Friday, October 21, 2005
The Good and The Bad
Here I am with my day late baseball talk, seems to be my MO for discussing the sport during the post-season.
I could not have been more wrong about Game 6. The Cards, from the little I saw (I had to work), were lazy and played shitty. Jesse called it that Mulder would be out early.
W.S. prediction - going against the experts cause no way in hell am I picking the team from Chicago. Houston in 7.
Bagwell as a DH is like giving Houston a great player from another team just for the W.S.
The White Sox will take game 4 in Backe v. Garcia, so Houston needs to get four wins from Clemens, Pettitte, and Oswalt. Oswalt will get 2 and no way are either Clemens or Pettite going 0-2.
---
Hurricane Wilma is fucking shit up, Hurricane Harriet is headed toward the Senate Floor in a few weeks, Sadaam Husein's lawyer was kidnapped, some mother who was "hearing voices" (obviously not the same voice Ray Kinsella was hearing) threw her three kids off a pier, a millionaire senator won over 800,000 in the lottery, there is an aruement going on about who should control the internet, the UN or the US, what about the citizens of the world controlling it?, sharks are attacking, teens are killing, Karl Rove still has a job (and it's not in a prison)...
Shit is so crazy everywhere all the time. And this is just the shit I pulled off the cnn.com main page. It's not even all the crazy shit that's going that doesn't get national attention. You cannot escape The Shit. It is all over the place and everyone is affected one way or another by it.
This week a bus full of Chippewa Falls High School band students hit a jack-knifed semi and five people died. A co-worker of mine, a drum instructor at Chi-Hi, was banged up pretty good. You really cannot get away from it.
It sucks and it doesn't. It sucks when it affects you directly. It's inconvenient, and often times much more than that, life altering. And when it doesn't affect you, you still think about it. But without the bad how could we ever appreciate the good? If everything was all good all the time, then what would we argue about? Do we need to argue? Would we all run around like a bunch of kids following Phish all over the place getting high and being oblivious to everything except toking up and jamming to a Trey solo? (Yes, I know Phish broke up.)
We need the bad to keep us grounded. We don't want to be the Phish followers who only worry about themselves and having a good time at concerts getting high. There isn't anything wrong with that, but if the whole world was like that we would be in some serious shit. It takes thinking of others to keep things on this planet moving even remotely in a sensible direction. We need to have our happy bubbles popped, and sometimes exploded, every once in a while. It doesn't need to be a major tragedy, but just something small to keep us an even keel does a lot of good. It's the bad things that make being happy so great.
Side Note:
How do people who just follow bands all over the place on tour fund their life? It's omething that's always bothered me...
So here's a good thing for you:
Researchers have created a drug to fight cancer in women, a drug they say that has benefits that doctors haven't seen in a decade. It is supposed to cut the chance of relapse in half in a certain population of breat cancer patients.
I love hearing about advancements in medicines ability to fight cancer. I'll love it more and more as I get older and older and my chances of being diagnosed with it increase. Exciting things are coming out of cancer research right now. My grandpa was just accepted to an experimental drug program at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN, to try to fight his cancer.
It's things like hearing about this drug that make me wonder, "If this had been out 13 years ago, would my mom's cancer relapses have been prevented?" There's no way of ever knowing four years after she died, but it's a curious thing. For eight years after she beat breast cancer she fought relapses and if this a drug that can prevent that from happening in other women then we all ought to start picking up stock in Genentech, the manufacturer.
So appreciate the bad times for making the good times so good. Have a good Friday.
Until The Next.
Are antibacterial soaps bad?
I could not have been more wrong about Game 6. The Cards, from the little I saw (I had to work), were lazy and played shitty. Jesse called it that Mulder would be out early.
W.S. prediction - going against the experts cause no way in hell am I picking the team from Chicago. Houston in 7.
Bagwell as a DH is like giving Houston a great player from another team just for the W.S.
The White Sox will take game 4 in Backe v. Garcia, so Houston needs to get four wins from Clemens, Pettitte, and Oswalt. Oswalt will get 2 and no way are either Clemens or Pettite going 0-2.
---
Hurricane Wilma is fucking shit up, Hurricane Harriet is headed toward the Senate Floor in a few weeks, Sadaam Husein's lawyer was kidnapped, some mother who was "hearing voices" (obviously not the same voice Ray Kinsella was hearing) threw her three kids off a pier, a millionaire senator won over 800,000 in the lottery, there is an aruement going on about who should control the internet, the UN or the US, what about the citizens of the world controlling it?, sharks are attacking, teens are killing, Karl Rove still has a job (and it's not in a prison)...
Shit is so crazy everywhere all the time. And this is just the shit I pulled off the cnn.com main page. It's not even all the crazy shit that's going that doesn't get national attention. You cannot escape The Shit. It is all over the place and everyone is affected one way or another by it.
This week a bus full of Chippewa Falls High School band students hit a jack-knifed semi and five people died. A co-worker of mine, a drum instructor at Chi-Hi, was banged up pretty good. You really cannot get away from it.
It sucks and it doesn't. It sucks when it affects you directly. It's inconvenient, and often times much more than that, life altering. And when it doesn't affect you, you still think about it. But without the bad how could we ever appreciate the good? If everything was all good all the time, then what would we argue about? Do we need to argue? Would we all run around like a bunch of kids following Phish all over the place getting high and being oblivious to everything except toking up and jamming to a Trey solo? (Yes, I know Phish broke up.)
