Just a Bit Outside

Tour

2009-08-18T14:09:00.003-04:00

if i wrote my tour in setlist-speak, it would look something like this (actual shows in bold):

I: new york>buffalo, delaware park, albright-knox museum, niagara falls, ft. niagara state park, darien lake>syracuse
II: syracuse>hartford>albany
III: albany>saratoga, boat on the lake, house party, saratoga racetrack, SPAC
E: 5 am wake-up, amtrak to new york

show thoughts
darien: lovely day. great venue. weird crowd. allow me to explain. first of all, i had a great spot surrounded by some great people, including a group i had spotted at niagara falls earlier in the day. that was typical phish: random interactions with random people that somehow work out. but the other people...the rest of the crowd was so weird. no one could stay in their place. the ENTIRE show people were walking back and forth through my spot. never before in my show going life have i EVER experienced anything like this before. normally after two or three songs people will settle down into their spot and their will be minimal movement, but that was not the case in darien. totally weird. the show itself was good. my first dinner & movie. the gin was kind of a wasted gin (tough to say, i know)....it didn't really go anywhere. "how high the moon" was a very nice tribute to les paul. the second set rift was spot-on. good show.

hartford: musically, i think this was the best of the bunch i saw. had AMAZING seats dead center in the second to last row of the shed. plenty of room to dance, great neighbors, and met up with a great group of old-school friends. first set was great, of course highlighted by my first forbin>mockingbird (was slightly upset about no narration, but beggars can't be choosers!). the musical highlight for me, aside from the aforementioned forbin>mockingbird, was the DWD>reba jam. just sublime. a mid-set slave is always a good time and rare treat. and, of course the closing ghost>psycho killer (is this the first time that a song played on the pre-show PA has been played during the same show?)>catapult>icculus>YEM was AWESOME. this was classic phish at its best. the 4 guys on stage having a great time, not taking themselves too seriously, and playing some killer music. the entire show felt like a 2009 version of a 8/93 show. the stash in the first set was monumental and the ensuing craziness was quintessential phish.

SPAC: another great show, right up there with hartford. probably the most smoking CTB i have ever heard. and, again, the second set was outstanding. my first FULL harpua! the "i kissed a girl" was another moment of crazy, wacky, zany phish. it was one of those "champagne supernova/gettin' jiggy with it/shine" moments. just perfect. the new songs were excellent and highway to hell was a great way to close it out.

one more thought about the tour. this is the first time that i have ever thought phish sounded like the grateful dead. i heard a little of it during the june shows, but this leg really cemented it for me. there is just something more jerry-like about trey's playing, not in his tone per se, but in his phrasing and in some of the setlist construction. gordo also sounded a lot like phil this tour, with his bass really cutting through the mix. excellent sounds. the repeats were also a little odd, but you will never see me complain about 2 bowies, antelopes, and possums in 3 shows. i guess in their attempt to be unpredictable, they have decided to play songs in back-to-back shows or closer together than ever before.

fantastic weekend. boating on the lake and going to the racetrack were also great. great weekend, great weekend, great weekend.

Truckin, Up To Buffalo

2009-08-12T19:59:00.000-04:00

this is what makes the road fun. All day in the car with generally decent weather. Even the bad weather was cool. Roll into buffalo with only a vague idea of where you want to go. Find the perfect spot using your jedi skills. Roll into the bar with a sick beer selection and watch the phillies. And we haven't even seen a single show yet.

They Just Don't Want to Listen

2009-08-11T14:40:00.002-04:00

claire mccaskill seems like a very smart lady. she is clear in her explanations and very direct with her constituents. but the people in the room don't seem to want to listen. she explains that there is no government funding for abortions in the bill. they boo. she strikes down their argument that there should be no government interferance in health care by following their argument to its logical conclusion: if that is true then we must get rid of the VA and medicare. they boo. they have some nonsense argument about congress' special health plan...i'm not exactly sure what this argument is all about...the government negotiated a health care plan for federal employees just like any company would, so i don't really get their point of contention. regardless, they don't seem to care. no single payer plan...they can't get over it.

WTF is wrong with these people? well, they just said it. they don't trust her. why don't they just vote for rush for president? that seems like who they believe. i just don't get it.

i can't wait until this bill passes and the mass euthonizing can start. that is the obama plan to electoral victory: (1) kill all the old people because they don't support him which would skew the demographics of the country younger and therefore make more of the population likely to vote for obama. (2) steal people's money out of their bank account which will make them poor and dependent on the government and therefore more likely to vote for obama.

and, yes, some fuckwad just gave mcckaskill the finger on national TV. way to go. grow up you fucking little baby. thats all these people are: spoiled little brats. they want it their way or they are going to take their ball and go home. i give mcckaskill tons of credit for the way she has handeled herself in front of these dipshits.

Outlaw ALL Supermax Prisions!

2009-08-11T11:15:00.002-04:00

according to this fellow from the specter town hall "What about this Guantanamo closure? I don't want these criminals to come over here into our area and escape, and we find that a bunch of innocent people are murdered. And that's what's gonna happen (emphasis mine)."

if this is the case, then i want to take every criminal in the US, violent or non-violent, from bernie madoff on down to a street thug, and ship them off to exile on some island in the south pacific because i have zero faith in the ability of our prisons to hold anybody!

i remember the good old days when republicans went crazy over building prisons. it was their answer to everything, but, alas, those glory days are behind us. think about all the wasted money spent on building prisons that can't even hold a single prisoner from guantanamo.

The Republican Plan for Health Insurance Reform

2009-08-11T11:12:00.000-04:00

What Is More Dangerous...

2009-08-11T10:43:00.002-04:00

indefinite detention or universal health care?

i'm done with these people. i say "fuck 'em". you lost the fucking election, so don't go on with this whinny-ass, spoiled brat behavior. george w. bush took this country in some radical directions after an election that he barely (questionably) won, but you know what...HE WON THE FUCKING ELECTION! obama won with a significantly larger margin and larger mandate than bush and he is doing exactly what bush did: he is trying to enact the policies he ran on. what is the problem here? you don't agree, fine, but quit this bullshit and start acting like grownups.

maybe in 2012 obama can run on his true platform, "kill the seniors".

Will Robot Insurance Be Included in the Public Option?

2009-08-10T13:02:00.002-04:00

since the congress has already made their anti-senior agenda clear, i ask you this, member of congress: will the new health care bill cancel my existing robot insurance?

WTF Is She Talking About?

2009-08-08T00:16:00.003-04:00

palin claims that if obamacare passes "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel" so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their "level of productivity in society," whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."

really? well, in honor of abraham lincoln, the de facto founder of the republican party, i hereby challenge you to a "spot resolution challenge". what is a "spot resolution challenge"? the "spot resolutions" were a series of bills authored by lincoln that challenged president polk to point to the spot on american soil where blood was spilled, the alleged justification for the mexican-american war (here is the wikipedia entry).

in my version of the challenge, i challenge the former governor to point to the spot in the president's health care bill where it specifically authors "death panels" and/or where it calls for eliminating health care for down syndrome babies. point to the spot. show me where because a) i don't think i support a bill that authorizes "death panels" but b) my BS meter got up when reading her claim. so, in fairness, point to the spot. my BS meter goes down and you win the day.

on a side note, it seems like the parents of down syndrome children would WANT some form of government health care that protects parents' ability to get the necessary medical coverage for their children without the fear of rising premiums or cancellation of coverage. but thats just me, you know, here in the land of reality.

It Sounds So Sweet Played in the Right Key

2009-08-06T17:02:00.002-04:00

for the first time since coventry, phish busted out "the curtain with". i've seen a few "curtains" but never a "curtain with". its the "with" that makes "the curtain" so super-sweet. my favorite "with" is from 5/25/88. other songs i would desperately like to cross off my list:

forbin>mockingbird
harpua (full version, with narration)
peaches en regalia (a cover song, i know, but its part of the rotation)
landlady (stand alone, not part of PYITE)
BBFCFM
dinner & movie
esther

Soylent Green is People!

2009-08-05T20:19:00.004-04:00

sometimes i feel a little like charlton heston at the end of soylent green. watch the clip below. you could replace his words with "medicare is government run health insurance!"

It's Almost Too Easy

2009-07-31T16:42:00.003-04:00

no comments. the video speaks for itself. and, yes, i am glad i didn't get a job with the apollo alliance. i wish i had all of these facts before i sent them my resume.

This Is Why You Can't Negotiate With the GOP

2009-07-31T12:25:00.002-04:00

one of the main problems with the current GOP is their unwillingness to compromise or discuss anything in a sane, rational manner or to be a good-faith partner (see this great article by ezra klein about why the "west wing" was bad for democrats, re: judging the intentions of GOP). i have always thought their inability to compromise is squarely rooted in their christian fundamentalist ideology. when dealing with fundamentalists of any religion, whether it be jewish, christian, or muslim, it is always "my god vs. your god and since your god is inferior because my god is the only true god despite what you say, you are always wrong". that is why god v. god never works...each side is convinced that they are right because their god is the real god and your god is a false idol. you can't make any progress.

that is what i was thinking when reading this politico article about how congresscritters can't hold town-hall meetings anymore because members of the audience are being too disruptive. like this story from rep. tim bishop (D-NY):

“I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to temporarily suspend the events in his Long Island district. “There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”

In Bishop’s case, his decision came on the heels of a June 22 event he held in Setauket, N.Y., in which protesters dominated the meeting by shouting criticisms at the congressman for his positions on energy policy, health care and the bailout of the auto industry.

Within an hour of the disruption, police were called in to escort the 59-year-old Democrat — who has held more than 100 town hall meetings since he was elected in 2002 — to his car safely.

or this genius who engaged rep. bob inglis (R-SC):

At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.” (note: he also violated my medicare rule).

or the infamous mike castle (R-DE)-birther incident.

this is the problem with the GOP and their fundamentalist ideology. you can't work or compromise with them because they are always right.

Is This Guy F**king Crazy?

2009-07-31T11:21:00.002-04:00

ladies and gentleman, please meet paul campos. mr. campos is the author of a book called "the obesity myth", which from what i can tell, makes the argument that obesity is not a public health issue at all. that thesis is so outrageous on its face that it actually makes the birthers look sane (only in comparison...the birthers are still batshit crazy).

based on the quick and dirty from amazon, there is one argument that i do agree with that BMI is a horrible statistic. there is nothing wrong with calculating BMI, per se, i just think the formula is off. my BMI is on the high end of where it should be, and i am tipping the scales a little bit higher than i would like to right now, but in no way am i in danger of being obese. based on the current BMI formula, i bet 90% of professional athletes would be considered overweight or obese, but guys who play in the NBA who are 6'3", 205 lbs (my height/weight) are not overweight: they are solid rock.

but back to the point. this moron campos did an interview with megan mcardle of the atlantic about the obesity myth. in the interview he said "The correlations between higher weight and greater health risk are weak except at statistical extremes. The extent to which those correlations are causal is poorly established. There is literally not a shred of evidence that turning fat people into thin people improves their health. And the reason there's no evidence is that there's no way to do it." is he fucking kidding me? there is no evidence that being fat is bad for your health? really?

reading further down the interview it seems that his main argument is slightly off-base. his argument is with the BMI, which as i said before, i agree that the BMI is meaningless, not because the BMI itself isn't a useful statistic its just that the formula used to calculate the BMI seems off.

campos just seems like another one of these right-wing assholes (without actually knowing his ideology) who doesn't think that governmental policy can change behavior and influence outcomes. megan poses a simple question:

What should we do instead if we want to reduce health care costs? Here are some proposed ideas I've heard:
Taxes on soda
New urbanism (make people walk more)
Bring back physical education in schools
Make gym memberships tax deductible
Menu labelling.
Will any of these make us healthier, if not thinner? And if not, what will?

campos answered:

Some of those ideas may have merit independent of whether they'll make people thinner (they won't). It's good to encourage physical activity, but NOT if the purpose of encouraging it is to try to make people thinner. Then it's counter-productive. People will be healthier if they're more active and don't smoke and if they avoid eating disordered behavior (like dieting in particular).

But Americans are actually very healthy and getting healthier all the time, despite the massive inefficiencies and dysfunctions of our health care system.

how can one argue that new urbanism, which encourages daily walking, won't make people thinner, which on the balance will make people healthier? same for bringing back phys ed. and menu labeling helps people make smart choices about what to eat. new york's experiment in menu labeling i think is great. i love having nutritional info in front of me when eating out (although, i have to say that i rarely go into chain restaurants which are the only ones required to post this info, so its impact on me is slightly limited). and a soda tax? i'm all for it. we tax the shit out of beer and cigarettes, so why not soda? soda leads to unhealthy outcomes and therefore its true cost to society goes unrealized. people complain that this is government interfering in daily choice. this is untrue. it is more accurate pricing of a good. soda is negatively impacting society, like carbon, and needs to be priced. look at what increasing cigarette taxes has done. almost no other crop, save for maybe cotton and cord, has had the impact on our history that tobacco has had, but yet it is not a right to be able to smoke tobacco (full disclosure: i am not arguing that tobacco should be banned. adults can make their own decisions. it just has to be accurately price to reflect its true cost on society). drinking soda is the same...its not a right, its a privilege.

but to claim that we do not have an obesity problem in this country is nonsense. obesity leads to a whole host of health issues from diabetes to heart disease and those people are driving up health care costs. i want to scream when i see fat-ass little kids drinking soda, eating chips and other crap who obviously have never exercised in their life. they are the people who are going to have serious health problems when they grow up. no one can argue otherwise. if your issue is with the BMI, fine. but dont confuse the point: obesity is bad for you. we need to find a new statistic, whether it is a new BMI or otherwise, to accurately measure this so we can predict its impact on health and costs in the health care system.

More Thoughts on Digital Pricing

2009-07-31T10:14:00.002-04:00

just for the record, i am not alone in my thoughts on the ridiculous pricing of some elements of cell phone plans. case in point, this piece from the new york times (and check this out on the true price of sending an SMS):

TEXT-MESSAGING FEES Why has the price of a text message gone to 20 cents, from 10, in two years? There was no big technology shift. There was no spike in the cost of electrons.
And speaking of anticompetitive: Isn’t it a little fishy that all four big United States carriers raised their text-message fees at essentially the same time?
Furthermore, why do text messages get special premium treatment at all? Why are e-mail messages (which require much more data) included with basic Internet service, but text messages require either a per-message fee or a separate package?
The carriers can’t possibly argue that transmitting text-message data costs them that much money. One blogger (http://bit.ly/gHkES) calculated that the data in a text message costs you about 61 million times as much as the same message sent by e-mail.
Give or take.

the rest is worth a read as well. the article also touches on another personal crusade of mine, those annoying messages when you leave a voicemail, instructing you to press 5 to leave a numeric page or to hang up when you are done. i have always thought those messages were scams to increase the amount of time you spend on the line in the hopes that you will increase you minutes used, hopefully to the point where you go over your usage and have to pay extra money. clever. but there is something that can be done with the new campaign "take back the beep".

send a complaint to your carrier. lets see if we can't stop this farce.

Mike Pence (R-IN), You Have Violated the Medicare Rule

2009-07-29T14:39:00.002-04:00

i will not tolerate people badmouthing the public option while simultaneously defending medicare.

2 Quick Thoughts

2009-07-29T11:03:00.002-04:00

just saw a CNN piece about drought in texas (here is a WSJ article on the same subject). how long before secessionist governor rick perry begs the federal government for disaster relief?

thanks to TPM there is a great story about the latest GOP lie on health care that obama is going to promote euthanasia. this can mean only one thing: obama is preparing to institute a soylent green tax.

