if you are a phillies fan living in new york, wear your hats/t-shirts/jerseys with pride this week.
i also promise that every phillies fan i see on the street this week i will say hello to. this is a good time. lets enjoy it.
the phillies are in the playoffs!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
This Is A Poetic Day For Philadelphia Sports
phils win.
mets lose.
eagles-giants.
the best thing is, though, NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE FOOTBALL GAME TONIGHT ON EITHER SIDE!!!! i say that not in jest, but in astute observation. who would have thought that the sports fortunes of both cities baseball teams would dictate the atmosphere of the football game? mets fans are crushed. phillies fans are elated and neither has thought about the football game all week.
but, you know what? now that the eagles and giants are playing i want to see the eagles kick their ass!! E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!
mets lose.
eagles-giants.
the best thing is, though, NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE FOOTBALL GAME TONIGHT ON EITHER SIDE!!!! i say that not in jest, but in astute observation. who would have thought that the sports fortunes of both cities baseball teams would dictate the atmosphere of the football game? mets fans are crushed. phillies fans are elated and neither has thought about the football game all week.
but, you know what? now that the eagles and giants are playing i want to see the eagles kick their ass!! E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Now Its In Their Heads
crushing defeat for the mets tonight. just crushing. they fight back to tie the fish in the 9th, only to lose in the 10th. and they committed another error. and they only got 9 hits (tangent: however, only getting 9 hits and scoring 7 runs is pretty impressive, especially when the other team has no errors), and gave up 20.
the phillies, on the other hand, came back to beat the nats in 9. big win. huge. the only sad note is that the padres keep on winning. i think if i had to pick a team in the NL, besides the phillies, of course, it would be the padres. those guys just dont lose. its quite scary.
but as far as the mets go, i think a lot of this is psychological and if they dont get their act together, they are going to blow it big time. it'll be a more dramatic collapse than the '64 phillies (thank god!). i don't think it helps the mets either that the yankees, new york's true baseball team and true baseball love, is making an historic comeback on the red sox. the mets will always be second in this town. they might as well get used to finishing second in the division too. ha!
and don't just take my word for it. this is what jayson stark (someone who knows a little something about the phillies), my favorite baseball writer, has to say (from ESPN):
• It's shocking to listen to scouts and executives talk about the Mets these days. One scout on the Mets-Nationals series: "It was like the two teams changed uniforms." Here's another scout on the Phillies and Mets: "It's not about who's got the most talent. It's about how you play. The Phillies have a bunch of players who have got grit. I'm not sure the Mets have got anywhere near as many as they do." And here's one more review of the Mets from that sweep last weekend: "The Phillies were better prepared. The Phillies wanted it more. The Phillies had a plan, and they executed that plan. I don't think the Phillies are better. But the two guys in the middle of their infield [Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley] won't let them relax. They keep that team going every day."
• Whether the Phillies make it to the playoffs or not, one NL executive believes they have crossed a critical threshold this season: "Unlike in the past, they think they can win now," he said. "They absolutely think they can win, and I think there will definitely be a carryover next year with that group. That's a huge building block for those guys." Then again, a bigger building block might be assembling a pitching staff that can win, too.
the phillies, on the other hand, came back to beat the nats in 9. big win. huge. the only sad note is that the padres keep on winning. i think if i had to pick a team in the NL, besides the phillies, of course, it would be the padres. those guys just dont lose. its quite scary.
but as far as the mets go, i think a lot of this is psychological and if they dont get their act together, they are going to blow it big time. it'll be a more dramatic collapse than the '64 phillies (thank god!). i don't think it helps the mets either that the yankees, new york's true baseball team and true baseball love, is making an historic comeback on the red sox. the mets will always be second in this town. they might as well get used to finishing second in the division too. ha!
and don't just take my word for it. this is what jayson stark (someone who knows a little something about the phillies), my favorite baseball writer, has to say (from ESPN):
• It's shocking to listen to scouts and executives talk about the Mets these days. One scout on the Mets-Nationals series: "It was like the two teams changed uniforms." Here's another scout on the Phillies and Mets: "It's not about who's got the most talent. It's about how you play. The Phillies have a bunch of players who have got grit. I'm not sure the Mets have got anywhere near as many as they do." And here's one more review of the Mets from that sweep last weekend: "The Phillies were better prepared. The Phillies wanted it more. The Phillies had a plan, and they executed that plan. I don't think the Phillies are better. But the two guys in the middle of their infield [Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley] won't let them relax. They keep that team going every day."