We need the bad to keep us grounded. We don't want to be the Phish followers who only worry about themselves and having a good time at concerts getting high. There isn't anything wrong with that, but if the whole world was like that we would be in some serious shit. It takes thinking of others to keep things on this planet moving even remotely in a sensible direction. We need to have our happy bubbles popped, and sometimes exploded, every once in a while. It doesn't need to be a major tragedy, but just something small to keep us an even keel does a lot of good. It's the bad things that make being happy so great.
Side Note:
How do people who just follow bands all over the place on tour fund their life? It's omething that's always bothered me...
So here's a good thing for you:
Researchers have created a drug to fight cancer in women, a drug they say that has benefits that doctors haven't seen in a decade. It is supposed to cut the chance of relapse in half in a certain population of breat cancer patients.
I love hearing about advancements in medicines ability to fight cancer. I'll love it more and more as I get older and older and my chances of being diagnosed with it increase. Exciting things are coming out of cancer research right now. My grandpa was just accepted to an experimental drug program at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN, to try to fight his cancer.
It's things like hearing about this drug that make me wonder, "If this had been out 13 years ago, would my mom's cancer relapses have been prevented?" There's no way of ever knowing four years after she died, but it's a curious thing. For eight years after she beat breast cancer she fought relapses and if this a drug that can prevent that from happening in other women then we all ought to start picking up stock in Genentech, the manufacturer.
So appreciate the bad times for making the good times so good. Have a good Friday.
Until The Next.
Are antibacterial soaps bad?
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Jesse Ass Buster
I think this is the first time that blog has ever received 50+ hits in three straight days. But I think it is mostly due to Jesse sitting in his office checking all his websites 10-20 times a day because he doesn't do shit for work.
I get about 4-5 e-mails a day from him. Probably a bunch of hits on the blog. He just surfs and surfs and surfs until someone actually needs him to do something. Jesse does so little work that welfare checks are going to start showing up at his door, his door for which he pays no rent. Nothing much has changed for Jesse this year, except he's not in EC and he doesn't have to worry about class. He still just sits and reads and reads and reads on the internet, but now he gets paid for it.
I'm jealous.
I get about 4-5 e-mails a day from him. Probably a bunch of hits on the blog. He just surfs and surfs and surfs until someone actually needs him to do something. Jesse does so little work that welfare checks are going to start showing up at his door, his door for which he pays no rent. Nothing much has changed for Jesse this year, except he's not in EC and he doesn't have to worry about class. He still just sits and reads and reads and reads on the internet, but now he gets paid for it.
I'm jealous.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Fruits, and I'm not talking about Carson Daly
I have to get this out of my head because I'm trying to plow through this novel, Feast of Love, by Charles Baxter, for my creative writing class, and I can't read because I keep thinking about it.
When I was brushing my teeth this morning I was thinking about fruit. Don't ask why because I don't know why, I was just thinking about fruit. It's a very strange thing, don't you think?
I mean, you have apples which are pretty hard, but then you also have bananas which are very soft. They both have something protecting the meat, but you eat the skin on apples and discard the peels of both bananas and oranges. You don't peel grapes either. Sometimes you cut apples into halves or quarters or eigths to eat in slices. You never eat a banana this way. Oranges are juicey. Apples are not. Niether are bananas. But both apples and oranges have juices that are common drinks. Apple has a pucker. Orange does not. There is 99 Bananas. Where are the banana seeds? Apples and oranges have them, some grapes do and those grapes suck. I find it annoying when people over 12 use oranges as a mouthguard. Where did the joke about slipping on a banana peel come from? Has anyone actually ever done that? Are the grapes the most choked upon fruit? Why aren't some fruits more common, like a grapefruit or watermelon? They are both fairly common, but not close to apples, bananas, oranges, or grapes. What happened to Johnny WatermelonSeed?
Then I spit, rinsed, smiled in the mirror, and left.
When I was brushing my teeth this morning I was thinking about fruit. Don't ask why because I don't know why, I was just thinking about fruit. It's a very strange thing, don't you think?
I mean, you have apples which are pretty hard, but then you also have bananas which are very soft. They both have something protecting the meat, but you eat the skin on apples and discard the peels of both bananas and oranges. You don't peel grapes either. Sometimes you cut apples into halves or quarters or eigths to eat in slices. You never eat a banana this way. Oranges are juicey. Apples are not. Niether are bananas. But both apples and oranges have juices that are common drinks. Apple has a pucker. Orange does not. There is 99 Bananas. Where are the banana seeds? Apples and oranges have them, some grapes do and those grapes suck. I find it annoying when people over 12 use oranges as a mouthguard. Where did the joke about slipping on a banana peel come from? Has anyone actually ever done that? Are the grapes the most choked upon fruit? Why aren't some fruits more common, like a grapefruit or watermelon? They are both fairly common, but not close to apples, bananas, oranges, or grapes. What happened to Johnny WatermelonSeed?
Then I spit, rinsed, smiled in the mirror, and left.
If you can't check this out, then we can't be friends.
Ah, shit, when it rains it pours.
I hate cliches.
I forgot to tell ya'll to check out Bula's Homecoming recap and the pictures below, some fun stuff, some mugs of the 213 fellas, stories worth a read, pictures worth a glance. I was even nice enough to link you this time even though the link is right to your right. What would you do if it was left to your left?
Until Probably 3:15.
I hate cliches.
I forgot to tell ya'll to check out Bula's Homecoming recap and the pictures below, some fun stuff, some mugs of the 213 fellas, stories worth a read, pictures worth a glance. I was even nice enough to link you this time even though the link is right to your right. What would you do if it was left to your left?
Until Probably 3:15.
If you...
Jesse linked me to a SportsFrog message board thread called "If you don't like...We can't be friends."
