It seems to me that the political powers that be are giving Blogo the Gov too much power. By saying that they will not confirm any nominee of Gov. Blogojevitch no matter what, cross their hearts, hope to die, the Senate, Attorney General and whoever is allowing Rod to burn through a bunch of perfectly qualified candidates for no particular reason other than to avoid some appearance of impropriety. But the practical effect is that Blogo can now burn through thirty or forty candidates without breaking a sweat. Anyone from Jesse Jackson, Jr. to Richard Daley to whoever else... Gone, because God forbid we should let Blogojevitch pick a senator. It's pretty insane.
I mean, my firt thought was that if Rod Blogojevitch wanted to be a mean-spirited prick, he'd start nominated every qualified candidate he could find, just to burn them for the real process. Then I thought, "If?" Blogojevitch has definitely proven that he is kind of a mean-spirited prick. Today he announced one Roland Burris as his nomineee. Burris is someone I don't know a lot about other than he is a career politico who has a long track record of public service and failed attempts to run for office. My reaction: fine. He appears to be genuinely committed to public service. He has proven he cannot win the election to keep the seat, but he can probably do the job of senator well. And if they confirm him, it solves the problem. You don't have to worry about what to do with the senate seat. You no longer have the prospect of drawn out fight about who gets to pick. And most importantly, Burris appears to be about as qualified anyone else. Why just reject him because Blagojevitch picked him? He was Attorney General of Illinois for four years. He was state comptroller. He has, therefore, managed to serve in Illinois government for several years without getting indicted.
He strikes me, bluntly, as a trial balloon. He is not a sexy choice. He is politcally connected and qualified enough to be a reasonable choice on his own. I would not be surprised if Blagojevitch nominated him just to see if the senate and the attorney general were actually going jerk their knees into their jaws without considering his pick. I say they should take those bullets out of the gun. Unless there is some specific reason that Burris is actually, in fact, unqualified to be a Senator from Illinois, they should let him be the Senator from Illinois. He has repeatedly proven he cannot win a popular election, so you only have to worry for a couple more years, and then the people of Illinois can pcik someone.
And more important, as a Hoosier who gets Chicago news, I won't have to listen to news about it for several months.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio
Over the Christmas holidays, I have been examining the Phillies recent trading of stars such as Curt Schilling, Scott Rolen and Bobby Abreu. The unmitigated disaster of that group was Bobby Abreu who traded for four useless players a couple years back.. However, the Phillies just won the World Series, so what is the moratorium on whining about bad trades?
The Cubs have been whining about Lou Brock for forty years now. That's fine, I guess, but I wonder what if the Cubs had won a World Series? Lou Brock did win a couple World Series with the Cards, and did a great job doing it. But Brock also played the same position as Billy Williams, left field. Billy Williams was a heck of a ballplayer. I suppose they could have put Brock in center, but really, that would have a bit troublesome. I mean, when the Cardinals got rid of Curt Flood, they did not move Brock to Center. They put Jose Cardenal in Center. I don't see any special advantage to getting Lou Brock and Williams. They had to trade one of them. They traded him for a young starter who had won 18 and 20 games within the prior 5 years. And when he did not work out, they screwed the Phils out of Fergie Jenkins.
No,the reason Cubs fans still whine about the Brock is that Brock actually won a couple World Series with the Cards. In retrospect it was a lousy trade, but if the Cubs had actually won in 1969, I do not think they'd still be bringing it up.
The Phillies, in 2000, traded Curt Schilling for Vincente Padilla and Travis Lee and a couple others. They did okay, but they were only around for a couple years. In 2002 , Scott Rolen was traded for Placido Polanco, who was in turn traded to the Tigers where he has been exteemely valuable. They traded him for Ugueth urbina, who then went to prison, but the Phils should have gotten more anyway. Then a couple years back, they traded Abreu. I still can't believe how little they got for him, but the simple fact is this: when they got rid of Abreu, they started to contend.
Now they won the World Series. I suppose I have to stop whining about the bad trades, now, but I still think they should have gotten more for Abreu.
The Cubs have been whining about Lou Brock for forty years now. That's fine, I guess, but I wonder what if the Cubs had won a World Series? Lou Brock did win a couple World Series with the Cards, and did a great job doing it. But Brock also played the same position as Billy Williams, left field. Billy Williams was a heck of a ballplayer. I suppose they could have put Brock in center, but really, that would have a bit troublesome. I mean, when the Cardinals got rid of Curt Flood, they did not move Brock to Center. They put Jose Cardenal in Center. I don't see any special advantage to getting Lou Brock and Williams. They had to trade one of them. They traded him for a young starter who had won 18 and 20 games within the prior 5 years. And when he did not work out, they screwed the Phils out of Fergie Jenkins.