No More Seniors on Medicare Complaining About Health Care

2009-07-28T19:06:00.002-04:00

if i hear one more damn senior (apologies to seniors, including my grandparents) complaining about the cost of health care, what operations they can or cannot receive (some lady asked about hip and knee replacements to give you an idea of where she was coming from), and what reform should look like, while at the same time receiving medicare i don't know what am going to.

please. just stop. now. if you have private health care, fine, you can speak. but no one, i mean no one, on medicare should have the audacity to question a public option on health care.

medicare was created to take care of you and to ease the burden on families and society. now, can i have a turn? am i somehow less deserving?

Cronkite Remembers

2009-07-28T18:37:00.003-04:00

this weekend discovery aired a series called "cronkie remembers" which featured walter cronkite reminiscing about his long and storied career.

watching it, i couldn't help be amazed about his career. my grandmother is 93 years old. she has lived through almost every major historical event of the 20th century. she has amazing memories of the events that transpired over the course of her life, but what is so amazing about cronkie is that not only did he live through the same events as my grandmother, he WAS those events. he covered it all.

he did early radio, broadcasting sports games via ticker tape and morris code. he covered eurpoe in the run up to WWII. he covered WWII and the aftermath. he lived in moscow at the beginning of the cold war. he covered the cold war and the korean war. he was a pioneer in early television and helped shape the medium of TV news into what it is today. the list goes on and on.

its really amazing to hear this man, in his own words, about the events that transpired throughout his life. he is no doubt history's greatest historian, and has provided mankind with a tremendous record through which we can study ourselves and our civilization.

Does John Yoo Believe In Any Laws?

2009-07-25T11:41:00.004-04:00

another WTF article from the new york times today. it appears that our favorite lawyer, john yoo, did not feel that the posse comitatus act prohibited the president from using the US military in a domestic law enforcement action. really? well, i ain't no fancy big-city lawyer, and i don't teach law at berkeley, and i certainly don't write op-eds for newspapers (BTW, i am still not reading the inquirer), but the language of the posse comitatus act seems pretty clear, no (from wikipedia)?

The text of the relevant legislation is as follows:
18 U.S.C. § 1385. Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus
Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Also notable is the following provision within Title 10 of the United States Code (which concerns generally the organization and regulation of the armed forces and Department of Defense):
10 U.S.C. § 375. Restriction on direct participation by military personnel
The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that any activity (including the provision of any equipment or facility or the assignment or detail of any personnel) under this chapter does not include or permit direct participation by a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps in a search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activity unless participation in such activity by such member is otherwise authorized by law.

like i said, i am not the 21st century's greatest legal mind (that title belongs to jefferson beauregard sessions, III) but i don't think this language could be any clearer. you need direct authorization by congress, not some blanket coverage that yoo feels was granted to the president in the legislation passed after 9/11, in order to deploy the armed services domestically. this is one of the rare instances where cooler heads, led by bush, prevailed. can you imagine that? this issue was so clear-cut that even bush knew it wasn't right. god help us all.

another interesting tidbit from the wikipedia article. apparently as part of the FY2007 defense authorization act, language was inserted to change the posse comitatus act as follows "The President may employ the armed forces... to... restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition... the President determines that... domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order... or [to] suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such... a condition... so hinders the execution of the laws... that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law... or opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.^[3]"this language is so broadly written that it almost gives the president carte blanche to use the military in whatever capacity he wants domestically, all without congressional oversight. fortunately, this passage was repealed in 2008.

john yoo should be disbarred, and in my mind, imprisoned for his failure to protect and defend the constitution of the united state and his general disregard for the rule of law.

My New PAC: Common Sense PAC

2009-07-24T13:00:00.003-04:00

its very simple: i will support candidates who exhibit otherworldly common sense, or in the case of congress (or any other legislative body, for that matter) just average common sense.

i just saw a story on CNN about how historic reenactors on an historic canal in lehigh, pa. the canal offers historic barge trips via mule-drawn boats. unfortunately for the reenactors, and the mules that pull the boats, must get federal background checks, per homeland security regulations. seriously. the lehigh canal, with its mule drawn barges, is a HUGE potential target, and checking the background of the reenactors who guide the mules is clearly necessary and cost the park $1200 to get the check complete.

republican rep. charlie dent of PA recently spoke with DHS secretary napolitano to get this cleared up, but so far no action has been taken. clearly the law, as written, is just a little too broad and needs to be fixed. so, congrats, rep. dent. this is probably the first common sense move you have made in your entire congressional career.

the next person i will support with common sense PAC is ANYONE who challenges new york state senator pedro espada, jr, who represents the bronx but lives in westchester. espada is one of the geniuses behind the new york state senate shutdown earlier this month and has an incredible knack for graft. it is just common sense to run someone against espada. if no one will sign up for the job, i'll do it. senator nutbag. has a nice ring to it, no?

here are my qualifications to take on espada:

while i don't live in the bronx (neither does espada) at least i live in new york city (he lives in westchester)
i am not an asshole. espada clearly is. check out these youtube videos where he is outraged - outraged! - that a reporter would ask him legitimate questions about his residence and graft. the nerve of that reporter!

so, thats pretty much it. vote nutbag! i live in a more geographically alligned municipality than espada, and i am not an asshole, unlike espada.

winning campaign slogan, no?

Sorry Gates, I Think I am With the Cambridge Police On This One

2009-07-24T12:44:00.003-04:00

read the police report, via the smoking gun.

from this report, which verifies other reports, it seems that gates was totally out of line. the officer had every right to figure our what was going on, as a neighbor had reported seeing two men with backpacks attempting to force their way through a door. OK, they were both black, but so what?

gates' reaction was totally unnecesary and over the line. sure, i can imagine his instinctual reaction might be to automatically assume the police were targeting him because he is black, but cooler heads should have prevailed. if gates had simply stepped out onto the porch and talked to the officer calmly and rationally, he would have realized what was going on and that his initial reaction, that he was being profiled, was off base.

but that didn't happen. everyone knows that when you press a cop, it will be you who loses. gates should know this. could the cop have turned his back and just walked away? sure. but gates was 100% uncooperative the entire time and refused to let the issue die.

i also think it was a mistake for pres. obama to wade into this issue. i understand that gates is his friend, but his presence in this issue will only exacerbate things, not make them better. he should learn a lesson on this issue and next time not wade into a controversy that is this parocial.

2 Shows 2 Thoughts

2009-07-22T23:59:00.004-04:00

America's Funniest Home Videos (AFV): no youtube channel? really? you are perhaps sitting on the goldmine of ALL youtube channels and yet you do not have one. why is not every clip ever shown on the show NOT ON YOUTUBE AND CAN BE FOUDND ON THE AFV CHANNEL? hello? ever heard of failblog? it is essentially your show. you were youtube before there was youtube. why are you not there now?

The 700 Club: please give your guests better talking points. case: robyn o'brien, author "unhealthy truth: how our food is making us sick". she was the guest on the 700 club tonight (yes, i was watching it. it looked interesting) talking about additives in our food supply. the weird thing was over and over again, at least 3 times, she complained that certain additives were allowed into food AFTER 1994. she said it over and over and over again. 1994. 1994. do you know what happened in 1994, mrs. o'brien? the republican revolution. deregulation. remember that? she also went on to complain that most, if not all, european countries do not allow certain additives in their food and she wondered why we don't do that here. jee, i wonder. when was the last time a republican politician talked nicely about a europoean government regulation? they certainly don't like european style health care, so why should we take some frenchie's advice on what poison we can serve our kids?

think about it, mrs. o'brien. you are a smart lady. according to amazon, you have your MBA. so since you can add, put two and two together: the republicans, with the help of pat robertson and the 700 club, have systematically targeted the regulatory functions of the united states government in an attempt to eliminate them or render them completely useless. think about that the next time you feed your kid yellow #5.

Yay For Taxes!

2009-07-22T17:23:00.003-04:00

oakland, ca has become the first municipality in the united states to officially tax marijuana. as i said in an earlier post, this is the first time in american history that an industry wanted to be taxed. so, congrats oakland and all the dope-smoking inhabitants of your fine city. i suspect that no other cities will jump on this because it just makes too much darn sense!

from CNN:

OAKLAND, California (CNN) -- Oakland's bid to become the first U.S. city to tax proceeds on medical marijuana passed Tuesday by a landslide vote.
About 80 percent of people voting in the Oakland election approved the new medical marijuana tax.

About 80 percent of people voting in the Oakland election approved the new medical marijuana tax.

About 80 percent of voters chose to impose the tax on Oakland's medical marijuana facilities, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.

Some celebrated the news at Oaksterdam University by hand-rolling large marijuana cigarettes or stuffing cannabis into pipes. The school trains students for work in the medical marijuana industry.

"It is important because the city of Oakland is facing a massive deficit like many jurisdictions in California," said Steve DeAngelo, a leader of one of the city's cannabis clubs. "And we decided to step up to the plate and make a contribution to the city in a time of need."

DeAngelo, one of the people who led the effort to get the tax approved, said his business will now have to pay more than $350,000 from the new tax next year.

Oakland's City Council was also behind the move.

"Given that the medical cannabis dispensaries are something that was legalized in California, why not have revenue from it?" said councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan.

There was no formal opposition to the effort, but some drug fighters say the tax sends the wrong message.

"The taxation of a federally unlawful drug is just not something that the community should accept," said Paul Chabot of the Coalition for a Drug Free California. "With the state in dire straits in finances and the country looking for ways to pay down debt, looking at illegal drugs is the absolute wrong thing to do."
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The measure, passed in special mail-in election Tuesday, imposes a 1.8 percent gross receipts tax on the four licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in Oakland.

These facilities would have to pay about $18 in taxes for every 1,000 in marijuana sales.

Letters From The Edge of Insanity

2009-07-22T15:12:00.003-04:00

ever have those days when you feel like larry david in an episode of "curb your enthusiasm"? you know, days when you try to accomplish simple activities but are unable to and it feels like the entire world is conspiring against you to make sure you can't? well, today is one of those.

being unemployed will make you do things you probably shouldn't. things like applying to a job that does not accept emailed resumes. seriously. welcome to the 21st century, new york public design commission. not accepting emailed resumes for your open job makes no sense. none at all. strike 1.

because the new york public art commission is too stupid to accept emailed resumes, i was forced to deal with the geniuses at the USPS. if you are anything like me, you probably don't mail letters too often and therefore do not have a cache of envelopes and stamps lying around, so i went to the post office to get a single, stamped envelope.

the post office was busy, but fortunately the cooper square PO is equipped with these new-fangeled automated postal centers which are supposed to make mailing a snap; they are to the PO what ATMs are to banks. but you know what you can't buy at one of these? a single, stamped envelope. that would be too easy. so i asked a postal employee why not. he told me that buying such an item doesn't make much money for the postal service, to which i replied "but doesn't it cost more to have a teller sell them than it does a machine"? apparently this was too much for him as he just stared at me and directed me to stand in line. strike 2.

after a few mins i made it to the front and asked for a single, stamped envelope please. i handed the teller a 20 because it was all i had. she rolled her eyes in disgust, so i asked her for her opinion on why single, stamped envelopes are not available at the machine. before i fell you what she said, i want to warn those reading this (dad) that your head might explode do to the sheer stupidity of her answer. consider yourself warned. she said that the reason i cannot buy a single, stamped envelope at the automated postal center is because in 2001 the anthrax letters were mailed with such an envelope purchased on such a machine. i kid you not. strike 3.

so, thanks USPS. You have really made a good decision there. that'll learn those evil-doers. i bet they can't figure out how to get single, stamped envelopes now! judging by how hard of a time i had getting one, this might not be a bad idea because i generally consider myself smarter than your average, run-of-the-mill terrorist and if i had trouble getting a single, stamped envelope i can only imagine how difficult it must be for them. this is also good for the USPS because people just love going to the PO, so anything they can do to make it easier for customers to get what they want would just make too much sense. and they wonder why they are losing money...

Look Who Wasn't Mentioned

2009-07-20T18:49:00.003-04:00

from an ESPN article on the 2009 NBA summer league:

The Point Guard Class
Several point guards who came to Las Vegas made strong impressions. Jonny Flynn, despite all the turmoil surrounding Ricky Rubio, stood out. Though many in Vegas questioned the wisdom of playing Tyreke Evans at point guard long-term, few doubted that his strength, size, and capacity to get to the rim would make him a scoring machine. Observers had reserved praise for Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry, the former for his unrefined shot, the latter for looking more like a gunner than a floor general. Some of the mid-first-rounders earned a lot of praise. Dallas' Roddy Beaubois led Vegas point guards in oohs and aahs, zipping through the lane in traffic and filling it up from beyond the arc. Of all the point guards in Las Vegas last week, Darren Collison was among the most polished before going down with an ankle injury. After starting Summer League 1-for-15 from the field, Ty Lawson bounced back to turn in three dominant performances, averaging 23.7 points over that span. Lawson is the kind of point guard who needs to be surrounded by scorers to excel. He'll have that in Denver.

if memory serves, there was another highly touted point guard taken in the first round. doesn't sound like this unnamed point guard stood out...

Sports News Online

2009-07-20T18:13:00.002-04:00

today, the big development in the sportsosphere is the launching of three new local sports sites: ESPN new york, LA, and dallas. for the past few months ESPN has been running a local site for chicago, and according to dan shanoff, it has been such a rousing success that it has earned the title of the go-to place for chicago sports news, analysis, and commentary. the story was also talked about on the daily dish. it seems like ESPN is going to deliver a death blow to the one part of the newspaper that i still consider essential: the sports page.

one question, though: why did ESPN choose NY, LA, and dallas for expansion. chicago makes sense because there are a lot of sports in chicago and chicago is a good sports town. LA makes sense for the arguments laid out by shanoff and friedersdorf, and NY makes sense for the same reason as chicago. but dallas? dallas is a shitty sports town. only the cowgirls really hold anyone's attention in that town. the mavs are popular of late, and i guess having a beat devoted to mark cuban is good for traffic, but other than that, sports fans in dallas are a pretty lousy bunch. no one cares about the rangers or the stars. texas, so by extension dallas, has tons of college sports, so maybe ESPN thinks this is what will generate a lot of traffic for the dallas market. it could also quite possibly mean that the guys who do sports for the traditional news operations in dallas suck, so ESPN sees an opening there. i guess dallas isn't atlanta, but still...

why not philly? philly has WAY better sports than dallas, not just in terms of their teams suck (which they do - especially the cowgirls) but philly really likes its sports in the way dallas doesn't. we also are a MUCH bigger media market. NY, LA, and chicago are the top 3 media markets in the country. i guess by popula...as i was writing this i decided to look up the top MSAs (metropolitan statistical area) in the USA, and boy do i feel stupid. turns out dallas-ft. worth-arlington is the 4th largest MSA, with philly-camden-wilmington coming in 5th.

so, forget that. i'll go back to my less scientific, but still correct point that dallas sports suck and their fans are a bunch of front-running, all-cattle-no-steer, losers. seriously. dallas has a larger media market, but i wonder what the share of sports is in that market (fuck, this is where my east coast bias comes in. i forgot NASCAR. shit. there goes my whole post). you could probably analyze this by looking at ticket sales and attendance numbers across the sports universe (again another one hit me: high school football. they love that down there and i bet ESPN is looking for a good anchor into that relatively untapped market), and merch sales you can get a good idea of what it is. maybe lets make a list of sports teams/events in each area:

dallas
cowboys
stars
rangers
mavericks
university of texas sports (not sure about the other schools in texas like a&m and texas tech, so lets just say U of T)
NASCAR
high school football
FC dallas (MLS)

philly
phillies
eagles
sixers
flyers
penn state football
big 5 college basketball (along with a-10 and big east, but big 5 is the real one here)
high school basketball is a stretch, but i think other high school sports like the dad vail and penn relays are of significant interest, especially in the local market
philadelphia union (MLS)

were it not for NASCAR, i would argue that the "big 4" sports: baseball, hockey, basketball, and football (NFL) philly would hold the edge on the overall count (cowgirls probably generate more of a share than the eagles, but the others aren't even close), but NASCAR which has zero presence in philly but a huge one in texas just kills us.

so, in the end, i guess ESPN made the right decision in choosing dallas over philly. its also a possiblilty that they thought our print sports coverage is too good to break through, but i doubt it. oh well. maybe philadelphia will get an ESPN local in the next round. and dallas still sucks.