People on the site were listing things like Dave Chappelle, a rack of BBQ ribs, snow days when you were a kid, first kisses, back massages, Barry Sanders, hitting on the bartender at a strip club, the beginning of "Babo O'Reilly", a self-depricating sense of humor, every Coen Brothers movie, breasts, puppies, and a host of sports moments, such as making the extra pass, a well-executed squeeze play, and so and so.
I think a few important clarifications need to be made. People are confusing or stretching or misinterpreting the word "like" in qualifying what they are putting on this list.
No one is not going to like someone just because they don't like a rack of BBQ ribs, unless maybe your name is Famous Dave. Your friend may have a parallel item to your ribs that you do not like, but they will still like you.
No one is not going to like someone just because they don't like every single Coen Brothers movie, although that may be a viable reason - except Intolerable Cruelty sucked.
Many of these things will depend on the gender of the friend as well. I'm not sure that someone's female friends would appreciate hitting on the bartender at a strip club as much as the author of that one apparently does.
I think there are two different categories here.
1) If you don't like...then we can't be friends.
2) If you can't appreciate...then we can't be friends.
There is a difference. You may not like naps, and that is okay, but if you can't appreciate how I love a good one, then we're going to have problems. You might hate the Libertarian Party, but if you can appreciate why I do like it, then we can be friends. You might not even like baseball, but if you can appreciate an extra inning walk off home run, then we can be friends.
Here is my initial list:
If you don't like Field of Dreams, we can't be friends. It doesn't have to be one of your Top 10 favorites of all time, but if you don't like that movie then I think you have issues with understanding humanity and that won't fly. I don't have friends who don't like that movie. I hate Donnie (Nobody needs to worry about that last sentence except for Adam.)
If you can't appreciate the differences between you and I, then we can't be friends.
If you don't like giving each other shit, then we can't be friends.
If you can't appreciate a really good argument over a trivial issue, then we can't be friends.
If you don't like mindless, witty banter, we can't be friends.
If you can't appreciate the evidence supporting evolution, we can't be friends because you are an idiot. You don't have to like it, but you have to appreciate that it exists.
That's all I have for now, I'm sure more will follow.
I want to hear from the masses on this one. The masses means you, Readers. What's on your list?
Until The Next.
People on the site were listing things like Dave Chappelle, a rack of BBQ ribs, snow days when you were a kid, first kisses, back massages, Barry Sanders, hitting on the bartender at a strip club, the beginning of "Babo O'Reilly", a self-depricating sense of humor, every Coen Brothers movie, breasts, puppies, and a host of sports moments, such as making the extra pass, a well-executed squeeze play, and so and so.
I think a few important clarifications need to be made. People are confusing or stretching or misinterpreting the word "like" in qualifying what they are putting on this list.
No one is not going to like someone just because they don't like a rack of BBQ ribs, unless maybe your name is Famous Dave. Your friend may have a parallel item to your ribs that you do not like, but they will still like you.
No one is not going to like someone just because they don't like every single Coen Brothers movie, although that may be a viable reason - except Intolerable Cruelty sucked.
Many of these things will depend on the gender of the friend as well. I'm not sure that someone's female friends would appreciate hitting on the bartender at a strip club as much as the author of that one apparently does.
I think there are two different categories here.
1) If you don't like...then we can't be friends.
2) If you can't appreciate...then we can't be friends.
There is a difference. You may not like naps, and that is okay, but if you can't appreciate how I love a good one, then we're going to have problems. You might hate the Libertarian Party, but if you can appreciate why I do like it, then we can be friends. You might not even like baseball, but if you can appreciate an extra inning walk off home run, then we can be friends.
Here is my initial list:
If you don't like Field of Dreams, we can't be friends. It doesn't have to be one of your Top 10 favorites of all time, but if you don't like that movie then I think you have issues with understanding humanity and that won't fly. I don't have friends who don't like that movie. I hate Donnie (Nobody needs to worry about that last sentence except for Adam.)
If you can't appreciate the differences between you and I, then we can't be friends.
If you don't like giving each other shit, then we can't be friends.
If you can't appreciate a really good argument over a trivial issue, then we can't be friends.
If you don't like mindless, witty banter, we can't be friends.
If you can't appreciate the evidence supporting evolution, we can't be friends because you are an idiot. You don't have to like it, but you have to appreciate that it exists.
That's all I have for now, I'm sure more will follow.
I want to hear from the masses on this one. The masses means you, Readers. What's on your list?
Until The Next.
Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! All In!
Cards, Astros, White Sox
Jesse caught me in a mistake. Obviously the Cards need to two to win. And I think they will win two to take the series. You just can't trust Lidge anymore. Everytime he is on the mound in a pressure situation for the rest of the series he'll be thinking about Pujols's homer orbiting the moon. The 'Stros just aren't coming back from that. The Cards have too much momentum and are playing at home. Cards in 7.
Then, Cards in 6 over the White Sox. Whoever advances from the NL will beat the Sox in 6. The Sox have about as good of a shot at winning the World Series has Harriet Miers does at getting confirmed.
But then I predicted that the Red Sox would beat them in four. I've doubted them and waited for their collapse all year. Will they finally prove me right and just fucking lose? I hope so.
Then, Cards in 6 over the White Sox. Whoever advances from the NL will beat the Sox in 6. The Sox have about as good of a shot at winning the World Series has Harriet Miers does at getting confirmed.
But then I predicted that the Red Sox would beat them in four. I've doubted them and waited for their collapse all year. Will they finally prove me right and just fucking lose? I hope so.
Baseball and The Fifty
Ok, this is my third post today. I couldn't sleep, then suddenly I realized that I didn't read Simmons today so I checked it out and became motivated to write another post.
