2013 MLS Cup Playoffs - Picks & Predictions

As the MLS Playoffs begin, Portland is embracing their first postseason 

With the Knockout Round Matches today and tomorrow, I wanted to revisit my preseason predictions and prognosticate the journey to the 2013 MLS Cup.

Revisiting the Predictions

I am pleased to report when revisiting A MLS Lifer Looks Forward I picked eight of the ten clubs in the playoff field:

• In the East, I only missed on New England as I had expected Chicago to complete the final five
• In the West, I only missed on Colorado as I had picked San Jose to make the final group

There is quite a bit of talent on the outside looking in as this was an amazing campaign for the fans leading up to the very last match of the season.

Predicting the Post Season

Before the season I had predicted that Los Angeles would win over Kansas City. As I complete my bracket I see a different final:

From the East - New England
Montreal beats Houston and loses to New York as New England surprises Kansas City as well as New York to get to the final

From the West - Portland
Seattle beats Colorado and loses to Portland as the Timbers defeat Salt Lake to take the West.

For the Final - Portland Timbers
My pick is 2-0 Portland at home on December 7th - There's something special about this year's team.  I may be biased as a proud member of the Timbers Army but it's hard to see it anyway else.

Enjoy the matches!

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Listen To Lou

My appreciation for Lou Reed goes back to my freshman year at Bowling Green.  Thanks to the generosity of  Bob who lived across the hall sharing his love for "All Things Lou" by playing his music repeatedly and loudly I have a great appreciation for Lou Reed as a musician, artist and influence to so many.

In an interview with Charlie rose he talked about the importance of ignoring trends and writing things that would still sound good thirty years later - not easily done but he accomplished both things.  So today, as I listen to the music and lyrics to 'New Sensations' ("sometimes I got lost and had to check the map."), I encourage you to Listen to Lou today and Learn Something About The Man.  You'll be glad you did.  

Lou Reed - The Door - Facebook

The Guardian Music Blog - Lou Reed - Six of His Greatest Songs

Paul Lukas - An Appreciation

Thank You and Rest in Peace Lou - #MusicMatters

hat tip: @CharlieRose @GuardianMusic @UniWatch and image from @PopDose 

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Change is Good at #ChangeConnect13

Change is Good

Today I am off to the second Change Connect symposium at Nike World Headquarters.  Last year's event was a great networking opportunity to meet fellow change practitioners and hear first hand about industry trends.  This year's event looks to be great with a lot of interesting breakout sessions and keynote speakers Josh Allen Dykstra today and Joseph Grenny tomorrow.

There's an app for that

If you're attending today make sure to download the app created for the event for Apple, Android, & Windows Mobile and open the Attendees section and Register to share your contact information and a bio with other attendees. Hope to meet you there!

Will be tweeting from @gurnick throughout the day with the hashtag  #ChangeConnect13

Change is Good!

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Saving Face

It appears that I have not been doing this correctly after many years according to the Wall Street Journal.

At this point I am just happy to have a face.  Easy does it going forward...

Hat Tip @WSJ

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What's Your Metadata Story?

There's a very timely New York Times Bits article, 'Using E-mail Data to Connect the Dots of Your Life'
 about the metadata (data about the data) that defines your e-mail and how it is different than the actual content.  With all the recent talk of NSA and Prism, it's interesting to see your data visualized and the story that it tells.

The Immersion team at MIT Labs is doing some interesting work where you can see first hand the metadata view of your gmail account. It's secure and also allows you to delete once your complete and provides a much more detailed and interactive view than the summary I've provided.  I encourage you to try it and see first hand your e-mail metadata story and share what you think.

Thank You: @NYTimesBits and MIT @MediaLab

@gurnick

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In the news: Hip Pockets & Hick-Hop

Reading the newspaper so you don't have to here are a few items to share:

1. Hip Pocket - Yelp has been using the metadata tag hipster since 2011 for their users. The result is this interactive map of 14 cities including Chicago, London, New York, Paris, Portland and San Francisco.

1. Hick-Hop - The WSJ covers the unlikely rise of this new genre of music and it sounds like a must to look into and experience.  They also mention some additional genres that have emerged naming Folk Metal, Epic Doom, Vaporwave, Disco Polo, Zeuhl Music, Chicken Scratch, Cowpunk, Japanoise, Nitzhonot, Kindie Rock, New Wave of New Wave, New Mexico Spanish Music, Trap, Celtic Gospel, Newgrass, PBR&B, Antifolk, and Carolina Beach Music. 

Closing on the topic of music. Blondie and X will be touring together this fall together as the 'No Principals Tour' - leaving you with Deborah Harry of Blondie demonstrating the pogo and the seasonal favorite '4th of July' by X.

Thank you: @tdmrussell, @Oregonian, @urbandictionary, @WSJ, @slicingeyeballs, @sullydish, &  @YouTube

#MusicMatters

@gurnick

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Spanning The Globe - Brazil, Japan, China & Russia

A few links to share from around the globe today in no particular order:

Tech in Brazil - A print ad from Nivea that can charge your phone while your out in the sun

Source: @viralblog

Big in Japan - Making an art of displaying and stacking books

Source: @MargRev

Made in China - Everything from homemade submarines, prosthetics to rickshaw walking robots

Source: @TheAtlantic

Russia - Not your average dancing bear

Source: @MeanwhileRussia

and which countries are the happiest (ranking of 35 countries)

Source: @OECD