I Saved A Man's Life

2009-07-18T22:50:00.007-04:00

i did.

i am a very aggressive street crosser. i will take risks crossing streets that i don't think most should. but i do. i have a key on the city's rhythms. sure, i am taking a chance that something will go awry, but i have a high degree of confidence that i will reach the other side unscathed.

such a situation happened tonight. i was walking down spring street towards lafayette. anyone who knows this intersection knows its kind of confusing on a good day: drivers are heading east on spring, north on cleveland place (which turns into lafayette at this intersection), and drivers can also turn south onto lafayette from spring. but there is no northbound traffic on the lafayette side of cleveland (as i said, confusing. please consult the map below for clarification).

View Larger Map

so, as i said, i was walking east on spring across lafayette, against the light. knowing the traffic patterns as i do, i walked out into the middle of the street because i could. i knew i was protected on one side by the construction area (oh yes, did i mention the construction on petrosino square [spelled it right on the first try!], just south of the intersection? it is a small, triangular park [certainly not a square] that comes to a point at said intersection.) and on the other by a lack of southbound traffic (again, consult map).

ANYWAY, i was in the middle waiting for a break in the traffic so i could complete my cross. i saw my window. two cars were coming, one was close but almost past and another was far enough down the street that i could make it across ahead of it. so i went. as i moved into the street, i saw on the opposite corner two dudes who had obviously been at spring lounge or gatsby's (read: drunk). i still had my head down because i was focused on my timing but as i got closer to the other side, one of the dudes noticed me and said to the other "OK lets go". he stepped off the curb and didn't look.

i immediately recognized the situation. he had seen me cross and assumed that because i was crossing, the coast was clear. he possibly thought he had the light. i don't know what he thought; he might not have thought. but i knew. i knew there was a car rapidly approaching where i had just crossed and he had no idea. i did...and his buddy did. his buddy shouted "dude, wait!", but his momentum carried him forward, towards me going the other way and towards the traffic, going a way he certainly didn't want.

not to exaggerate or commit hyperbole, but the next few moments were clear, yet foggy. instinctual, yet thought out. i didn't think: i acted. as the guy approached me, i simply stuck my palm in the middle of his sternum and said "watch out!". that was all. my forward momentum hit his forward momentum and we both stopped. the car zoomed by. the dude froze for a second. i continued walking, not skipping a beat. i saw the recognition in his eye after a moment had passed. he was confused at first, but got it. as i passed, i heard him shout "thanks, man!".

i don't know why i didn't stop. i almost didn't process what happened until after it was over. i don't know way i did what i did. like i said, it was instinctual, yet somehow my brain processed the situation before it happened so, in a way, i was prepared for this event and acted accordingly.

i should have stopped and acknowledged him, but i didn't. i don't know why. i should have. probably could have gotten a beer out of it :)

My First Stab At Citizen Journalism

2009-07-18T22:50:00.006-04:00

i saw a fire today at the corner of elizabeth and kenmare.

this is my first attempt at citizen journalism.

i have always wondered how videos of events end up on the internet, but now i know. i was walking down the street today and came across this raging fire. i had never seen anything like this before, with thick, black smoke billowing from the windows so i stopped to watch along with a ton of other people. as i was standing there i decided to snap a few pics for my friends that i was meeting so i could tell them the story. i took a few pics then decided to capture some video...well...for no other reason than because i could. so i took the video below (i also had no idea how to use my video camera feature on my new phone, so i am glad i actually captured it).

so now i know how these things happen: because they can.

Manny vs. The Mick

2009-07-17T12:06:00.002-04:00

i just saw on sportscenter that manny is set to pass mickey mantle "sometime soon" on the all-time home run list, and according to the anchor manny's legacy will be tainted due to his suspension for PED use. ok, manny was suspended for PEDs. but what about mickey? he visited the notorious max jacobson, a.k.a dr. feelgood, many, many times during his career and jacobson would inject him with all kinds of stuff from amphetamines to...you guessed it...steroids!

and this isn't even the he said/she said steroid allegations that we see today. the mick was hopped up on goofballs during the legendary 1961 season. no one seems to care about this though...

Wilbon and Bob Ryan Got It Wrong On Pedro

2009-07-16T11:46:00.002-04:00

first of all, pedro, welcome to the WFC phillies. glad to have you on board. i think i had forgotten how nasty your stuff was when you were with the red sox (thank you ESPN for the highlight package).

last night on PTI, wilbon and bob ryan had a debate in oddsmakers as to whether or not you would pitch in the playoffs. wilbon went 100% and ryan went 92%, but the backbone of their logic rested on the fact that the phillies would make the playoffs, not whether or not pedro would pitch in the playoffs.

there is a slight, but significant difference. of course, the phillies are going to make the playoffs (on a side note, they managed to get through the whole segment without mentioning that the phillies are the DEFENDING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS, yet at the same time blasting the NL east as weak and even offering that the florida marlins could catch the phils for the division), and pedro is currently on the team, but pedro pitching in the playoffs is no slam dunk. he hasn't pitched in the bigs in quite some time. we know we aren't going to get the pedro of old, but we could get the pedro of the not-so-distant past (i.e. his tenure with the mets). if we get the pedro of mets vintage, the phillies front office would have NO PROBLEM shutting him down, especially for the bargain price of $1 mil. the pedro signing is low-risk/high-reward. if he pitches adequately, it will be a great signing. if he sucks, the team will be no worse off for rolling the dice.

i respect wilbon and bob ryan a lot, but on this case, their analysis was dead wrong.

I'm Pretty Sure I Do Not Want This Thing Built

2009-07-14T21:49:00.002-04:00

A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies.

Robotic Technology Inc.'s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that's right, "EATR" — "can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable," reads the company's Web site.

That "biomass" and "other organically-based energy sources" wouldn't necessarily be limited to plant material — animal and human corpses contain plenty of energy, and they'd be plentiful in a war zone.

and, no, that is not from the onion. it's from fox, so its close.

All-Star Game Thoughts

2009-07-14T21:23:00.005-04:00

if all roy halladay needs is a helmet to come to the NL and play for the phillies, i will gladly purchase him one.

its weird to see a phillie (victorino) get a hit to advance a met (wright)

tim mccarver to joe buck: "we have been together for 14 years..." bromance, anyone?

i am enjoying the commentary on twitter much more than i am mccarver and buck. they are essentially doing what i am doing, but the people i follow, you know...have followers!

My War Against Pricing in the Digital Age

2009-07-14T11:36:00.004-04:00

the digital age has ushered in a new era of consumer freedom. comparison shopping, lower overhead costs, and convenience have all lowered prices and increased competition for goods sold over the internet, as well as in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. some companies, however, still think that they can charge whatever they want for their goods and services because they think us, the consumer, are just a bunch of rubes. i present two examples:

amazon.com. yesterday bill simmons tweeted about a book on sale at amazon. his recommendation, "Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers, and Guests", was on sale for $4.64 (this price no longer seems to be available for the book, but my point is still the same) at amazon so i decided to go and check it out and see how much they were charging for the kindle version (i no longer purchase physical books). i remember purchasing "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" one day for $0.99, so i thought i would see if i could get the SNL book for a similar price, but you can imagine my shock and surprise when i saw the kindle price was $9.99!!!!! i thought to myself "you have to be kidding me...how is this possible, because, you know, the digital copy of the book, which costs $0.00 to keep on inventory should ALWAYS be less than the physical book". right? i mean, there is a cost with distributing kindle books because amazon had to invest in the network to deliver the books, but still, if there is a physical copy of the book on sale the kindle version should be priced competitively because that is the point of the kindle: books cost less (not taking into account the cost of purchasing the device itself, but once you have bought the kindle, that becomes a sunk cost and no longer factors into the cost of purchasing a book) on the kindle!!! HOW CAN THIS BE? does amazon think i am a moron? i think so...
the next example is from the kind folks at AT&T. recently i was shopping for a new cell phone and cell plan (thanks to the fam, i am no longer responsible for my plan and i got the sweet new blackberry tour out of the deal) so i went to AT&T to see about getting myself an iphone and what the iphone plans cost. the iphone is like a kindle, once you get it, it becomes a sunk cost. $200 for the new iphone? sure. i can do that. but the plans...the plans... $40/month for unlimited data. fine. $30/month for 450 mins with rollover. ok. but SMS delivery is where AT&T goes off the deep end and shows their utter contempt for the consumer. AT&T has a 3 tiered texting plan: $5 for 200 texts, $15 for 1500 texts and $20 for unlimited. let that just sink in for a minute. here is where the problems start. $5 for 200 texts a month is a decent deal, but who only sends 200 texts a month from an iphone? too low. the next is 1500 texts. that is a lot of texts, so if you go with that plan, you should be safe from overage charges and if you think you will go over, an extra $5 for the unlimited isn't a bad idea either, but there is nothing in the middle! the jump from 200-1500 is quite significant. what about 500 texts? or 1000 texts? these seem like more reasonable texting plans. but thats not all. lets say you go with the 1500 text plan for $15/month. texting is a data transmission. a small data transmission at that. 140 characters. very, very, very small, and for $15/month you can send a total of 240,000 characters. but what about that $40/month data plan i have already signed up for? that is transmitting HUGE amounts of data, from email to maps to apps to whatever, so why do i have to pay this OTHER data charge on top of that? ok, so SMS gets transmitted over AT&T's cell netowrk and the data is transmitted over their 3G or any available wi-fi network, but still! come on AT&T! you can send instant messages over the data network, which when sent from a cell phone is essentially a text message. see the problem here? now that cell phones can transmit all kinds of things, there is really no difference between the various kinds of messaging you can engage in. my new blackberry does email, SMS, MMS (whatever that is...i think its multimedia messaging service for pics and vids and stuff), BBM (blackberry messenger), and various forms of IM (aol, yahoo messenger, google talk). they all get funneled into the same messaging center, and at times, it is rather confusing which message is which and what service it was delivered on. the point is this: with so many messaging options enabled on cell phones what does it really matter what format it was delivered in? and this is the insanity of companies like AT&T and verizon charging for separate SMS plans on smartphones: it is a double data charge and they think they can get away with it because they think we are too stupid to realize the difference.

so now you know. don't be a rube.

A New Constitution for California

2009-07-10T11:21:00.003-04:00

since i have some time on my hands these days, i think i will set out to solve a HUGE problem: to rewrite the constitution for the state of california.

california is a messed up state, and like goldman sachs, is too big to fail. it is the 5th largest economy in the world, and while it might seem odd that i would take such a keen interest in the laws of a state that i have never lived in, there are some benefits to me for solving all of the state's problems. for starters, because california's economy is so large, the better off the state is, the easier it will become for me to find a job there (cough...zipcar...cough...call me!). actually, thats about it. i am motivated completely by self-interest.

just to give one example about how fucked up california's government is: i did a search to find the text of the state constitution. how is it that there is no place on the web that lists the constitution and all of its articles and amendments in one place? the best place is the state government link, but you have to click through each article independently.

que lastima!

Updated Thoughts on Halladay

2009-07-08T17:11:00.002-04:00

where there is smoke, there is fire. this morning on sportscenter, buster olney said the phillies are the team with the best position to land halladay and all we would have to give up is a pitching prospect (drebek or even happ), jason donald (path to the majors blocked by the phillies stellar infield), and someone else (most likely). and this afternoon ruben amaro addressed the media over the position the team is in and danced around the subject of halladay, prospects, and pedro (i'll go on the record here with my thoughts on pedro coming to the phillies: bad move if they fail to land halladay and fall back on pedro. he is washed-up. dunzo. fin. however, this is where economics comes in - the phillies might balk at their payroll going much higher than the $13o million it is now and pedro is rumored to be asking $5 mil [which would be pro-rated]. i really, really, really hope that the economics of this don't doom halladay and that if halladay falls through, the team has a backup plan other than pedro martinez).

A First In American History

2009-07-08T11:47:00.003-04:00

one of the reasons why the united states came into being was because king george III and parliament levied unfair taxes on the colonies. this has been a common theme throughout american history, and americans, more so than our european counterparts, are generally tax-adverse. we even needed a constitutional amendment to institute a national income tax.

so, in what i believe is a first in american history, we actually have an industry, a multi-billion dollar industry no less, that wants to be taxed. the founding fathers would be rolling around in their graves! but what industry, you ask, could be so foolish? i'll give you a hint: its not big oil, nor is it the auto industry. its not investment banks. and its not the construction industry.

give up? its *gasp!* the marijuana (aka the demon weed, reefer, grass, smoke, ganja, herb, wacky tobbacky) industry. again, in the history of the united states has there ever been an industry that has so desperately wanted to be taxed and regulated? estimates for california alone place the value of the crop at $13.8 billion. $13.8 billion. that is a lot of money. taxed at 10% you are talking about over $1 billion for the state of california. this doesn't even take into account the other industries surrounding the sale and consumption of marijuana. downtown oakland is already seeing the benefits of an agglomeration economy emerging around the cannabis co-ops operating in the oaksterdam section of the city (strategy for urban renewal, anyone?). this is something that could be replicated in every state in the union. bringing the underground marijuana economy out of the shadows into the light will help farmers, consumers, states, prison systems, and countless others.

reasonable people can disagree over the health benefits of marijuana or the effect that some argue it has on society (they are wrong on this point...responsible adults can consume marijuana and not have negative effects on society, but whatever) but you cannot argue that there is not a valid economic reason to, in the words of peter tosh, "legalize it".

The Phillies MUST Get Halladay

2009-07-07T22:26:00.003-04:00

the phillies have been at a juncture like this for the past as many seasons as i can remember. there is always a point around the beginning of the all-star break through shortly after when the team must make a decision: how do i get a new starting pitcher. this season the decision is more acute than in years past due to the injury of brett myers and the generally underwhelming performance of the pitching staff this year from the starters to the bullpen. in years past the team has not made a major move, getting guys like moyer and blanton while eschewing the bigger name pitchers like sabathia.

but this year we have an opportunity, it seems, to pick up roy halladay from the blue jays. halladay is an exceptional pitcher and is one of the only guys in the majors who pitches complete games these days. to give up a kyle drebek or one of our other pitching prospects and a few other guys is worth the price of halladay. the phillies actually have a decent stock of young arms, so to part with one of them to acquire a cy-young caliber pitcher for 2 years (he is signed through 2010 and while it would balloon the payroll some, i imagine the phillies management would be happy with another world championship, those being the cash-cows that they are) would not be a bad thing considering it would put the phillies in the drivers seat to repeat as champs and do all the things i outlined in the parentheses.

also, by getting halladay now, we make the first move in the pitching market and have the chance to set the price for pitchers at the deadline. while i like blanton and what he has done fior the team, he came at a pretty high price (or so i recall). make your investment really worth it this time - get halladay.

i trust that ruben amaro studied well under pat gillick. but all of the situations described above were gillick's moves. now its amaro's turn. will amaro emulate his mentor, or will he strike out on a path of his own? we will see...