Things I've thought about so far this post-season:
Between Lackey and Byrd, the Angels have the ugliest pitching staff in the bigs, hands down. With Lackey's small mouth and Byrd's fucked up eyes (I think there is a huge space between them), they'll make hitters shake without even throwing an effective pitch
Which baseball player would you rather get in a fight with in an alley somewhere? Carl Everett or Gary Sheffield. I would have to say Sheffield because I just think Everett is a little more psycho.
I seriously want some fucking feedback on this one. Pick one. Write in votes are acceptable, but you better make a strong case if you think someone would be more leathel than either of these two. Former players are even acceptable.
Don't say Milton Bradley; he's just not as physically imposing as Everett or Sheff.
Don't say Albert Belle; all you have to do is kick him in the hip and its over.
I could buy Lenny Dykstra because he's just a hardass and the rumors of roids around him give some weight to a roid rage argument. But he's still behind Everett and Sheff.
Don't say Kyle Farnsworth. He's deadly in a brawl, but lacks the psychotic tendencies to kick ass for no reason, unless he was up against Berkman, then he might want some revenge.
Don't say Nolan Ryan. He beat up Robin Ventura, but c'mon, it's Robin Ventura.
Enough of this crap. It's boring.
More thoughts from the post-season.
I smile every time they show Scott Podsednik's stolen bases stats from the first half of the year compared to the second half. I liked him a lot as a Brewer. I've liked him a little less every day ever since he became a White Sock.
Has anyone been better in the announcing booth than Mike Piazza this post-season? No.
Bring back Al Leiter for the World Series. Or Piazza. Or Harold Reynolds. Or Orel Herschieser. And Bob Brenly's not too bad.
If I got to choose a threesome in the booth for a big game, it would be Al Michaels, Harold Reynolds, and Orel Herschieser. My back-ups in case they all lose their voices would be John Miller, Tony Gwynn, and Al Leiter. I like the idea of having both a veteran or recently retired hitter and pitcher in the booth; it gives the broadcast the most potential for really good insight.
On my "I Would Rather Listen To Three Random Drunk Fans From The Opposing Team" list would be: Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, Thom Brenneman, Dave O'Brien, and Steve Stone.
You know what my favorite part of Pujols's jack the other night was? Thom Brenneman spent the last half of the 7th, all of the 8th, and the first two outs of the ninth sucking the Houston organization's cock. He was setting up the big call at the end of the game where he could be the first guy to verbally send them to a World Series. He was prepping FOX's Houston montage, getting ready to make the moment overly-sentimental like only Thom can. He was mentioning past Astro players and pointing out all the shit they're organization has gone through, blah, blah, blah The Colt 45's, blah, blah, blah, Nolan Ryan x53, blah, blah, blah. And then BANG! Albert goes yard and it's time to start talking about how Busch Stadium will get at least one more game. Oh boy, Thom, lay off the feelings shit and just call the god damn game.
I will give him credit. He did shut up after Berkman hit his blast and he just let us hear the crowd, which was a very nice touch. He was like the AC/DC drummer there, he knew when not to play and that made him good. He should do it more often.
But then he fucked up. He said that Minute Maid was "without a doubt the loudest stadium in baseball no question about it." What about the Metrodome when it's going ape shit in there?
Thom's hyperbolic statements drive me crazy. He called 2001 the best World Series ever and didn't even mention any others that can also be called the best ever. How about 1991? Seven games, the 7th going 9 scoreless innings before the Twins score in the 10th. All of this after Kirby Puckett's heroics in Game 6 allow Minnesota to play another game. At the end of that game Jack Buck made my all time favorite call in any baseball game: "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" Chills. Not to mention that both ESPN and MLB.com have named the 1991 World Series the greatest one ever. That series alone should be enough to push Jack Morris into the Hall of Fame. Not too many pitchers have been as clutch as he was in his career.
---
You are now flying forward, feeling the strap of your seatbelt cutting into your neck. Your head is sucked forward and then suddenly forced back against the head rest. I have just slammed on the brakes and changed directions.
Movies:
I watched Fear X tonight, starring John Turturro. It's a very small film released in 2003. Turturro is excellent in it, because what isn't he excellent in? He is surely in my top 5 list of favorite actors and the main reason I picked this one up.
The film is a Lynchian one, full of symbolic imagery, unexplained, undescribable images that you know mean something but you can't figure out what, and editing meant to confuse.
John Turturro plays a man searching for the reason why his wife was murdered. He plays Harry Caine, a mall security guard in Wisconsin. Mrs. Caine was shot in the parking lot of the mall where Harry works and now Harry is obsessed with searching through all the mall servalence videos from the time of the shooting to try to find out who killed his wife and why. Then, for some reason I think I have figured out, Harry makes his way to Montana in search of a woman who he thinks can help him. The woman's husband finds him before Harry finds her and an ending ensues that was quite baffling. It was an intense movie, really brought me in and had me waiting for the ending. Did he find the killer and the reason? I'm not sure I know now. It'll take some thinking today to figure it out. But I do recommend it.
Turturro really is one of my favorites and here are the rest. This list started at 5, grew to 10, with some honorable mentions and then I just kept going all the way to 50.
Here they are, in order. The order of this list will of course fluctuate from time to time but will probably stay close to the way it is. I am not saying this is in the order or who is the best or most accomplished actor, but simply in order of my preference. So if you give a shit, keep reading, if not, I will not be offended if you click the X in the upper right hand corner of the screen. I've also included my favorite roles they played.
I recommend sending your mouse racing for the X in the corner right now.