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Atlas Shrugged
yesterday the new york times ran a very interesting piece on "atlas shrugged", the famed ayn rand novel. i found it to be a very interesting read, and interestingly enough, it has whetted my interest to read both "atlas" and "the fountainhead". maybe its living in new york, the heart of capitalism, or my microeconomics class that is forcing me to re-evaltate my stance on capitalism and government interference in the economy, but i have found myself questioning my own beliefs and philosophy.
from what i can tell about "atlas shrugged" i think there are some good lessons that can be learned, which don't necessarily point in the same direction of the lessons learned by people like alan greenspan and the neocons. again, based on my limited knowledge of rand and her works, it seems like she writes about characters that are lost and searching for meaning in a society that increasingly does not share their values. she almost serves as a counterpoint to authors like kerouac and kesey who wrote about similar characters in similar situations, albeit from a different angle.
the thing that intrigues me the most about "atlas" and rand's personal philosophy is the concept that an individual's pursuit of his own self-interest is good for society, and i got to thinking about this concept this morning at breakfast. i was sitting in a diner, eating my lox, eggs, and onions, drinking my coffee and reading my newspaper when i overheard these two elderly gentleman talking about bank ATM fees. one of them commented about how he feels the banks can get away with anything they want (re: fees) and how the politicians aren't doing anything about it. his companion then commented that the only thing the politicians are interested in is getting reelected. now, i've heard this comment before, but this time it struck a different chord with me.
according to rand, of course the politician is only concerned with getting reelected, because he is acting in his own self interest. but how does a politician get elected? they do what the people want because it is the people who vote the politician in, or out, of office, so therefore, if the politician acts in his own self interest (to get reelected) he will also be serving the will of the people, and if ATM fees are something the people want dealt with, any politician acting in his own self interest would be wise to take action (that is, unless you are someone like joe biden, the senator from MBNA, but that is a different story).
my point is, rand's philosophy does make sense. there are also things that someone like myself can learn from rand, despite our seemingly, but not necessarily, opposite world views. one of the problems with our political culture today is that not enough people take the time to do this. it is so easy for us to only consume the political information that is comfortable; conservatives can only watch their fox news and the liberals can only read sites like dailykos, but that doesn't help anybody really. all it does is confirm what you already know, but in the quest for knowledge you will never find the answer you are looking for if you can only see what is right in front of you. i actually think robert hunter put it best (sung by jerry of course) when he wrote "once and a while you can get shown the light/in the strangest of places if you look at it right".
from what i can tell about "atlas shrugged" i think there are some good lessons that can be learned, which don't necessarily point in the same direction of the lessons learned by people like alan greenspan and the neocons. again, based on my limited knowledge of rand and her works, it seems like she writes about characters that are lost and searching for meaning in a society that increasingly does not share their values. she almost serves as a counterpoint to authors like kerouac and kesey who wrote about similar characters in similar situations, albeit from a different angle.
the thing that intrigues me the most about "atlas" and rand's personal philosophy is the concept that an individual's pursuit of his own self-interest is good for society, and i got to thinking about this concept this morning at breakfast. i was sitting in a diner, eating my lox, eggs, and onions, drinking my coffee and reading my newspaper when i overheard these two elderly gentleman talking about bank ATM fees. one of them commented about how he feels the banks can get away with anything they want (re: fees) and how the politicians aren't doing anything about it. his companion then commented that the only thing the politicians are interested in is getting reelected. now, i've heard this comment before, but this time it struck a different chord with me.
according to rand, of course the politician is only concerned with getting reelected, because he is acting in his own self interest. but how does a politician get elected? they do what the people want because it is the people who vote the politician in, or out, of office, so therefore, if the politician acts in his own self interest (to get reelected) he will also be serving the will of the people, and if ATM fees are something the people want dealt with, any politician acting in his own self interest would be wise to take action (that is, unless you are someone like joe biden, the senator from MBNA, but that is a different story).
my point is, rand's philosophy does make sense. there are also things that someone like myself can learn from rand, despite our seemingly, but not necessarily, opposite world views. one of the problems with our political culture today is that not enough people take the time to do this. it is so easy for us to only consume the political information that is comfortable; conservatives can only watch their fox news and the liberals can only read sites like dailykos, but that doesn't help anybody really. all it does is confirm what you already know, but in the quest for knowledge you will never find the answer you are looking for if you can only see what is right in front of you. i actually think robert hunter put it best (sung by jerry of course) when he wrote "once and a while you can get shown the light/in the strangest of places if you look at it right".
Its Been A While Since I Been Around These Parts
but poster is back!
its been a busy and overwhelming past few weeks with the start of school and all. i've been trying to figure out how to balance work, school, and play, and unfortunately just a bit outside has suffered because of it. but i am here now to say that i have not forgotten about the blog and i will do my best to make semi-regular posts.
its been a busy and overwhelming past few weeks with the start of school and all. i've been trying to figure out how to balance work, school, and play, and unfortunately just a bit outside has suffered because of it. but i am here now to say that i have not forgotten about the blog and i will do my best to make semi-regular posts.
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