More Palin Thoughts

2009-07-05T14:00:00.002-04:00

so sarah palin's lawyers have now threatened to sue anyone who dares disagree with her in public. sounds like how scientology deals with their critics.

one refrain that i have constantly heard from her side is that she despises attacks against her family and that influenced her decision to step down. i can understand that, but seriously, can anyone actually point to an attack leveled at palin's family? sure, david letterman made an off-color joke about one of her kids, but i recall john mccain doing the same to a certain chelsea clinton. so, aside from that, who has been attacking palin's family? the blogger who photoshopped a different head on trig's body? how is that an attack on trig? speculation that bristol is actually trig's mother? that rumor has about as much credence as the obama birth certificate story (someone from the MSM ask palin this: since she is so sensitive to rumors and accusations thrown at her that she claims are untrue, then does she feel obama would be justified in suing bloggers who claim he is not a natural born citizen?). what else? who has actually attacked her family? is it "attacking her family" to point out that bristol's advocacy of abstinence-only education is remarkably hypocritical? plus, doesn't bristol being an adult and taking on a public role in her new role as the spokesperson for the abstinence-only crowd, make her a legitimate target for people who oppose what she (allegedly) stands for? and, lest we forget, palin, more than any other politician that i can think of, thrust her family into the spotlight and made them a part of her campaign and public image. she relies on them as props and tools to further her own ambition, so is it not a complete double standard for her to rely on them to serve her needs yet claim them off limits for any commentary? look, the obama's are very protective of their daughters, and rightfully so. the palin children should be afforded the same luxury, and they have. NO ONE HAS EVER ATTACKED TRIG. OR WILLOW. OR TRAPP. OR WHATEVER OTHER WEIRD-ASS NAME HER OTHER KIDS HAVE (whoops, i just attacked her family!). the only palin child that has faced any sort of criticism is bristol, and that was of her own making.

i just don't get it. are pitbulls this thin skinned? are pitbulls this deranged that they think every form of criticism, legitimate or not, is part of some nefarious plot to destroy her family? are pitbulls quitters? i guess we know the answer now.

Merry 4th of July

2009-07-04T11:31:00.002-04:00

on this independence day lets take some time to think about all the peoples around the world still fighting for their independence.

i am especially thinking about the brave iranians who are standing up against their government to have their votes counted and voices heard.

where are all the ben franklins, thomas jeffersons, john adamses, and george washingtons today?

Palin

2009-07-04T11:10:00.003-04:00

i don't claim to be no political expert, but i think i have a pretty good understanding of how this politics thing works. despite being the astute observer of politics that i am, i was quite baffled by sarah palin's announcement yesterday that she is stepping down as governor of alaska to...well, its kind of unclear what her next step is. some are speculating that there is a major scandal on the way (could be true). others think she just isn't interested in the job of governor (could also be true). she might be retiring from politics (god i hope this is true, but unlikely). or she could be prepping for a presidential run (unsure if i want this to be true or not). and, as the dude on CNN just said, depending who you ask, this is either the smartest - or dumbest - political move ever. depending on who you ask.

here is my take. barring the scandal scenario, i think this could prove to be a shrewd move. allow me to explain. right now, the republican party is essentially leaderless. none of the republican senators or representatives really commands the national spotlight. there is no governor, save for palin, that really commands national attention either. the power base of the republican party right now is in the media with rush, beck, hannity, and the rest, but despite being popular and influential, none of them can really be considered the leader of the republican party, politically speaking.

this is where palin comes in. i think nominally she was the de facto leader of the party, but from alaska it is very difficult to really command the national spotlight. now freed of the encumbrance of being governor, palin is free to tour the country for the next 3 (!) years and act as a steady opposition to obama's policies. what form her opposition will take is unsure but i think this is what she is doing. she is attempting to position herself as the leader of the party, and as we all know, when it comes to republican presidential primaries, the front runner normally wins.

i wonder if it will pay off for her. i personally don't think its a sound strategy. she could have waited a year and announced that she isn't running for reelection. but this will give her the time to do her homework on domestic and foreign policy and if she devotes herself to full time campaigning for 3 (!) years, she could emerge as a much more polished (read: comprehensible) candidate.

time will tell.

Big Shot Is The Only True Sixers Mascot (updated)

2009-07-01T10:46:00.000-04:00

UPDATED: i originally posted this on 8/10/07 and had forgotten that the video of big shot was of him dancing to michael jackson.

i am waiting for the return of big shot. hip hop is a false god and all who worship him are praying to a false idol. the only road to salvation is through big shot.

Mark Sanford (UPDATED)

2009-06-26T13:13:00.004-04:00

like the ayatollah in iran, mark sanford as lost all legitimacy in his ability to govern. iran is going through the throes of revolution and attempting to decide what gives government its legitimacy. here in the united states, we believe that government is of, by, and for the people and that a government gets its legitimacy through the consent of governed. in my opinion, mark sanford has lost the trust of the people of south carloina and should resign.

to be clear, this is not about his adultery, but that does play a part. this is about leaving his state for 5 days (it has been rumored that he had planned a 10 day vacation) and not telling anyone where he was going or not informing his second in command, the lt. governor. that behavior from the governor of a state is 100% inexcusable and should be grounds for dismissal on its face. even david patterson, as inept as he is, knew better than to leave the state while the NY state senate is playing its little game. you want to go away for a few days, fine. BUT YOU HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE! even if he was hiking the AT you still have to tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back. just ask aron ralston. its a cardinal rule of hiking. let someone know where you are going and when you plan on returning so, if god forbid you aren't where you are supposed to be when you said you would be there, people can start looking for you.

the other side to this story is sanford's remarkable hypocrisy regarding "values" and the "sanctity of marriage". haven't we had enough of this BS? and when will the MSM ask sanford (and vitter and ensign and craig and fosella and newt and rudi and ...) what gives them the right to grandstand to protect the "sanctity of marriage" by not allowing gays to marry, yet their own actions do more to violate the "sanctity of marriage" than allowing gays to marry ever could. has any MSM reported asked this question to any of these jokers? what would they say? what could they say? how can they justify it? how can they find a leg to stand on?

this is the nature of government in the united states. the government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. if you lose the trust of the people, you can not effectively govern. if you betray the trust your state has placed in you, you can not effectively govern. and, most especially, if you are proven to be a hypocrite of the highest order, you can not effectively govern. mark stanford should step down, not for having an affair, but for betraying the trust of the people of south carolina and losing sight of what grants government its legitimate power in the united states: the consent of the governed.

UPDATE: i think the previous paragraphs can now be replaced with a simple "fuck you". im glad that sanford went to the bible for his justification. im sure i can find a verse in there that says shitheads like him should be forced to watch "the real housewives of new jersey" without reprieve as punishment for being a first-rate asshole.

BIll Simmons on the Sixers Draft

2009-06-26T12:38:00.002-04:00

no commentary. i'll let his words speak for me.

6:13: Jrue Holiday goes to the Sixers and, more importantly, wins the Rashard Lewis "Last Guy In The Green Room" Award. In 27 minutes per game as a freshman, Holiday averaged 8.5 points and more turnovers (3.8) than assists (3.7). On the bright side, he made 30.7 percent of his 3s. Wait, that's not good. That's your 17th pick. I'm wrapping this up soon.
6:19: Minnesota's choice of Ty Lawson (one of my two remaining favorites) just gave me the same look I had when I found out earlier today that Jackson had died. Did the Wolves really just take three point guards in the top 18? Has that ever happened before? Is David Kahn trying to go small and just got confused? And how will Chris Wallace up the Dumb GM ante?
6:21: Damn. Bucher is reporting Lawson is headed to Denver for a future protected No. 1 pick. That was a fun two minutes while it lasted. As reader Rob from Chicago joked later, "It was like an online fantasy draft and someone mistakenly put their settings on 'best player available auto-pilot.'"
6:26: Utah grabs my last favorite player in the draft: Eric Maynor. Why do I love him? He has been handling the rock since he was probably 2. He hasn't played a game since junior high in which the other guys didn't immediately agree, "That guy is the point guard." He's old-school. You could say he has "ownership" of that position. He's not a converted shooting guard or a long-range shooter who brings the ball up or even a short fast guy who plays point because he couldn't play anywhere else. He's a pure point. He owns it. Complete control at all times. That's why I like him. Solid pick. It's all about backups and foreign dudes from here on.

I'll Be There

2009-06-26T11:38:00.003-04:00

i heard about the passing of michael jackson like so many others did last night by overhearing a conversation on the street. i didn't think anything of it at first. i heard a woman on the subway say something to the effect of "he isn't the king of pop anymore". i just assumed that she was having some generic conversation about michael jackson. things became clearer, however, as i walked through prospect park on my way to the band shell to see femi kuti. as i walked down a path, some dude stopped the two guys in front of me and said "excuse me, but is it true that michael jackson died?" he didn't believe the news and needed confirmation. that was the moment when i knew he was dead. initially i had written off the woman's comment as just talk, but once there was more context to her comments, i knew what happened. that was the theme throughout the evening. my friends talked about how they heard his music playing all afternoon, but didn't know why and just wrote it up to a coincidence. and once you heard the news, you knew why.

but, perhaps the most poignant part of the evening was after the show ended (btw, femi kuti was AMAZING) and the post-show music came on. once femi left the stage, the sounds of "i'll be there" started to filter through the speakers and instead of emptying the venue out, people stayed. and cheered. and sang. and some cried. it was really a special moment that only music can provide. it united black and white, young and old in remembrance of the music of michael, not his weirdness. his music is what i hope people will remember him by because when he was on his game, he truly was the best.

as a young kid, i loved michael's music. i had a glove. i had a poster. i listened to his music and loved it. and i still do. there is a reason that thriller is the greatest selling album of all time. from start to finish it doesn't let up. every song could be a hit on its own. any song could be the best song on the album and on any other album would be. i remember the first time i saw the thriller video and how much it scared me. his videos always went above and beyond the rest.

no one could make a video like him. no one could sing like him. no one could dance like him. no one could do what he did. he was the best. i hope this is the michael jackson that lasts through the ages, because this is the michael jackson i will always remember.

Amazing Victory for USA Soccer

2009-06-24T20:51:00.002-04:00

it was an amazing victory, not as much for the historical significance, IMO, but for the great, great, great game team USA played. i watched the whole game and thought it was a spectacular performance by team USA. they really had spain's offense figured out, despite all the shots on goal spain had. i remember commenting early in the second half about the swarming D of team USA, while at the same time the commentators on TV were blasting the US team for letting spain run with the ball in the middle of the field. however, to me, it seemed like team USA was ok with giving spain the middle of the field (or is it called midfield...im still not 100% on my soccer terminology) because once spain got in the box they were getting mobbed by white shirts. and, even though spain got off a ton of shots, none were clean looks. all of their shots were either through or around legs and bodies, not clean rips. a ton of shots went to the post where howard cleaned them up. i just think that the US D had spain's offense figured out.

a few other thoughts:

sick goal by jozy altidore.
landon donovan, whom i have disliked since he laid an egg in the 2006 world cup, played a great game.
the red card given to the US player was total BS. no way should that have been a red card. i wonder if FIFA has some sort of review system, like the NBA does with technical fouls. plus, how ridiculous is it that this guy will have to sit out the next game after one red card. the NBA has some rule for the playoffs where 6 or 7 techs force you to sit for a game. kobe had right up to the limit with techs and managed himself accordingly. it seems awfully punitive to kick a guy off the pitch for the rest of the current game as well as all of the next.

bring on the next opponent. USA! USA! USA!

Return to A Classic

2009-06-23T15:05:00.005-04:00

excellent move by the sixers. excellent move. they are returning to their classic (read: best) color scheme and logo. why pat croce thought black and gold was a good color scheme for the 76ers is beyond all rational thought. ok, pat, you like pirates, but the 76ers are not a band of pirates. they represent the city of philadelphia and the birth of the united states. the colors of the united states are red, white, and blue. even this philadelphia union got the memo, but croce wanted black and gold, so black and gold we got. even the ugly-ass uniforms worn in the mid-90s (pictured below) kept the team's traditional colors, even if the design was perhaps the ugliest thing this side of, well, the cleveland cavaliers had some pretty ugly jerseys around that time period as well, but the cavs are the cavs.
there is a great history of the sixers' uniforms the team's website. it really is amazing how radical the design the croce jersey is when compared to the rest of team's uniforms. now just get rid of that stupid rabbit and we will be all set. oh, and a winning team. that would be nice too.

Psycho Roommate Alert

2009-06-23T14:59:00.002-04:00

as some of you may know, about one year ago i had a very unfortunate experience with a roommate, which i won't go into detail about here, but suffice it to say, it is something i hope i never have to go through again. that alone isn't driving my desire to live by myself when my lease is up, but letters like this certainly are playing a part in my desire to not have to deal with roommates anymore. the letter reprinted below, via the village voice, is almost too good to be believed. would you want to live with this person?

So we've all heard that one silver lining to the whole economic meltdown is that New York is suddenly a renter's marker again. Heck, when we found our new apartment a few months back we even managed to convince the landlord to knock a couple hundred bucks off our monthly rent. Apparently, people are even upping their demands in potential roommate situations, as our friend Mauricio found out recently when he placed an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to share his two-bedroom apartment in Queens. He received the following response which, believe it or not, is edited for your reading pleasure:

Hi there,

I am interested in the room, I am a hard-working, reliable, considerate, friendly & helpful educated, well-read personable gal working in biz development... looking to room w/ someone w/ a mindset such as yours, of having peace *& quiet at home & not bringing the party back home, etc..

(Sounds good, until we get to the movies...)

I have mature sophisticated tastes but I also like to watch stuff like the Superman series, Smallville!! If you like superheroes, etc.. Xmen, Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine, Fantasic Four, Watchmen, Wonderwoman, etc.. films of this genre & others -- That'd BE cool... Of course, many other favorites too.... such as the serious side of drama, Romantic Comedies, or even Docu-Drama's like "Traffic" w/ Benicio Del Toro, Rwanda w/ Don Cheadle, Angelina Jolie portraying the wife of Daniel Pearl in a A Mighty Heart (2007) .... Mariane Pearl -- her husband, a murdered WSJ journalist lost in, & lost to the Iraq war as an embedded journalist. The Natural w/ Robert Redford, The Great Gatsby, 12 Angry Men, Foreign Films w/ martial arts themes, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, director Chen Kaige's -- Farewell My Concubine, Red Sorghum, w/ Gong Li -- the beautiful lead actress Age of Innocence -- Wynona Ryder-Daniel, Gangs of NY, 21 Grams, Way of the Gun, Reality Bytes, Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, The Aviator, Titanic, Schindler's List, Apocalypse Now, Philadelphia Story, Erin Brockavich, Romeo&Juliet (Leonardo DiCaprio in medieval rapping style!!), Gone in 60 Seconds, Empire of the Sun, Dead Man Walking, anything w/ Sean Penn, Nicholas Cage, Robert Duvall, Sean Connery, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Jude Law, Cate Blanchette, Kristen Scott Thomas, Ray/Ralph Fiennes, (The English Patient) , Angelina Jolie, Richard Gere, Ming Na Wen, Jennifer Connolly, Russell Crowe in ****A Beautiful Mind, ***Cinderella Story, & anything else he's been in... Jerry MacGuire & Bridget Diaries w/ Renee Zellweiger, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Pierce Brosnan, World Is Not Enough; Terry Hatcher, Eva Longoria, etc.,.. Thandie Newton in MI3. w/ Tom Cruise. Ben Kingsley (plays Ghandi really well), Yul Brynner, Charles Heston,-- in the classic religious-themed epic "10 Commandments"..Gone with the Wind, etc.