50. Spencer Tracy (Judgment at Nuremberg)
49. Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction)
48. George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
47. Robert DeNiro (Heat)
46. Ryan Phillipe (The Way of the Gun)
45. Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, Snatch)
44. Matt Damon (Rounders, Good Will Hunting)
43. Tom Hanks (Road to Perdition)
42. Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird)
41. Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko)
Things I've thought about so far this post-season:
Between Lackey and Byrd, the Angels have the ugliest pitching staff in the bigs, hands down. With Lackey's small mouth and Byrd's fucked up eyes (I think there is a huge space between them), they'll make hitters shake without even throwing an effective pitch
Which baseball player would you rather get in a fight with in an alley somewhere? Carl Everett or Gary Sheffield. I would have to say Sheffield because I just think Everett is a little more psycho.
I seriously want some fucking feedback on this one. Pick one. Write in votes are acceptable, but you better make a strong case if you think someone would be more leathel than either of these two. Former players are even acceptable.
Don't say Milton Bradley; he's just not as physically imposing as Everett or Sheff.
Don't say Albert Belle; all you have to do is kick him in the hip and its over.
I could buy Lenny Dykstra because he's just a hardass and the rumors of roids around him give some weight to a roid rage argument. But he's still behind Everett and Sheff.
Don't say Kyle Farnsworth. He's deadly in a brawl, but lacks the psychotic tendencies to kick ass for no reason, unless he was up against Berkman, then he might want some revenge.
Don't say Nolan Ryan. He beat up Robin Ventura, but c'mon, it's Robin Ventura.
Enough of this crap. It's boring.
More thoughts from the post-season.
I smile every time they show Scott Podsednik's stolen bases stats from the first half of the year compared to the second half. I liked him a lot as a Brewer. I've liked him a little less every day ever since he became a White Sock.
Has anyone been better in the announcing booth than Mike Piazza this post-season? No.
Bring back Al Leiter for the World Series. Or Piazza. Or Harold Reynolds. Or Orel Herschieser. And Bob Brenly's not too bad.
If I got to choose a threesome in the booth for a big game, it would be Al Michaels, Harold Reynolds, and Orel Herschieser. My back-ups in case they all lose their voices would be John Miller, Tony Gwynn, and Al Leiter. I like the idea of having both a veteran or recently retired hitter and pitcher in the booth; it gives the broadcast the most potential for really good insight.
On my "I Would Rather Listen To Three Random Drunk Fans From The Opposing Team" list would be: Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, Thom Brenneman, Dave O'Brien, and Steve Stone.
You know what my favorite part of Pujols's jack the other night was? Thom Brenneman spent the last half of the 7th, all of the 8th, and the first two outs of the ninth sucking the Houston organization's cock. He was setting up the big call at the end of the game where he could be the first guy to verbally send them to a World Series. He was prepping FOX's Houston montage, getting ready to make the moment overly-sentimental like only Thom can. He was mentioning past Astro players and pointing out all the shit they're organization has gone through, blah, blah, blah The Colt 45's, blah, blah, blah, Nolan Ryan x53, blah, blah, blah. And then BANG! Albert goes yard and it's time to start talking about how Busch Stadium will get at least one more game. Oh boy, Thom, lay off the feelings shit and just call the god damn game.
I will give him credit. He did shut up after Berkman hit his blast and he just let us hear the crowd, which was a very nice touch. He was like the AC/DC drummer there, he knew when not to play and that made him good. He should do it more often.
But then he fucked up. He said that Minute Maid was "without a doubt the loudest stadium in baseball no question about it." What about the Metrodome when it's going ape shit in there?
Thom's hyperbolic statements drive me crazy. He called 2001 the best World Series ever and didn't even mention any others that can also be called the best ever. How about 1991? Seven games, the 7th going 9 scoreless innings before the Twins score in the 10th. All of this after Kirby Puckett's heroics in Game 6 allow Minnesota to play another game. At the end of that game Jack Buck made my all time favorite call in any baseball game: "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" Chills. Not to mention that both ESPN and MLB.com have named the 1991 World Series the greatest one ever. That series alone should be enough to push Jack Morris into the Hall of Fame. Not too many pitchers have been as clutch as he was in his career.
---
You are now flying forward, feeling the strap of your seatbelt cutting into your neck. Your head is sucked forward and then suddenly forced back against the head rest. I have just slammed on the brakes and changed directions.
Movies:
I watched Fear X tonight, starring John Turturro. It's a very small film released in 2003. Turturro is excellent in it, because what isn't he excellent in? He is surely in my top 5 list of favorite actors and the main reason I picked this one up.
The film is a Lynchian one, full of symbolic imagery, unexplained, undescribable images that you know mean something but you can't figure out what, and editing meant to confuse.
John Turturro plays a man searching for the reason why his wife was murdered. He plays Harry Caine, a mall security guard in Wisconsin. Mrs. Caine was shot in the parking lot of the mall where Harry works and now Harry is obsessed with searching through all the mall servalence videos from the time of the shooting to try to find out who killed his wife and why. Then, for some reason I think I have figured out, Harry makes his way to Montana in search of a woman who he thinks can help him. The woman's husband finds him before Harry finds her and an ending ensues that was quite baffling. It was an intense movie, really brought me in and had me waiting for the ending. Did he find the killer and the reason? I'm not sure I know now. It'll take some thinking today to figure it out. But I do recommend it.
Turturro really is one of my favorites and here are the rest. This list started at 5, grew to 10, with some honorable mentions and then I just kept going all the way to 50.
Here they are, in order. The order of this list will of course fluctuate from time to time but will probably stay close to the way it is. I am not saying this is in the order or who is the best or most accomplished actor, but simply in order of my preference. So if you give a shit, keep reading, if not, I will not be offended if you click the X in the upper right hand corner of the screen. I've also included my favorite roles they played.
I recommend sending your mouse racing for the X in the corner right now.
