sunday, and they're not quite all there. It's cold here, and rain was a possibility for this morning. Instead I awoke just in time to imagine how my heart would be in my teeth if I were in the starting corral just then; had some coffee and did some holiday shopping on Amazon; and cruised out for an easy 10, cheering and congratulating the runners I saw. Maybe next year. Maybe.

Nevermind

Actually I tied my PR.

99   573 SPENCER WALLER             53  10/21     52:50  8:31 CHICAGO            IL