So, as U can see I like films alot, & looking at them w/ much thought & consideration & reflection afterwards....i like to write, I'm creative, I like reading a bit so I am pretty much a cerebral type... not into useless activities like drinking or anything else that doesn't serve to elevate my spirit... Oh & I grew to like "A Streetcar named Desire", the original B&W film. So I have a fun, bubbly side as well as the serious, mature tastes that we may share & possibly have in common.?

(After requesting detailed descriptions and photos of every room in the apartment, the floor it is located on, the size of the building and the surrounding neighborhood, the potential roommate turns her attention to the kitchen:)

BONUS: If you're willing to negotiate on the rent price & be flexible, I'll DO ALL of your dishes, making sure kitchen counter areas are clean, & germ-free, tables w/ place mats clean/cleared, & fold all of your laundered clothes {after they're already washed -- basic wash done.,. {by your laundry service or by you? well -- maybe I could help out here a lil' sometimes as an Assistant once in a blue moon, too.. } / For sure, as finicky as I can be, I can fold them really well, AFTER they're picked up/received back from the cleaners?} :) {I'm very domesticated & PLUS a worldly sophisticate!!! Triple threat "Miss Clean"/aka Nice/Quiet & Open-minded w/ regards to the world's issues...

I'm VERY VERY good w/ the kitchen areas as I love keeping the kitchen in *tip top shape,

(And then she gets really, really specific:)

Just pls provide the ***non-allergenic or hypo-allergenic cleaning agents & sponges & dishrags,, ! & I'll be happy to do the work {in the kitchen, etc..}... I have a few allergies so... need to be be careful that's all...

(And now, some questions for Mauricio:)

Routine:: schedule w/ bathroom hrs, etc.. WHat are your work hrs like- & what times in the morning do U need the bathroom by? I am kindly flexible w/ bathroom time in the mornings so,. U can have it first if U need it, except if I need it in emergency... {esp. PMS intervals..} . hahaha!!! Oh, Did I mention that I have a P/T sense of humor ?? :)

(No. What time does your sense of humor go to work?)

WHat time in the evenings -- do U need the kitchen for -- OR== Do you not cook at home much, or eat out alot, or never really at home at all??

So, What are your general hobbies, routines, social schedule like- Do u keep the party outside? Do u invite ppl over for dinners, or casual/ or formal "get- togethers" >> more than 1x per wk,, or Less.. ? I don't generally like to have too many ppl or foot traffic over.. I like to keep the party OUTSIDE. Too many ppl means making a mess + too much noise, . so... I don't like having to put too much labor into cleaning up after ppl except I Don't mind it for ppl I am living with that I know really well.. I like to read alot, commit some serious time to studying in solitude, appreciate the quiet & am low key at home, like my TV shows as well!!

ANyway, I am a, for sure, easy going roomate/co-habitant/ who will be dynamic, supportive of shared communal homely needs, & conversational enough to make for a great friend/compatriot in the long run anyway I think ....but if U like & need your personal space & me --vice versa,,, that's fine as well..

Don't' stop the music...

I am into music as well- having had experience performing in band & orchestra while in HS... Also, I like Mariah Carey type pop stuff, so... Would love to hear about your interests in music... Loved Adam Lambert on American Idol... he is far out unique & different. Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, I love old time voices as well as new age stuff. Enya, Kitaro, whatever else emerging there is of which U may know more about & have access to?!! Like Whitney Houston, Madonna, Pattie LaBelle, Jonie Mitchell, Arnie Guthrie, Simon & Garfunkel, Duran Duran, Lionel Ritchie, Anita Baker, Roy Orbison, temptations, Disco stuff, Bee gees, Broadway musicals, Many of the songs from original Grease, Phantom of Opera, Les Miserables, Rent... Chorus Line, Loved the techno stuff too...Stone Temple Pilots, GreenDay, Phil Collins, Snow Patrol, Sum41, lots of new songs from the WPIX channel for the shows of Gossip Girl & One Tree Hill, & Smallville (Superman series on thurs nite.8pm), etc....& Supernatural.. They DO a great job at bringing in new music through these very "happening" shows...

LET me know..! Email me back w/ your interest & contact info... Thanks.

(Just when you thought it was over:)

-- Feel free to leave ,me a msg back.. describing the place..& when is the latest I can call U back at... if we can arrange time... just wanted to know HOW large is the bedroom/ROOM size? What FLOOR are U on? What is the direction that the windows are facing? -- To the front of building-- of the main entrance or to the back yard? Or the side alley?? Is it bigger than 12x15 or larger or smaller? Extra Storage Space? What is already inside or included in the bedroom? Any furniture or stuff left behind? Like a bed- full or Queen size, Or should/can I bring my own bed? or nightstand, any bureau, or armoire, or chest of drawers, Any book shelf outside in the hall/:Livingroom? or inside the bedrm, or shelves for my use for books, etc.,.? , or should i bring my own?

Any office/table/desk areas already there-- for computer use? Anything like wardrobe closet or extra mobile closet or closets outside in the hallways for use? What street is the bedroom window facing-- ? Outside the street front/ main entrance area? or is it w/. views of the rear- back of the building?

Any cameras in the lobby area or safety is good around there? Pls do include the address, cross streets, THANKS!

Feel free to write+ leave me a msg, w/ all details as well..

Pls let me know when u'll have some time to show the place, & meet up...& state your address, name, etc.. & tell me more about what you do for work, & what kind of hrs do U keep, when U need the bathrm by in the mornings, at nite, etc,, I would make for an excellent roomie, & be very accomodating w/ the helping out around the home, etc./. pls leave me your full names, etc, referencing this ad, w/ the full address, + cross sts & how to get there from which train stop, etc,.& descriiption of the space, the BR, the extra closets for personal use, any backyard for use/ to sit in??

ANy TV in the bR or full-Queen size bed inside??

All I Do Is Sweat

2009-06-23T13:56:00.002-04:00

i sit and sweat. i move and sweat. i sleep and sweat. i write cover letters and sweat. heck, i even sweat when i sweat these days. and no sun to even make it worthwhile :( this weather really needs to break soon.

The Logic Test

2009-06-19T16:39:00.002-04:00

before anyone enters the pool at the coles rec center at NYU, i think they should have to pass this simple test. here goes:

lane 1 has 2 people swimming in it
lane 2 has 1 person swimming in it
lane 3 has 3 people swimming in it
lanes 4-8 also have 2-3 people swimming in them
you want to swim. which lane do you choose?

if you picked lane 2, you would be allowed to swim. if you picked lane 1, you should have your fingernails pulled out and banned from the pool forever.

Seeing Movies From the Beginning

2009-06-19T12:01:00.003-04:00

too often i see a movie on TV that i would like to watch but i rarely catch the movie from the beginning and am forced to watch it from somewhere in the middle. this is OK for movies i have seen before, but for movies i haven't seen, it sucks. however, there is occasionally the time when everything is timed just right and i am able to catch a movie from the beginning. this is especially cool when it is a movie that i have seen before, but have not seen from the beginning in quite some time. its amazing how much your understanding and appreciation of a movie, especially one you have seen before, is enhanced by watching from start to finish.

a few weeks ago this happened with total recall, a movie that i have seen countless times, but rarely from the beginning. my understanding and appreciation for that movie increased exponentially. the same thing is true for close encounters of the third kind, the movie i am currently watching. i normally catch this movie around the time dreyfuss goes nuts and makes the mountain out of mashed potatoes or the scene where he approaches devils tower despite the threat of a chemical spill. seeing the movie from the beginning, however, is what allows you to truly appreciate the movie for the classic it is. mystery and intrigue are offered up from the first scene. your are drawn into this fantastical tale. you forget things that increase your understanding of the journey dreyfuss goes on. you also realize how much his wife sucks.

close encounters, as well as total recall, are both fantastic movies. watching them from the beginning is the only way to watch and appreciate these classics.

Could the Iranian Interior Ministry Be This Dumb?

2009-06-18T16:27:00.003-04:00

as we have seen over the past week, it is difficult to tell what is actually going on in iran. did mousavi win? the residents of tehran certainly think so. did ahmadinejad win? certainly possible as well, although i sincerely doubt that if he did that he won by the margins suggested by the "official" election returns. that was their first mistake: if you are going to rig an election, at least make it believable. their second mistake was overconfidence and a lack of understanding how new technology is changing the information landscape. no longer can authoritarian governments control what their people read, see, and hear. sure, their control can be exerted to a degree, but as we are seeing, technology is trumping state control of the media.

if the letter below is to be believed, this will be the third, and fatal mistake, of the current iranian regime. i, however, have trouble believing the letter. how could they be that stupid? i mean, we have seen how stupid this government can be, but this just seems like a little too stupid.

imagine if a memo was uncovered during the florida recount from katherine harris to jeb bush stating that per his request W would be declared the winner, despite al gore winning the state, and here are the real totals, just as an FYI (this is actually kinda what happened, but there is no "smoking gun" memo to the point). how stupid would that have been? i mean, really! now, the mechanics of our society are more open, so the possibility of such a memo being exposed are much, much greater here than in iran, but i guess we can't assume that the iranian government wouldn't have been arrogant enough to produce such a document. and even so, even if they thought there was zero percent chance of this thing getting out, you still don't put this down on paper! its just a little too convenient to believe, but if it is true, RIP the iranian islamic republic (at least in its current form).

i also would not put it past the opposition to forge such a letter. the iranian public would be very susceptible to believing such a document, so i would like to view it with a grain of salt.

Interior Ministry's letter to the Supreme Leader

Salaam Aleikum.

Regarding your concerns for the 10th presidential elections and due to your orders for Mr Ahmedinejad to be elected President, in this sensitive time, all matters have been organised in such a way that the results of the election will be in line with the revolution and the Islamic system. The following result will be declared to the people and all planning should be put in force to prevent any possible action from the opposition, and all party leaders and election candidates are under intense surveillance. Therefore, for your information only, I am telling you the actual results as follows:

Mirhossein Mousavi: 19,075,623

Mehdi Karroubi: 13,387,104

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 5,698,417

Mohsen Rezai: 38,716

(signed on behalf of the minister)

Eric Clapton. Phil Collins. Let It Rain. Epic.

2009-06-18T10:52:00.001-04:00

for the rainy day(s):

So Sammy Sosa Was A Juicer

2009-06-17T11:49:00.004-04:00

duh. but no one seems to be talking about the corked bat incident. so not only was sosa juicing, but he was also using a corked bat! wtf! it begs the question: how many other MLB players were using corked bats in the late '90s?

its really a shame. i remember where i was during the home run chase of 1998. i remember where i was when big mac hit #61 and #62. that home run chase saved baseball from the strike of '94.

Weird Al Can Still Rock

2009-06-16T12:27:00.003-04:00

when historians sit down to write about rock and roll in the latter part of the 20th century, they would be remiss if one of the most enduring artists of the era was left out of the mix: weird al. weird al has been rocking in his weird al style for over 20 years at this point and he still hasn't lost a beat. here is his latest. its about craigslist and is a homage to the doors:

20 Years Ago This Year

2009-06-16T11:32:00.002-04:00

the movie "major league" came out 20 years ago this year, and to acknowledge this moment in cinema history, last night the cleveland indians invited bob uecker to throw out the first pitch. uecker, the long tine milwaukee broadcaster, was a central character in the movie playing harry doyle the fictional indians broadcaster. it was harry doyle that gave this blog its namesake.

unfortunately, the online landscape has changed in the time that this blog has been published, so i am unable to find a video clip of the famous call but all fans of the movie know what i am talking about.

Who is Afraid of a Little Old Mouse?

2009-06-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

JB2

2009-06-05T14:35:00.002-04:00

not as good as JB1, but still a good time. the weather is sure gonna be shitty tonight, which will either make for one hell of a show or one hell of a show!

i saw someone else comment on this over at mr. miner's page, but yes, i thought i heard a "jumpin' jack flash" jam in the middle of drowned. that would have taken the roof off the place (if there were a roof a JB).

JB1

2009-06-03T12:56:00.003-04:00

jones beach really is a beautiful venue. situated right on the beach, it provides a wonderful setting to see a concert in. i also liked the setup with the grandstand rising in front of the stage instead of the traditional shed/hill setup of most outdoor amphitehaters. the increased elevation of the grandstand makes for a more intimate show.

the show itself was, IMO, MUCH better than fenway. the sound was certainly better and i was much closer to the action, which i think had a large part to do with it. but the music...the music was phenominal. a stand-alone, first set timber? are you kidding me? a cities (for the dude on the train who was singing it). reba. i thought possum would end the set...then i thought farmhouse would end it...but apparently, if i could was the closer! as great as it was to get if i could, i think they kinda lost the impact of the song, placing it where they did. the set was over, for all intents and purposes. if i could would have been much better placed before possum or somewhere else in the set where it could have fit the flow better, but whatever. im not complaining. i also wished they had done the more powerful "if i could i would" ending.

second set was great too. i thought the segue from wolfman>weekapaug was a little weird. for a moment i thought fishman was trying to get brother started, but it was weekapaug. harry was great. really went out there for a bit in the middle. the entire crowd actually stopped dancing and sat (stood) transfixed looking at the stage. it was a pretty cool moment. i would also have to say that fishman was really setting some great beats throughout the show. he created some really great grooves.

the two new songs were great. both have a great & approachable rock and roll vibe. and, as like some others have written, there is a new, more jerry-ish sound to some of these songs and trey's tone at points. my one criticism would be that the kill devil falls jam was a little too much like birds, and by that i mean the kill devil falls jam sounded EXACTLY like a birds jam. hopefully that will get worked out.

another thing about jones beach: best bathrooms ever. as great as the show was, the bathrooms were better. wide. clean. TONS of stalls. very well designed. really exceptional!

My Boston Weekend

2009-06-01T17:05:00.003-04:00

it was very nice to head to boston to see my friends and phriends. hanging out with jon, laura, thea, jess, doug, and all the related company in the beautiful weather was a nice treat. having an old-school bbq was a nice treat. walking around the city was a nice treat. and going to fenway was a nice treat.

going to fenway to see phish was also a nice treat. seeing phish at fenway was the confluence of two of my favorite things: phish and baseball. there was a huge baseball vibe going through the park on sunday night, because, duh, we were in fenway! but we weren't there to see a baseball game, we were there to see phish, but boston being boston there was more red sox gear to be seen than heady tye-dye. significant phillies gear too, as was the case in hampton. so the baseball theme was strong. just sitting in the seats of fenway sends the feeling of baseball up your ass (in a good way). oddly enough, the most prominent feature of fenway, the green monster, was not to be felt at all because the stage was placed in front of it. fenway is just so special. as is phish.

its interesting seeing phish these days. the crowd is different. the music is still great. super high-energy. in enjoyed the first set. it was a nice way to get things started. sample was a safe opener. moma was a way to get some dancing going. the new song, oscelot, was interesting. need to hear it a few more times. stash was great to get started, but as with some of the other songs the ending felt a bit contrived (see: bowie, david). poor heart was a great highlight. one of things that makes phish phish and not some second-rate "jamband". no other band can drop styles like that, from funk to psychedelic to hippy-dippy to sweet bluegrass. that is classic phish. the other highlight of the first set was OBVIOUSLY destiny unbound. so far i've seen both post-'91 destinies. very few people knew what it was. it was an interesting juxtaposition: for the most part the crowd knew all the songs, with the exception of the new songs when all the newbies would sit and us old heads would stand and listen, but it was obvious that no one knew the song, whereas for destiny 95% of the crowd had no idea what it was so assumed it was a new song but the other 5% knew how rare destiny is and went nuts. it was fun being in that 5%.

the second set had some great parts to it, but went astray in some others. as i called at setbreak the second set would open up with a new song or something awesome, and with tweezer we got something awesome. but i thought the jam drifted. i did, however, like the new song "light". it had a more of an indie-rock feel to it than your typical phish song, and it sounded good. bathtub was great. i like the bathtub jam, very straightforward and felt right. i was psyched for bowie. i picked up on the high-hat and had to play the "bowie or maze" game. short intro. the bowie jam was great, as always, but i felt the end didn't work right. i can't quite figure it out, but they jumped the gun somehow on the end. came in too soon and rushed it so the end release wasn't as good as it could have been. time turns elastic is kinda sucky. the sections don't make much sense together and the song doesn't go anywhere. the older compositions had disparate sections too, but the songs actually went somewhere. TTE is just a jumbled mess of sections with no real big finish. but oh, well. from free to the end of the show was dy-no-mite! free was well played rock, but the real, real, real highlight treat was curtis loew. hasn't been played since 8/2/93 (no, i did not know that at the show but i knew that it hadn't been played in a long, long time). such a sweet tune and such a great treat. i told the dude next to me that after curits they were going to play either YEM or hood. YEM it was. dude was impressed. and the sweet, sweet encore. dude was again impressed that i knew the tweeprise was coming. people always forget the tweeprise, but it is the greatest way to close out a show. love the tweeprise.

so it was good. phish is back. summer tour is on.