50. Spencer Tracy (Judgment at Nuremberg)
49. Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction)
48. George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
47. Robert DeNiro (Heat)
46. Ryan Phillipe (The Way of the Gun)
45. Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, Snatch)
44. Matt Damon (Rounders, Good Will Hunting)
43. Tom Hanks (Road to Perdition)
42. Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird)
41. Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko)
40. Clive Owen (Croupier, Closer)
39. Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Jungle Fever)
38. Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects, Miller's Crossing)
37. Richard Schiff (The West Wing)
36. Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Resevoir Dogs)
35. Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Pledge)
34. John Goodman (The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink)
33. Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now!, The West Wing)
32. Al Pacino (Heat, The Godfather Trilogy)
31. Brian Cox (25th Hour, Braveheart)
30. Burt Lancaster (Field of Dreams, Run Silent Run Deep, Judgment at Nuremberg)
29. Sean Penn (21 Grams, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mystic River)
28. Jason Patric (Sleepers, Narc)
27. Jack Lemmon (Glengarry GlenRoss, JFK, 12 Angry Men (1997))
26. Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Seven)
25. Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate, Rainman, All the President's Men)
24. Richard Harris (The Count of Monte Cristo, Gladiator, The Field)
23. Don Cheadle (Crash, Traffic, The United States of Leland)
22. Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting, Dead Poet's Society, Insomnia)
21. Sean Connery (Finding Forester, The Rock, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
20. Benecio Del Toro (21 Grams, Traffic, The Usual Suspects, Snatch)
19. Chris Cooper (American Beauty, Seabiscuit, Adaptation)
18. Martin Landau (Rounders, Crimes and Misdemeanors)
17. Ed Harris (The Truman Show, The Rock, Glengarry GlenRoss, Enemy at the Gates)
16. Kevin Kline (The Ice Storm, Life as a House, Dave)
15. Edward Norton (Rounders, 25th Hour, Primal Fear, American History X)
14. Robert Redford (All the President's Men, The Sting, The Natural, Butch Cassidy...)
13. John Spencer (The West Wing, The Rock, The Negotiator, Ravenous)
12. James Earl Jones (Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, The Great White Hope, The Lion King)
11. Anthony Hopkins (The Human Stain, The Silence of the Lambs, Hearts in Atlantis, Instinct)
10. Willem DaFoe (Boondock Saints, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Clearing, MS Burning)
9. Paul Newman (Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, Road to Perdition, The Sting, Hud)
8. Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog, Sexy Beast, Ghandi, Searching for Bobby Fischer)
7. Vince Vaughn (Swingers, Made, Wedding Crashers, Old School, Return to Paradise)
6. Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, Thunderbolt and Leadfoot, The Contender, The Fisher King)
5. John Turturro (Rounders, Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Barton Fink, Quiz Show)
4. Steve McQueen (The Great Escape, Papillon, Bullitt, The Cincinatti Kid)
3. Kevin Spacey (Usual Suspects, American Beauty, Life of David Gale, The Shipping News)
2. Ray Liotta (Field of Dreams, Goodfellas, a guest spot he did on ER, Narc, Identity)
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Owning Mahoney, 25th Hour, Lebowski, Along Came Polley, Boogie Nights, Cold Mountain, Almost Famous, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley)
There it is. That really didn't take as long as you think it did. I promise.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Throwing Curves at Harriet
Harriet Miers. The controversy surrounding her nomination to The Supreme Court won't end.
Now she's pro-life and has muddled her opinions on privacy rights via a supposed miscommunication with Arlen Specter.
The John Roberts confirmation went through pretty smoothly because his views weren't known and he dodged questions getting at them very, very well. He was incredibley cool under the pressure of his hearings.
I don't see Miers replicating that performance.
Would she be in the position she's in now if she did not know Bush personally? I would be willing to bet the $200 in my checking account against it. Okay, so I maybe I don't even have that much money.
One thing that conservatives will have to realize is that Roe v. Wade will never be overturned. Never. They just will not get the right case and the right personel on The Bench to get it done. And say Miers comes out strongly against abortion rights, well then I say we could see a filibuster.
Here is something that really bothers me about the Miers nomination. First, I don't know shit, but I do question her credentials to hold this position. But above that, I feel bad for the judges out there who are more qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice. There certainly are men and women who have served as a judge on some high level court for years who are more deserving but are being passed over for Bush's girl. Not cool.
She's not getting confirmed anyway. Bush can't even garner support from his own people.
---
Abrupt change of subject:
Holy Pujols! Shit, that was a bomb. I heard Karl Ravech say it was 412 feet, but I'm sure it was farther than that. God damn.
And think about this, without that short porch in left, the Astros are not even in this thing. Berkman's, Ausmus's, and Burke's shots might have just been doubles or fly outs in that 18 inning marathon against Atlanta. Berkman's dinger-that-woulda-been-a-double in the 7th would have extended the inning and at least tied it up, but Houston has benefited from that shitty field design. Yes, St. Louis is playing in the same park, yes, they could be hitting shots up there. I'm not saying Houston shouldn't still be playing, I'm just saying they should send a letter to the architecht of that field thanking him. Imagine if you were playing in high school and they brought you to the field where you played junior league, wouldn't you want to thank the guy who put that in motion, at least if you're a hitter?
Pujols's blast on the other hand would have been out to straight away center at the old Polo Grounds in New York.
There are no pitchers I would want to face less going into 6 and 7 than Oswalt and Clemens, except for maybe Johann Santana, anyone on the White Sox this week, Mitch Williams, John Rocker, and Oil Can Boyd.