Peavy

2009-05-28T11:44:00.000-04:00

i don't care what the cost. get him. get him now.

Today We Decide the BIG Issues

2009-05-26T19:25:00.004-04:00

here on just a bit outside we deal with the tough issues: phish, phillies, and the occasional snarky comment at failblog.

but today, i would like to weigh in on sonua sotomayor's nomination to the supreme court. everyone knows why this is so important. we are about to grant a lifetime appointment to someone on the supreme court, and from what i can tell from the media, this person is either supposed to be either a strict constructionist or a pro-choicer or empathizer-in-chief or something like that. but i want to talk about when her decisions effect something that matters, and by that, i mean sports of course :)

apparently, judge soto (sotomayor is a horrible name to type) has decided on two crucial sports related cases: the 1994 MLB strike and the maurice clarett deal. i don't care that much about clarett and i don't remember how i felt about it (i think i was with clarett), but she sided against clarett. so thumbs down on that.

but, bigger and more importantly, she decided on the 1994 MLB players strike. i was 14 in '94 and i remember being crushed by the strike and i think the general public was against the players for being greedy and canceling the world series. so i guess i was too. but, if you think about it, we (the public) had no idea how much the owners were making. and historically MLB owners have been HORRENDOUS to the players in the league with the reserve clause and all. so, i don't really know how i feel now. i guess today, without looking into the issue further, i would side with the players.

as did judge soto. her decision effectively ended the strike. ESPN has a good write up.

so soto, in the coveted endorsement of just a bit outside, you have it.

Time Turns Elastic (first listen)

2009-05-26T17:38:00.003-04:00

i will say one thing. the song has ENERGY! thats a good thing. its a bit more round room-y than it is old-school epic, but its a good way to make a statement that the phish from vermont is back.

fenway is a few days away. whoo-daddy!

Second Letter to the Inquirer

2009-05-17T10:03:00.001-04:00

written in response to harold jackson's column this morning.

Oh, OK then. If being "pleasant" is all I need to do these days to get a job at a newspaper, I would like to submit my application for employment. I am a very pleasant individual. This probably bodes well for the future of the industry if all you have to do is be "pleasant" in order to write a column, no matter what your past transgressions are.

In case you need this spelled out for you a little more, those crazy Internet readers such as myself, do not protest to Yoo on ideological grounds. We protest his presence at the Inquirer because, as you wrote yourself in today's column, he was the author of the "torture memos". Let me say that again....he was the author of the "torture memos". He provided legal justification for people to be tortured. Even to say the words "torture memos" does not sit right with me. The fact that we are even having a debate over "torture memos" is something that I never thought we would do in the United States. It makes me sick. You also claim that Yoo's presence at the paper "has not changed our Editorial Board's opinion that torture can never be justified." Really? So to acknowledge this point is OK, but giving a forum to the author of the torture memos doesn't in any way mean that you think Yoo should be rewarded for his complicity in providing legal justification for an act that you believe should never be justified? How on earth does that make sense?

Your complete ignorance on this subject is quite appaling. You seem to want to confuse the issue in your column. Yoo started writing for the Inquirer in 2005, before the presence of the "torture memos" was known. Once those documents were released with Yoo's name all over them, you still thought he would be a good representative for the Inquirer. In a day in age when people are losing their jobs left and right because of issues that are no fault of their own, I'm glad that the man who made one of the worst legal blunders in history still got to keep his job. That is what this is all about. It's not the fault of some blogger (I must say thank you to Will Bunch...here is a guy you can actually learn something from in how newspapers can operate in the digital age) but the fault of the Inquirer to reward someone for committing actions that are against the very moral fiber of this country. Your arrogance in the face of the facts is truly unnerving.

I would also recommend you pick up a copy of Hannah Arendt's "The Banality of Evil". Even people who are "very pleasant" can sometimes do things that are morally indefensible and their pleasantness should not be a way to get let off the hook. John Yoo has no place at the Inquirer. If you are looking for a local to provide commentary on topical legal issues, pick up a yearbook for any area high school. I'm sure there are a number of people out of any class who went on to law school. And I am sure that quite a few of them might be able to provide interesting legal commentary to the paper. And I am positive that you chose the ONLY ONE with a background in justifying torture. Good work. If this speaks to how the Inquirer does its research and reporting then I am sure that the fate of the paper is nothing to worry about.

Friday May 15, 2009. 9 AM. BAM.

2009-05-14T18:17:00.001-04:00

How Effing Clutch is CHOOCH?

2009-05-14T18:07:00.005-04:00

sure, his career average is somewhere just north of the mendoza line, but this guy hits in the clutch fo'sho!

i remember him having a few clutch hits towards the end of last season.

and he was AMAZING in the world series. he hit .375. he was stellar behind the plate with the way he managed games. and he had the winning hit in game 3, a game i had the honor to attend. as sports illustrated said about his postseason performance:

After a fine rookie season in which he hit .259 with 54 RBIs, Ruiz struggled this year, finishing at .219 and driving in just 31 runs. In the World Series, though, his .375 batting average trailed only Werth's; his 11 total bases trailed only Werth and Howard; and his Game 3 performance, in which he homered in the bottom of the second to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead, and then hit the bottom of the ninth, bases-loaded infield single that won the game at 1:47 a.m., turned the Series in Philadelphia's favor for good.

and today, his clutch hit in the bottom of the 9th sent the game into extra innings. sure, the phillies didn't win, but his clutch hitting put them in a position to win the game.

he was my vote for world series MVP. dude is clutch.

Sarah Palin STILL Does Not Understand What the First Amendment Means

2009-05-14T11:36:00.004-04:00

since i didn't blog during election season, please consider this my make-up post for all the sarah palin bashing i missed. this is her latest statement regarding the whole miss california broo-ha-ha, which i admitedly have not been following all that much because i really don't give two shits what a contestant for miss california, or any beauty pagent contestant (with the notable exception of that miss teen USA south carolina a few years back) thinks about anything, let alone gay marriage:

"The liberal onslaught of malicious attacks against Carrie Prejean for expressing her opinion is despicable. Carrie and I spoke soon after the attacks started; I can relate as a liberal target myself. What I find so remarkable is that these politically-motivated attacks fail to show that what Carrie and I believe is also what President Obama and Secretary Clinton believe - marriage is between a man and a woman. I applaud Donald Trump for standing with Carrie during this time. And I respect Carrie for standing strong and staying true to herself, and for not letting those who disagree with her deny her protection under the nation's First Amendment Rights. Our Constitution protects us all - not just those who agree with the far left."

-Governor Sarah Palin

oy. where to begin. for starters, let me say that i think it is wrong for pagent judges to punish someone for their personal views. she was asked a question about gay marriage and she answered truthfully. there is nothing wrong with that. i don't really know how these things are judged, but it would seem to me that the context of a statement is not the criteria under which it should be judged.

now on with the palin bashing. its amazing that this woman was a heartbeat of a heartbeat from being a heartbeat away from the presidency. she clearly has no idea what the first amendment means. to help her out, allow me to reprint the text of the first amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." i would like to invite the erstwhile governor of the great state of alaska to please explain how miss california is being denied her first amendment rights to freedom of speech.

it seems to me that she got herself into hot water because of her first amendment protections, not in spite of it. the first amendment has to do with congress restricting the freedom of speech, not perez hilton. this is the twisted logic of the republican party these days. they clearly have absolutely NO IDEA what the constitution says or means. those parts about due process and protection against cruel and unusual punishment? optional. equal protection of the laws? for everyone but the gays. that part in the preamble that talks about providing for the general welfare? clearly not universal health care, but the part in the preamble about providing for the common defense? that part is all that matters.

this isn't the first time palin has used some weak-ass first amendment defense to shed some crocodile tears. even though i am loathe to help the republicans with anything, my advice to her before 2012 is this: please read the constitution at least once. it might help.

someone needs to buy these people a clue.

Day 1 of My Inquirer Free Lifestyle

2009-05-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

and the world continues to turn!

I Will No Longer Read the Philadelphia Inquirer

2009-05-12T12:08:00.004-04:00

update: cross posted at philebrity.

below is a letter i sent to the philadelphia inquirer this morning upon learning that they have hired john yoo, the chief architect of the bush-cheney torture policies, to write a monthly column for the paper.

I wanted to inform you that I will no longer be reading the Philadelphia Inquirer due to the paper's hiring of John Yoo to provide a monthly column.

It is unconscionable to me how the Inquirer could hire a columnist who was the architect for Bush & Cheney's torture policies. You are now giving a public forum to a man who swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, a document that has so much meaning to the city of Philadelphia, yet his body of work is one that is decidedly against the values and principles the Constitution stands for.

Let me be clear: this is not just about Yoo's right-wing ideology, although it is somewhat curious that the Inquirer's op-ed contributors are decidedly right-wing (Rick Santorum & Michael Smerconish come to mind) in a city that is one of the most liberal and Democratic in the nation (ever stop to think that maybe this is one of the contributing factors in the Inquirer's decline in readership?). This is about Yoo's role as a defender of torture. This is about Yoo's role as the architect of the previous administration's torture policy. This is about Yoo's complete disregard for human rights and the values of the United States of America. He SHOULD NOT be rewarded for his cowardice and poor judgment. The previous 8 years under Bush-Cheney are a black eye on this country and it pains me to see the architects of failure being so handsomely rewarded.

Because the Inquirer has shown a complete lack of judgment in this hiring, I hereby inform you that I will not read this newspaper until Yoo's employment is terminated. Fortunately for me we live in an age where Tiebout sorting for news on the Internet is as easy as 1-2-3, so I don't think I will miss the Inquirer much in my daily news consumption.

JUNGITE aut PERITE!

2009-05-12T10:23:00.006-04:00

i would like to take this opportunity to welcome the philadelphia union into the philadelphia sports family. the union is the name of the philly MLS franchise, and i think the team's owners did a fantastic job of picking the correct colors, look, and symbolic gestures to honor the city, the sport, and our history. see the below image for an explanation of the genesis of the team's name, colors, and crest.

even though the MLS sucks, i am still excited to have the union. soccer is a great sport to watch as anyone who has seen good soccer can attest (i saw a match in italy between as roma and lazio...that was a trip!). the mls still has a ways to go before it reaches the level of play that exists in europe, but i hope that the sport's continued growth in the US means that more talent will be playing on this side of the atlantic.

the only remaining question is why did it take so long for the MLS to add a philadelphia franchise? is the 4th largest television market in the country not good enough for the MLS? i guess they needed TWO franchises in LA before they put one in philly (on one hand, LA has a HUGE hispanic population...on the other hand LA sucks as a sports town)? and kansas city? i imagine they have a large hispanic population too, but there are more people that live in center city than probably live in the entire state of kansas! but i don't want to bash the MLS. i hope the league succeeds. now its time for the renowned philadelphia fanbase to show soccer hooligans how its done!

JUNGITE aut PERITE!

Is There Really a Brotherhood of Fans?

2009-05-09T16:22:00.003-04:00

to borrow a line from one of my favorite musicals, "how to succeed in business without really trying", is there really a brotherhood of fans?

one of my favorite activities since moving to new york has been to greet any phillies or philadephia sports fan i see on the street with a warm hello and smile. im not exactly sure why i started doing it...i think part of the reason was because there are so many stinking mets fans in the city and this was a way to show my companionship and brotherhood towards those of us who root for the good guys. it always makes me feel good to do this, and it always brings a smile to the face of the person i meet.

take today, for example. i was walking down the street wearing my phillies hat when i came upon a gentleman wearing a sixers hat. i gently touched the bill of my cap and gave a quick nod of my head as we passed and i saw the glimmer of recognition in his eye and a smile creep onto his face. a little while later i came across a dude wearing a phillies hat. i touched the bill of my cap and nodded. he smiled and did the same.

its a fun thing to do. it makes me smile, as it does the passer-by. its a fun game to play while living in enemy territory.

The Best Non-Jerry Jerry Solo Ever

2009-05-07T12:34:00.002-04:00

i wanted to post the video for eddie brickell & the new bohemian's classic "what i am", but, of course, her stupid record company has disabled the embedding of the youtube video, so you are going to have to take my word for it. the solo in this song really gets me. it sounds exactly like jerry circa '89 with a twinge of his fire on the mountain tone, combined with a little estimated prophet reggae vibe. its a great, classic song with a classic solo.

also, in music...i am sitting in think coffee on mercer street applying to jobs when the 10,000 maniacs song "like the weather" came on pandora. i haven't thought about this song in forever, but when i heard it, the first line hit me like a ton of bricks: "the color of the sky as far as i can see, is coal grey". does that not sum up the recent weather we have been having? it reminds me exactly of the first time i graduated college. that may it rained and rained and rained and all i wanted to do was sit outside at lindy's and drink beer and eat wildcatters. there is still one week to go before this graduation, so here's to hoping that the clouds clear.

below is the video for "like the weather". i never thought i would say this, but clearly natalie merchant is smarter than eddie brickell.

Take That, You Stupid Lion!

2009-05-06T12:28:00.002-04:00

oh man! those crazy afghanis. what will they think of next? btw, the headline is hilarious: "afghanistan's only pig quarantined in flu fear". this is up there with other muslim countries suspending the importation of pork products. that will certainly teach those mexicans a lesson! keep on reading the article to get to the part about the lion.

and since we talked about graph jam! earlier, i would like to post a graph about how i feel about swine flu:

can you guess what my (x,y) coordinates are?