Oil Can Boyd, one of the best baseball names ever. Right up there with Jim Eisenrich, Pete Incavilgia, Mickey Morandini, Mike Mordecai, Von Hayes, Andy Van Slyke, CoCo Crisp, PeeWee Reese, Pokey Reese, Mickey Hatcher, Goose Gossage, Rob Deer, Jimmy Key, Bobby Crosby, Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Ron Karcovice, Carney Lansford, Steve Lombardozi, Chase Utley, Chuck Knoblauch, Ozzie Smith, Gary Gaetti, Bobby Bonilla, Mike Piazza, Robinson Cano, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mark Grudsielanek, Johnny Bench, Edgar Renteria, and a bunch more. Who am I leaving off?
Anyway, I think the Cards will win the series. I can't decide in which game, either way, it's going down to the wire.
---
The Vikings are so bad that getting laid doesn't even help them win. I can't even write about them this year because they are so fucking sloppy that I can't stand to watch them. Fumbles, picks, missed tackles, guys not wrapping up -- it's pathetic.
Fire Tice.
---
Paul Molitor turned down the Twins Batting Coach job. I can't decide if that's good or bad. He's been there before and he didn't do anything great for Seattle, so I think a new face will be good. Does Harold Reynolds want a job? I love him on ESPN.
---
The WSOP tonight -- one of the great Hellmuth breakdowns. "This guy can't even spell poker!" Although he was probably right, the fucker just needs to keep his mouth shut. He embarasses himself time and time again and doesn't even realize it.
Matusow, oh, Matusow, how I wish you would have lasted longer at the final table. Sorry if you don't know, he goes out right away.
I wish I could watch that baseball game tomorrow; I'm pissed I have to work, but what are you going to do?
Until The Next.
Now she's pro-life and has muddled her opinions on privacy rights via a supposed miscommunication with Arlen Specter.
The John Roberts confirmation went through pretty smoothly because his views weren't known and he dodged questions getting at them very, very well. He was incredibley cool under the pressure of his hearings.
I don't see Miers replicating that performance.
Would she be in the position she's in now if she did not know Bush personally? I would be willing to bet the $200 in my checking account against it. Okay, so I maybe I don't even have that much money.
One thing that conservatives will have to realize is that Roe v. Wade will never be overturned. Never. They just will not get the right case and the right personel on The Bench to get it done. And say Miers comes out strongly against abortion rights, well then I say we could see a filibuster.
Here is something that really bothers me about the Miers nomination. First, I don't know shit, but I do question her credentials to hold this position. But above that, I feel bad for the judges out there who are more qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice. There certainly are men and women who have served as a judge on some high level court for years who are more deserving but are being passed over for Bush's girl. Not cool.
She's not getting confirmed anyway. Bush can't even garner support from his own people.
---
Abrupt change of subject:
Holy Pujols! Shit, that was a bomb. I heard Karl Ravech say it was 412 feet, but I'm sure it was farther than that. God damn.
And think about this, without that short porch in left, the Astros are not even in this thing. Berkman's, Ausmus's, and Burke's shots might have just been doubles or fly outs in that 18 inning marathon against Atlanta. Berkman's dinger-that-woulda-been-a-double in the 7th would have extended the inning and at least tied it up, but Houston has benefited from that shitty field design. Yes, St. Louis is playing in the same park, yes, they could be hitting shots up there. I'm not saying Houston shouldn't still be playing, I'm just saying they should send a letter to the architecht of that field thanking him. Imagine if you were playing in high school and they brought you to the field where you played junior league, wouldn't you want to thank the guy who put that in motion, at least if you're a hitter?
Pujols's blast on the other hand would have been out to straight away center at the old Polo Grounds in New York.
There are no pitchers I would want to face less going into 6 and 7 than Oswalt and Clemens, except for maybe Johann Santana, anyone on the White Sox this week, Mitch Williams, John Rocker, and Oil Can Boyd.
Oil Can Boyd, one of the best baseball names ever. Right up there with Jim Eisenrich, Pete Incavilgia, Mickey Morandini, Mike Mordecai, Von Hayes, Andy Van Slyke, CoCo Crisp, PeeWee Reese, Pokey Reese, Mickey Hatcher, Goose Gossage, Rob Deer, Jimmy Key, Bobby Crosby, Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Ron Karcovice, Carney Lansford, Steve Lombardozi, Chase Utley, Chuck Knoblauch, Ozzie Smith, Gary Gaetti, Bobby Bonilla, Mike Piazza, Robinson Cano, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mark Grudsielanek, Johnny Bench, Edgar Renteria, and a bunch more. Who am I leaving off?
Anyway, I think the Cards will win the series. I can't decide in which game, either way, it's going down to the wire.
---
The Vikings are so bad that getting laid doesn't even help them win. I can't even write about them this year because they are so fucking sloppy that I can't stand to watch them. Fumbles, picks, missed tackles, guys not wrapping up -- it's pathetic.
Fire Tice.
---
Paul Molitor turned down the Twins Batting Coach job. I can't decide if that's good or bad. He's been there before and he didn't do anything great for Seattle, so I think a new face will be good. Does Harold Reynolds want a job? I love him on ESPN.
---
The WSOP tonight -- one of the great Hellmuth breakdowns. "This guy can't even spell poker!" Although he was probably right, the fucker just needs to keep his mouth shut. He embarasses himself time and time again and doesn't even realize it.
Matusow, oh, Matusow, how I wish you would have lasted longer at the final table. Sorry if you don't know, he goes out right away.
I wish I could watch that baseball game tomorrow; I'm pissed I have to work, but what are you going to do?
Until The Next.
Homecoming
Jesse did a pretty conclusive recap of Homecoming Weekend on his blog. See the link to it on the right side of the screen. Why should I make it easier for you by putting a link in this text when the link is sitting probably less than 4 inches away?