More Television

2009-05-06T10:46:00.003-04:00

two TV shows to talk about today. of course, one is deadliest catch (natch) but the other is a first for the blog...how i met your mother (HIMYM).

some people have called HIMYM the "friends" of the aughts. while i don't necessarily agree with that (i never liked friends much), i do see some similarities. both are VERY contemporary. friends dealt with being in your late 20s-early 30s in the 1990s and HIMYM deals with the same age group in the 2000s. i particularly liked the contemporary-ness of this week's episode. the marshall sub-plot was basically one large graph jam! shout-out (graph jam! is part of the cheezburger network, which is home to one of my newest favorite websites, failblog. im sure i will write about failblog in the future). the marshall sub-plot was easily the funniest part of the episode.

but the real point of this post is to weigh in on whether or not we met the mother monday night (for those who don't know, HIMYM is a sitcom about how the main character, ted, met his children's mother. each episode starts with adult ted telling his kids this long and convoluted tale of how he met their mother and hilarity ensues. it is a mystery who the mother is, but its a great plot device to keep the story moving forward). i am going to go out on a limb here and assume that none of my reader(s) watch the show, so i am going to throw some spoilers out, so if you do watch the show and haven't seen monday's episode, stop reading.

at the end of monday's episode, after all the twists of fate that lead ted to stand on the corner under the yellow umbrella, we find out that it is stella who taps ted on the shoulder. the entire episode leads us to believe that at the end, we are going to meet the mother. however, after careful review and analysis, i DO NOT THINK that stella is the mother. there are a few hints and giveaways that led me to this conclusion. first of all, the ted-stella relationship sucked, and i think the producers know that. even if you like sarah chalke (of scrubs fame), you had to hate the ted-stella dynamic. the ted-stella relationship turned ted into what i hate the most about his character: a whiney, whimpy, post-modern, metrosexual, with "feelings". those character traits are most certainly un-funny. the show is at its best when ted is free to mess around with marshall, barney, robin, and lilly, not looking like a lost puppy hanging onto stella. second, they can't make stella the mother. the show needs the conflict & resolution of wondering who the mother is to sustain itself, and as far as i know, the show isn't planning on ending anytime soon. third, the wording of the episode never EXPLICITLY said "this is when i met your mother" or something of that nature. the narration leads you to believe that ted meets the mother on the corner, but the wording is crafted in such a way that there is enough wiggle room for it not to be the mother.

one more comment about HIMYM before i get onto the deadliest catch part of this post (sometimes these things get long, don't they?). the character of ted - i have always kinda been on the fence about ted. there are times when i cannot stand him (see stella, relationship with) and there are times when he is great. i have always thought that the producers of HIMYM wanted ted to be a modern john cusack-type character. the first season of HIMYM, ted is clearly a cusack wannabe. they kinda look the same. his character tries to be witty like cusack. ted is an architect - can you imagine any profession more suited for a cusack character than a misanthropic architect? i can't. however, when ted is in john cusack mode, he sucks. the show excels when ted is "just one of the guys", giving shit to marshall and barney. that is the ted i like. i hope there is more of that ted left.

so FINALLY, deadliest catch. some interesting developments:

i wonder how long matt has aboard the northwestern. last season he didn't get along with jake very well and this season matt looks like he is slipping a bit and jake is really trying to earn his share as a full deckhand.
charlie gaspar, the old hungarian dude aboard the new boat lisa marie, is AWESOME. i can't wait to get to know him better.
speaking of the lisa marie, man is that boat small!
i wonder how many boats used to be the size of the lisa marie. if you go back to the first season of deadliest catch it featured the last season of derby fishing for crab. derby fishing was a system where the season was open for a set amount of time and the boats could catch as much as they wanted in the alloted timeframe. however, that changed a few years back and the state of alaska instituted a quota system where a certain amount of crab could be caught each year. i don't know if its an overall quota or a per-boat quota, but my guess is that the bigger boats (cornelia marie, time bandit, northwestern) bought up other boats permits so they could increase the size of their catch. this led to a drastic reduction in the size of the king crab fleet, and i guess was a system that favored the bigger boats. how the lisa marie, a 75ft. boat can compete with the big boys (some are 150ft. +) is beyond me, but it will be very interesting watching how that boat fishes and comparing it to the others.

The Genius of Arlen Specter

2009-05-06T10:15:00.003-04:00

arlen specter's greatest gift has always been his knack for self-preservation. in fact, that is the hallmark of a great politician: someone who is like a chameleon and can change his color to meet the times. that is exactly what specter is doing right now except he is doing it for reasons you might not expect.

even though specter's instincts for survival are strong, another hallmark of a great politician is being able to make things happen without it seeming like they were the one pulling the strings. let me explain.

specter switched parties because he was going to lose to toomey in the primary which would guarantee that any democrat, whether it be allyson schwartz, patrick murphy, or joe sestak, would win the seat. once specter switched, the democratic establishment both inside pennsylvania and in washington, quickly jumped on the specter bandwagon in an attempt to clear the democratic field for him knowing that specter could beat toomey in a race in front of the general electorate of pennsylvania. at this point, it would seem like an open-and-shut case for specter: toomey wins the republican primary, specter the democratic and eventually specter would win in the fall of 2010. but this is where things start to go a little haywire and have led me to believe that there is more going on here than meets the eye...

one would expect that specter, having switched to the democratic party, would start to, well...act like a democrat! you would expect him to start embracing some of the democratic positions like health care, EFCA, and support for al franken over norm coleman, but specter being specter he has done none of this. because of these positions specter has riled up the democratic base of pennsylvania and has led to joe sestak to start openly talking about challenging specter in the democratic primary. at the same time there is now talk of tom ridge challenging pat toomey in the republican primary and early polls (taken with a grain of salt - ridge has near 100% name recognition in the state) show ridge beating toomey handily. so now we have a situation where there may be contested primaries on both sides: specter vs. sestak and ridge vs. toomey. this creates a situation that no one could have thought about just a week ago...that is no one could have thought about this except arlen specter!

think about how this might play out. ridge beats toomey. specter continues being a thorn in the side of the democrats and sestak beats specter. its now ridge vs. sestak. ridge wins, republicans keep the seat. we can also imagine a scenario where ridge beats toomey, but specter beats sestak. this is a win-win for specter: if he beats ridge (which i think is doubtful), he keeps the seat. if he loses to ridge, republicans keep the seat. the only way the dems hold this seat is if toomey somehow beats ridge in the primary, which is not impossible, but in my mind unlikely.

this is the genius of arlen specter. he has managed to pull the wool over everyones eyes. only i see the real truth!

And In Keeping With That Theme AGAIN!

2009-05-05T11:15:00.005-04:00

i guess i just can't get enough of these pseudo-reality/documentary shows about the outdoors. last night i watched a show on the national geographic channel called "cowboys of the sea". COTS is clearly nat geo's attempt at a deadliest catch ripoff show. the filming style is the same, as are some of the sound effects and storytelling devices the show's producers and directors use. the one difference between COTS and deadliest catch is that COTS features a different kind of fisherman every week, whereas deadliest catch just focuses on the bering sea crab boats.

i saw one previous episode of COTS about the herring (i think it was herring) runs in SE alaska outside valdez. it was very interesting to see how that fishery operates. last night's episode was about halibut and black cod (aka sable fish) fishing off the kenai. the show featured two boats: one was a modern boat equipped with automated fishing gear (baiting of the hooks, setting the lines, reeling in the lines, taking the fish off the hooks, etc..) and an on-board processor, and the other boat was a little more old-school where the crew had to bait and set the lines by hand, as well as taking the fish off the hooks when they came on board. the second boat did not have a processor on-board; they had to pack their fish in ice and deliver it to a processor on the mainland.

one of the interesting things about the show last night was a scene where they were talking to a crewman aboard the modern boat (the crewman looked suspiciously like matt bradley of the northwestern but had a different surname). he was commenting on the automated fishing process aboard the boat. he said something to the effect of how wonderful technology was that they have a machine that baits hooks, and that "who would have thought" there was someone sitting around inventing this technology for them. he couldn't get over the fact that someone would invent this machine.

i thought it was interesting that this guy could feel like that. people invent things all the time. what is that old saying? necessity is the mother of invention? why should fishing be any different? in fact, i thought about this very issue a while back and wrote about it here. if some jewish kid from philadelphia who won't even step foot on a boat in the ocean anymore (i get HORRIBLE sea sickness) has been thinking about this, then someone else closer to the situation certainly has as well.

And In Keeping With That Theme...

2009-05-04T11:13:00.003-04:00

...i would like to talk about my newest favorite show: mantracker! mantracker may be a greater show than deadliest catch and the office put together!

so here is the premise for the show: mantracker hunts people. mantracker, aka terry grant, is:

"is a full-blooded cowboy living in the wrong century. This Albertan has been a full time ranch cowboy for almost 25 years. An expert horseman and wilderness professional, hunting, guiding and tracking come second nature. Whether man or beast, he will track them down. His keen instincts, intense character, and specialized skills have made him a crucial member of the Foothills Search and Rescue Team. His reputation is always on the line and he doesn’t let up for a second. A steely-eyed cowboy with a killer, never-say-die attitude, Terry Grant is MANTRACKER."

each week mantracker has to hunt down and catch his "prey", two individuals who are dropped in the middle of the woods and have to cover approximately 25 miles in 30 hours to escape mantracker. the prey have a compass and a map and know the location of where they have to go, mantracker has nothing - just a local guide who knows the terrain (the location of the chase changes every week, but they are normally located in remote places like the yukon, british columbia, and northern ontario. mantracker is a canadian show, btw.) and horses to track them down. the prey get a 2km headstart as well. a flare goes off to signal the start of the chase, and mantracker's first objective is to find the flare site so he can start tracking!

this is where things get good. the prey, which can consist of two males, a male and a female, or two females, normally know each other, but in some cases don't. the prey have varying ranges of outdoor skills and fitness levels...sometimes this works to the prey's advantage, sometimes it doesn't. once the prey get started, it is all up to mantracker to find them, and this is where mantracker shines. you would not believe what this guy does to track his prey. he can spot a boot print in the dirt from 100 yards out. he can see stones that have been turned over from onto his horse and know that stone was overturned by a human footprint. he knows human behavior in the bush. its really amazing to see.

the best part about mantracker, however, is how truly freaked out about mantracker the prey get. the prey doesn't get to meet mantracker before the show starts, so when he tracks them down (as he always does), the prey get super spooked. its really awesome to watch. and mantracker is always there with a pithy statement aimed at getting under the prey's skin and throwing them off their game. mantracker is a man of few words, but when he does speak, he chooses them wisely. he has a great sense of humor.

the prey actually have a decent level of success in the show. i would say the prey have about a 1/3 chance of getting captured, 1/3 chance of running out of time (technically a loss), and a 1/3 chance of winning. it all depends on the group chemistry, the terrain (even though mantracker is on horseback and can go faster, there is some terrain the prey can traverse that mantracker can't), the weather, how crafty the prey are, and how good mantracker is on that particular hunt.

its a fascinating show. you should watch it. in new york, its on the science channel, but according to the mantracker website, its also on OLN. seriously, watch mantracker. you won't be disappointed.

Mountain Climbers vs. Bering Sea Fishermen

2009-04-29T14:45:00.005-04:00

as i have talked about many times before, i love the show "deadliest catch". it captures stories of men that no fiction can replicate. this season has started off with real life drama effecting the fleet: capt. phil can't go out for the season, capt. keith has health issues, capt. sig is getting older, and there is open competition for a spot on the time bandit which is causing some rifts to appear in the crew. on top of all that, last night's episode featured the story of the fishing boat katmai. the katmai sank in a storm and only 4 out of the 11 crew on board managed to survive.

the story of the survivors on the katmai was a harrowing one. the boat started taking on water in the middle of the night. recognizing the danger they were in, the captain ordered his crew into survival suits. all except one managed to get theirs on before the boat went under. soon after entering the water other troubles surfaced amidst 40ft. seas and howling winds: the crew was separated into two lifeboats, 6 in one and 4 in the other (no one from the 4 man boat survived); one crew member had a hole in the boot of his survival suit; one crew member had to remove his suit to fasten the canopy of the life raft; the raft was flipped by a wave causing the half-dressed crewman and the one with the hole on his boot to be tossed far from the raft and both perished. the remaining 4 held on for dear life and managed to survive the night and were rescued by the coast guard the next day.

survival stories like this always fascinate me (see this post on previous stories of heroism on deadliest catch). while watching last night's episode i started to think about survival stories of the fisherman and how they compared to stories of mountain climbers who find themselves caught in survival situations. the keys to survival in both require the same skills: clear thinking, quick action, reliance on teamwork, and the will to survive. both take place under the most adverse conditions on earth. the fishermen have to stay alive fighting the ocean and the weather, the climbers fight the mountain, altitude, and weather. neither situation is one i want to find myself in, but i am still fascinated by these stories because they represent the true epitome of the human spirit and pit man against his most ancient enemy: nature.

i think this is one of the reasons i like going on mountain climbing adventures. even though i have never been in extreme conditions like a lot of the climbers i have read about on mountains like K2 and everest, but there is still an element of danger and imminent death while on the mountain. you can never turn your back on the mountain, no matter how easy the hill is, because once you disrespect mother nature, that is when she gets you. it is that thrill of living on the edge that i enjoy so much, i think. this is not to say i have a death wish or anything or that the climbs i have been on were extremely life threatenting, but there is always that possibility and even at extreme altitudes, it is something you always have to be aware of. mountain climbing is as much of a mental exercise as it is a physical one. i cannot tell you how many times on my way up rainier i wanted to quit because i thought i couldn't make it...but i could and i did. i had the mental toughness to push through to the top.

that bravery and courage is what the members of the katmai exhibited, as well as the members of the rest of the fleet. these guys are tough as nails and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. they all know the risks of the profession, just like mountain climbers do when they embark on a trek. i think this is one of the reasons i like that show so much and watch it with such rapt attention.

It's Been Such a Long Time

2009-04-24T12:53:00.003-04:00

the blog is back! there have been many events over the course of the past year and a half that made me think about blogging again: the phillies world series victory, the election of barack obama, and the return of phish, but none of them seemed to push the right buttons to get me back on the train to write until my lightning bolt of inspiration last night: that travis bickle is michael scott is leslie knope.

now, who are these people, you might ask? i'll tell you. travis bickle is the hero (anti-hero?) of martin scorsese's 1976 masterpiece "taxi driver". bickle is played by a young robert de niro and also stars cybill shepherd, albert brooks, a YOUNG jodie foster, and harvey keitel. the character of travis bickle is very complex. it's a story about a man who is completely clueless about the world around him. he can't seem to fit in with society, either because society in new york in the mid-'70s was out of control or because he has severe mental problems, most likely aspergers. in reality, its both, the decay of society in new york further alienated a man who already had trouble connecting with people. its really interesting to watch bickle as he tries over and over to understand people, human emotions, and verbal cues. he takes shepherd on a date to the movies, except they go to a porno, much to shepherd's dismay. travis' defense to his movie choice is "i don't know movies", which, understanding the character of bickle, is completely plausible. he didn't know which movie was socially appropriate to take her to, so he took her to what he knew and that was porn. bickle's further inability to connect and understand people further isolates him from a society that is spinning out of control and ultimately leads him down the dark path to the movie's finale.

michael scott, steve carell from "the office", and leslie knope, amy poehler from "parks and recreation", also suffer from this derangement that bickle does, albeit to a different extent (i couldn't see michael ever wanting to assassinate a presidential candidate!). neither of them understand how society works, pick up on verbal, physical, or emotional cues, and generally have a tough time acting like normal people. but that is not all they share with bickle...

admittedly, had taxi driver not been on TV wednesday night, i never would have made this connection, so i guess i have that horrible kate ascher project to thank for this (man, did that thing suck! i have never gotten something more wrong in my life!). one of the most curious things about bickle is his diet, which consists mostly of sugar and brandy. when he and shepherd get coffee on their first date, he orders a slice of pie with melted cheese on top (in his words, a "perfectly sensible choice). later on in the movie we see him making a breakfast consisting of sugar, milk, and brandy (had it been allen's coffee brandy that would have been perfect). pretty gross, right?

well, in addition to sharing bickle's aspergers, they also share his fondness for sugary foods. in last night's "parks & recreation", knope is seen twice eating waffles with whipped cream, and in last night's "the office", michael, in response to pam's request for some coffee, hands her a thermos and says "sugar & milk". pam accepts, thinking that its coffee with sugar and milk, but nope, its just sugar and milk! michael then goes on to say he drinks this every morning. yum.

so what am i trying to say here? that michael and leslie are going to team up and attempt to assasinate senator palantine? that they are going to go all urban commando and rescue jodie foster from the hands of harvey keitel, the pimp? well, no, but there are some eerie similarities here, both about the characters' mental faculties and their taste for sugary foods. i wonder if the producers/directors of both "the office" and "parks and recreation" were aware of this. it seems like too much of a coincidence to me for it to be random. i am also surprised that no one on these here internets has made the connection between michael and bickle (leslie knope has only been around for a month, so it will take some more time to get to know her), and as they say around these parts: FIRST!

travis bickle:michael scott: leslie knope::sugar&brandy:sugar&milk:waffles & whipped cream

2009-04-24T00:40:00.003-04:00

FIRST!

as far as i can tell, i am the first person on the Internet with this idea.

had taxi driver not been on TV last night, i never would have made this connection.

ill explain more...

How Awkward Was It For Joe Buck

2007-10-26T11:11:00.001-04:00

to read promos for the chevy malibu during last night's game?

In Appreciation Of The Phillie Phanatic

2007-10-25T23:23:00.000-04:00

i am torn about this world series. on one hand, i DO NOT want to see the red sox win because i am sick (read: jealous) of boston and their sports success, but on the other hand, its not the red sox themselves that i hate, its the bostonians i have ire for. i also want to see BOTH the rockies AND their fans suffer as much as possible, so this puts me in a baseball conundrum: who do i root for? i should also add that as much as i hate red sox, and boston fans for that matter, i know that they are good fans...some of the best sports fans in the whole country, and i respect them for that. now i am really confused!

this summer i saw my fist baseball game at fenway park. for any baseball fan, visiting fenway park is like visiting a holy shrine. it was amazing to have seen a game there. it was an eye opening experience, not only into how baseball is played at fenway, but it was a new window into the pathology of the red sox fan. you people are nuts!!! but you are good sports fans, i gotta give you that.

seeing a game at fenway is like seeing a game nowhere else. seeing games at CBP is great. phillies fans are good baseball fans, but we aren't anywhere on the level of a game at fenway. sure, we are unique and have our own philly style which totally rocks and i wouldn't trade it for anything, but boston fans at a game in fenway are like nothing else. BUT, the one thing where we totally kick their ass is:

THE PHILLIE PHANATIC.

the phanatic rules. he is the best. no one can beat him. hell, no one can even touch him. the phillie phanatic is in a league all to his own. and he is ours! no one else may understand him, but we do. the phanatic is our fenway park. he is the totally unique thing you get when you see a philies game. that can't be manufactured (well, granted he is a mascot who was manufactured, but you know what i mean). you can't manufacture fenway and you can't manufacture the phanatic.

my thoughts turned to the phanatic this evening during the world series. somewhere around the 6th or 7th inning, fox cut to the crowd and there was some green blob (i am assuming he was some sort of "green monster") with his hand on some dude's shoulder trying to pump the crowd up. the only problem was, this dude had a look on his face that said "what is this...thing...and what is it doing with its hand on my shoulder?" when i saw that i thought to myself, "what, is this guy nuts? if the phanatic had his hand on MY shoulder at a pivotal part of a world series game, i would be going ape-shit! that would be the greatest honor one could bestow on me in CBP!" this is how much i love the phanatic: i want him at my funeral. i feel we are cut of the same mold, me and the phanatic. we share the same sense of humor me and him. i feel he is my intellectual equal :)

now, this MAY be because i had a phanatic growth chart in my room growing up, or it could just be a coincidence. you decide.

If You Have 30 Minutes Or So To Spare...

2007-10-19T11:30:00.001-04:00

...check out the dark star from 8/27/72. there is something about the way this is filmed...i can't quite put my finger on what it is...but the music and the setting and the cinematography all seem to mesh into one. as one youtube commenter put it, "WOW! This is so tranquilo! It is in itself mood altering and the setting and nature are in harmony with the music".

I Thought You Would Be Stronger Than That, New York

2007-10-14T18:17:00.001-04:00

so this weekend was the first cool, crisp weekend of fall. i like fall. i find the change in the weather energizing. i like being outside whent here is a little chill to the air. new york, however, does not seem to share my enthusiasm for cooler temperatures.

i was shocked to see some of the outfits i saw this weekend. down coats. ugg (ug!) boots. scarves. gloves. hats (well, i will let the hats slide. i wore wool hat this weekend, but with good reason. i have no hair and my head gets really, really cold. but a wool hat was all i needed. on saturday i went out in a t-shirt, blazer, and wool hat and was plenty warm. yes, i was wearing pants and shoes too.). my point is, if people act like it is overly cold now, when its not, how are they going to act when it actually gets cold? you need to prepare yourself people. cold is a state of mind. enjoy it.

i was also disappointed with the amount of people on the streets this weekend. again, it really wans't that cold. thea was sticking with he hibernation theory, which could explain it. i hope it was just an adjustment weekend. i hope that if it is a little chilly next weekend, people won't overreact, go out, and just take the season in stride. i hope.

i expect this kind of behavior from people in dc. i thought you were tougher than that, new york. maybe this city has lost its edge...

"The Wire" Is Back

2007-10-12T14:32:00.000-04:00

HBO recently decided to add "the wire" to its list of shows being shown OnDemand as a way to lead up to its final season, season 5.

anyone who knows me in the slightest should be aware to the degree of admiration i hold for "the wire". i don't just think its the best show on TV, i think it is the best show on TV ever. no other show has even come close. "the sopranos" wishes it could be the wire.

"the wire also seems to have a strange effect on people. i recently read a comment on a blog that said:

The Wire is paradigmatic of a critical darling – few people watch it (at least in the numbers typical of commercial television), but it generates adoration and evangelism by nearly all who do. Television critics have taken it upon themselves to lobby their readers to give the show a chance, asking reluctant viewers to overlook its dark and cynical worldview to see the truth and beauty offered by its searing vision into the bleak heart of the American city. Thankfully for us scattered fans, HBO has allowed the show to continue for five seasons, even without a clear sense that the show’s dedicated fandom leads to overt profitability.

this statement couldn't be more true about "the wire". hardly anyone watches it, yet all who do come in contact with it are deeply effected to the point where we feel the need to evangelize about it to everyone we know. even bill simmons got into the act. he said:

Within 10 minutes, we were hooked. We ended up banging out three episodes the first night and another three the second night. Then our cable system switched to a new provider ... and all the Season 1 episodes disappeared into thin air. Now we were scrambling. None of the video stores around us had Season 1 in stock. I ended up ordering Season 1 online (two-day delivery courtesy of Amazon Prime), but we were so hooked on the show that when someone returned Season 1 to our video store, we rented the last three discs that same night. We banged out the last seven episodes in two nights before the DVD was even delivered. That's how hooked we were.

thats how i was when i discovered "the wire". i couldn't stop watching. and now that it is back OnDemand, i have started watching again, but this time in preparation for season 5. i want to watch it all again.

i watched season 1, episodes 1 & 2 again this week. from the moment we meet mcnulty in the opening scene talking about why boogie-snot was killed you are instantly drawn into the complex world of the bal'more city po-lice, the corner boys, and the game. it is attention to detail that makes "the wire" so spectacular. you notice things like each individual character's cadence and accent, the way they dress, how they act, what their job/role in society is, their moral shortcomings, and their strengths. you meet some truly interesting folk along the way, each character, no matter how small or large of a role they play is infinately complex. names like mcnulty, rawls, bubbles, avon, stringer, omar, kima, bodie, poot, wee-bay, daniels, and herc start to sound like family names. you don't even meet some of the main characters until halfway through sometimes. marlo doesn't come around until season 3. same for bunny colvin and carcetti. omar hasn't shown up yet through 2 episodes of season 1.

there is simply no way to describe the wire, its something you not only have to see, but to experience for yourself. fortunately, HBO is making this all possible. now through the end of the year you can catch up on seasons 1-4 before season 5 debuts. season 1 is showing now through the end of october. take a watch and tell me if you aren't hooked.

Is It Possible For One Man To Be This Wrong?

2007-10-04T14:14:00.001-04:00

"I made my arguments and went down in flames. History will prove me right." -- Texas Rangers owner George W. Bush after voting against realignment and a new wild-card system during a Major League Baseball owners meeting in September 1993. Bush was the lone dissenter in a 27-1 vote (from espn.com).

seriously. this is where both al gore and john kerry missed the boat. had either of them run an ad attacking bush for this moronic statement, he would have lost in a landslide, which again raises the point, has bush ever been right about anything? lets not forget he is the guy who traded sammy sosa too.

what a moron.

The Good News?

2007-10-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

i don't think the past, present and future MVP's (howard, rollins, and utley) will go a combined 0-11 with 8 strikeouts again.

ATTN: Phillies Fans Living In New York

2007-09-30T20:37:00.000-04:00

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!

This Is A Poetic Day For Philadelphia Sports

2007-09-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

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!

Now Its In Their Heads

2007-09-20T23:11:00.000-04:00

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.

If I Didn't Have Bad Luck...

2007-09-20T14:09:00.000-04:00

...i'd have no luck at all!

or in the case of this guy, dumb luck.

Atlas Shrugged

2007-09-16T13:32:00.000-04:00

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".

Its Been A While Since I Been Around These Parts

2007-09-16T13:29:00.000-04:00

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.

Just In Case You Are A Visual Learner

2007-08-30T15:14:00.001-04:00

here is a reenactment of the larry craig incident, courtesy of slate.

Just When I Thought I Was Out They Pull Me Back In

2007-08-29T10:03:00.001-04:00

after the phillies crapped the bed against the padres last week, i was ready to call it quits. they looked done. their pitching, for lack of a better word, sucked. cole hammels was on the DL. chase utley and shane victorino were still on the DL. ryan howard was slumping. it just seemed like their goose was cooked. they had a golden opportunity to gain ground on the wild card leading padres and let it slip through their fingers. they were headed in the wrong direction with a 4 game series against the mets looming ahead of them. then...

...utley returns. howard hits. victorino is back. hamels feels good. even adam eaton pitched well! they won the last game of the padres series then rode that momentum to take the first two from the mets. they are only 4 out of the division. the team is feeling good.

i hate to admit it, but i was about to jump ship. with all the emotional energy i have invested in this team, it was a hard choice, but it seemed like the rational choice. i don't know how i would have dealt with another september of "almost". but, you know what, this team does have a chance now. they are fighting. they have overcome adversity. they have what it takes. utley is back. jimmy is still leading by example. ryan howard is willing them to victory. cole is on the hill. the pieces are there.

LETS GO PHILLIES!!!

I Shouldn't, But I Can't Resist

2007-08-28T11:38:00.000-04:00

i do honestly feel bad for this girl. but, on the other hand, when someone says something this stupid and incoherent, i can't help but pile on.

i should also mention that mario lopez is now officially the greatest actor in the world. you can see that he wants to laugh, but somehow manages to hold it in. i don't have that kind of self control.

The Bubble Guy At Broadway And Spring

2007-08-24T13:23:00.000-04:00

at the intersection of broadway and spring streets stands the wonder bubble gun salesman. his craft is not extraordinary by new york standards, but few can match his unbridled enthusiasm for his job, and the joy he brings to countless peoples lives can never be measured.

he always makes me smile, even if i am stuck inside my own thoughts. he creates a sense of wonder, mystery, and magic on his corner. bubbles are everywhere. it makes his corner special: this is the corner where the bubbles are. it breaks up the monotony and the hustle-and-bustle of the street. for a brief moment you are allowed to join in enjoy the excitement the bubbles create.

it makes me happy. it should make you happy too.

This Is Just Humorous

2007-08-23T12:22:00.000-04:00

Scoring Summary			TEX	BAL
	1st	C Patterson singled to right, B Roberts scored, C Patterson to second on throwing error by right fielder N Cruz.	0	1
	3rd	N Markakis hit a ground rule double to deep left center, B Roberts scored.	0	2
	3rd	M Tejada singled to right, N Markakis scored, M Tejada to second advancing on throw.	0	3
	4th	J Saltalamacchia singled to center, M Byrd and J Botts scored, D Murphy to second.	2	3
	4th	R Vazquez homered to right, D Murphy and J Saltalamacchia scored.	5	3
	6th	J Saltalamacchia homered to left center.	6	3
	6th	M Byrd homered to left, F Catalanotto, I Kinsler and M Young scored.	10	3
	6th	J Saltalamacchia singled to left, N Cruz scored, D Murphy to second.	11	3
	6th	R Vazquez singled to left center, D Murphy scored, J Saltalamacchia to second.	12	3
	6th	F Catalanotto singled to left, J Saltalamacchia scored, R Vazquez to second.	13	3
	6th	I Kinsler singled to center, R Vazquez scored, F Catalanotto to third.	14	3
	8th	F Catalanotto singled to right, D Murphy scored, J Saltalamacchia to third, R Vazquez to second.	15	3
	8th	I Kinsler singled to left, J Saltalamacchia scored, R Vazquez to third, F Catalanotto to second.	16	3
	8th	T Metcalf homered to left, R Vazquez, F Catalanotto and I Kinsler scored.	20	3
	8th	D Murphy singled to right, M Byrd scored, N Cruz to third.	21	3
	8th	J Saltalamacchia homered to right center, N Cruz and D Murphy scored.	24	3
	9th	J Botts doubled to deep right, I Kinsler and T Metcalf scored, M Byrd to third.	26	3
	9th	D Murphy reached on infield single to second, M Byrd scored, J Botts to third.	27	3
	9th	R Vazquez homered to right, J Botts and D Murphy scored.	30	3

Mick And Keef And The Rest Of The Band

2007-08-22T23:48:00.000-04:00

as you may know, a year or so ago the rolling stones played a few shows at new york city's beacon theater, one of which commemorated president bill clinton's 60th birthday. the concerts were also filmed by the legendary martin scorsese (the last waltz) who has just released the trailer for his rock-doc on the stones, "shine a light". click the link then click on the virtual ticket and the trailer will start playing. its worth your while.

fortunately for the stones, this documentary turns out slightly better than "gimme shelter" which chronicled the stones' experience at altamont.

it makes me think of that night in hershey when i saw the stones. it couldn't have been more perfect.

Sigh Of Relief

2007-08-22T16:51:00.000-04:00

from the inky:

It's good news for Cole Hamels.

The Phillies' ace has no structural damage in his left elbow, after undergoing an MRI today. The ligament is fully intact.

The Phillies are calling it a "very mild" elbow strain and have placed him retroactively on the 15-day disabled list. Hamels said he believes he will miss just two starts and can be activated Sept. 1.

Fabio Castro will start Thursday afternoon against the Dodgers. The Phillies also activated Shane Victorino from the disabled list. He will bat sixth tonight and start in rightfield.

king cole is the one player the phillies absolutely cannot afford to lose right now. and welcome back shane, we missed ye.

I Have A Great Commute

2007-08-20T17:49:00.000-04:00

here is my morning commute:

-leave my building, walk a block and a half to the downtown 6 train
-take the 6 3 stops to bleecker
-exit subway at corner of lafayette and houston
-cross lafayette and enter puck
-go to to second floor, sit down at desk
-total transit time: 12 minutes

yes, you read that right, it takes me 12 minutes from the time i leave my house until the time i sit down at my desk. how sweet is that?