A few things to add:
I had to work Friday Night. I started at 4:45 PM and didn't leave the store until 7:00 AM Saturday morning. Our shift was a fucking zoo as we were understaffed by about two people. I had our counter and phone people telling people we were just doing pizzas and smotherella sticks by midnight because there was no way we would have kept up if I had had to make a bunch of fucking manjare rolls all the time.
We closed at 3:00 AM, setting a new record for the day at the EC store by about 750 bucks. They had done about 900 dollars of business by the time I got in there a little before five. So yeah, we were fucking busy. But I only kicked three people out and made one girl cry. I expected to have to do more of that.
After we cleaned up and I finished all of Friday's paperwork, about six of us stayed and did some prep work for the Saturday people. The store opened at 8:00 am and they didn't have people coming in until 7:30. I thought they could use the help and I'm sure they did.
I left the store at 7, went home, showered, changed, woke everyone up, took a few minutes to figure out who the hell was sleeping on the floor in the living room. The mystery man turned out to be Joe Early, funny man and shirt thief.
I started walking to The Nasty Habit, which opened at 7. I was going to have a drink with a co-worker there and then head to She-nan's, which opened 8 to get a shirt. At 7:30 I approached the line to get into She-nan's, already almost a block long. So I said fuck The Nasty and the line and decided to go into She-nan's neighbors, my pizza place, to wait until a friend walked by I could cut in line with. Get pissed back of the line people.
I paid 6 bucks, got a shirt, Kubes poured a shot in my mouth, I had four beers by 9:00 when I met up with Will, Jesse, Shane, and Joe Early-riser at the Pio. I had a few beers and a couple shots there and was well on my way by 11:00 when our quest for food began. We ended up grabbing a pizza and heading back to my place, where I crashed for a 4-5 hour nap, which after working for 14 hours and then drinking for 3 was greatly needed.
I woke up, watched the end of USC/ND and then we hit up the bars once again. The only difference from any other weekend in the bar scene this Saturday night was that we had to wait in line and once we got in, everyone was wearing the same shirt as the person standing next to them. The bars are less crowded on this weekend because cops will actually monitor capacities and shit.
What happened at the bars? Mary fell down, twice. Jesse nearly fought, but Shane, Will, and I were there to break it up if it went down. Gave some hugs, watched some debauchery. Sat in a chair near the beer bath and chugged 'em down. Left at 1:00.
Compared to last Homecoming, this one was a bit tame, but at least as much fun.
I just wonder what happened to all those friends we have in LaCrosse and Madison... They can't hang, I guess.
There was no car wrecking with hammers. No cut fingers. No legal confrontations. But I still got my annual Saturday nap in.
It's Tuesday and I think I am finally recovered from a severe lack of sleep. Tomorrow is Wednesday and then the week winds down.
Until The Next.
A few things to add:
I had to work Friday Night. I started at 4:45 PM and didn't leave the store until 7:00 AM Saturday morning. Our shift was a fucking zoo as we were understaffed by about two people. I had our counter and phone people telling people we were just doing pizzas and smotherella sticks by midnight because there was no way we would have kept up if I had had to make a bunch of fucking manjare rolls all the time.
We closed at 3:00 AM, setting a new record for the day at the EC store by about 750 bucks. They had done about 900 dollars of business by the time I got in there a little before five. So yeah, we were fucking busy. But I only kicked three people out and made one girl cry. I expected to have to do more of that.
After we cleaned up and I finished all of Friday's paperwork, about six of us stayed and did some prep work for the Saturday people. The store opened at 8:00 am and they didn't have people coming in until 7:30. I thought they could use the help and I'm sure they did.
I left the store at 7, went home, showered, changed, woke everyone up, took a few minutes to figure out who the hell was sleeping on the floor in the living room. The mystery man turned out to be Joe Early, funny man and shirt thief.
I started walking to The Nasty Habit, which opened at 7. I was going to have a drink with a co-worker there and then head to She-nan's, which opened 8 to get a shirt. At 7:30 I approached the line to get into She-nan's, already almost a block long. So I said fuck The Nasty and the line and decided to go into She-nan's neighbors, my pizza place, to wait until a friend walked by I could cut in line with. Get pissed back of the line people.
I paid 6 bucks, got a shirt, Kubes poured a shot in my mouth, I had four beers by 9:00 when I met up with Will, Jesse, Shane, and Joe Early-riser at the Pio. I had a few beers and a couple shots there and was well on my way by 11:00 when our quest for food began. We ended up grabbing a pizza and heading back to my place, where I crashed for a 4-5 hour nap, which after working for 14 hours and then drinking for 3 was greatly needed.
I woke up, watched the end of USC/ND and then we hit up the bars once again. The only difference from any other weekend in the bar scene this Saturday night was that we had to wait in line and once we got in, everyone was wearing the same shirt as the person standing next to them. The bars are less crowded on this weekend because cops will actually monitor capacities and shit.
What happened at the bars? Mary fell down, twice. Jesse nearly fought, but Shane, Will, and I were there to break it up if it went down. Gave some hugs, watched some debauchery. Sat in a chair near the beer bath and chugged 'em down. Left at 1:00.
Compared to last Homecoming, this one was a bit tame, but at least as much fun.
I just wonder what happened to all those friends we have in LaCrosse and Madison... They can't hang, I guess.
There was no car wrecking with hammers. No cut fingers. No legal confrontations. But I still got my annual Saturday nap in.
It's Tuesday and I think I am finally recovered from a severe lack of sleep. Tomorrow is Wednesday and then the week winds down.
Until The Next.