No,the reason Cubs fans still whine about the Brock is that Brock actually won a couple World Series with the Cards. In retrospect it was a lousy trade, but if the Cubs had actually won in 1969, I do not think they'd still be bringing it up.
The Phillies, in 2000, traded Curt Schilling for Vincente Padilla and Travis Lee and a couple others. They did okay, but they were only around for a couple years. In 2002 , Scott Rolen was traded for Placido Polanco, who was in turn traded to the Tigers where he has been exteemely valuable. They traded him for Ugueth urbina, who then went to prison, but the Phils should have gotten more anyway. Then a couple years back, they traded Abreu. I still can't believe how little they got for him, but the simple fact is this: when they got rid of Abreu, they started to contend.
Now they won the World Series. I suppose I have to stop whining about the bad trades, now, but I still think they should have gotten more for Abreu.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Ya Gotta Have Heaaaarrrrrtttttt......
The damn Yankees signed Mark Teixeira today. Some people take the attitude that the Yankees ability to get any player they want is unfair. I take the attitude that Sabathia, Burnett, A-Rod and Teixeira are all out of the national League, so the Phillies don't have to deal with them. I do not thbink it's going to work. Is Teixiera really that much better than Ortiz? The Rays players are all young. They'll improve. Sabathia is solid, but I do not think he scares anyone. His tear through the National League was against all bad teams. When he faced good teams, he lost. Teixeira came to Atlanta as a savior and was traded to the Angels as a savior and did not get either team anywhere. Burnett was a great pitcher last season, but his previou career high in wins was 12. In ten year. he did that twice. he also won 10 twice. Sabathia's career high is 19 wins. He won 17 last year. Another thing they both have in common besides never having won 20 is that last year they both had teammates won did: Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay. So Sabathia and Burnett are a good one two punch, but it's hard for me to see how they are ridiculously better than, say, Beckett, Dice-K and Lester.
Teixeira, A-Rod and whoever are an impressive line-up, but but they aren't god. I would rather have the Cubs line up.
Btw, the Cubs should really sign Abreu.
Teixeira, A-Rod and whoever are an impressive line-up, but but they aren't god. I would rather have the Cubs line up.
Btw, the Cubs should really sign Abreu.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Animal Man was in Justice league Europe
It's not all Grant Morrison's fault. I was thinking about Morrison' descent into self-parody while reading Grant Morrison' Doctor Who. These are reprints from Doctor Who Monthly, and they are really good. Morrison captures the spirit of Doctor Who perfectly, and Frobisher the penguin is still one of my favorite companions. Morrison used to be able to take characters and write effortlessly good comics which could be enjoyed on there own merits as comic book stories. Then something happened at DC. I mean, he did write other things with the tinge of weirdness, but when he got Animal Man and Doom Patrol, they seemed to be attempts just to be weird. And now when he writes something, it just seems to be off, somehow. I'm convinced, now, that when they hire Grant Morrison to write a comic book, they want the touch of weirdnes. But when I read the the Docotr Who strips, I am reminded of the old Grant Morrison who wrote a character that could participate in Justice League without anyone blinking.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Screw the Future, I'm Cold Now
Drew carey used to have the bit where he talked about global warming. I couldn't find it, but I did find his first Tonight Show gig. The Tonight Show actually ruined Albert Brooks' stand up act. He was apparently on the show so much that he wound up using all his material. Doug Tonks said the same thing happened to Bill Cosby with "Noah."
Richard Dreyfus would make a Good Adama
I finally managed to track down "The Education of Max Bickford." I really liked the show when it was on. It changed direction a couple times. For reasons beyond me, they added Jay Thomas in the middle of the show. They forgot the daughter thought she was pregnant in the pilot. They brought Peter O'Toole in for the penultimate episode. In between it wandered around pretty much aimlessly. I cannot figure out why I like the show. I suppose I do not technically need a reason. Never the less, I am watching the episodes again, and I still like the show.
One thing that bothers me is something that bothered in a couple other place. In the book, Hannibal, Thomas Harris makes Lector out to be a brilliant Dante scholar. The actual Dante scholarship in the book, however, the actual Dante stuff presented in the book kind of sucks. In comic books, characters are sometimes presented as superintelligent or brilliant in some area, but they are limited in what the author actually knows, so Kang the Conqueror knows nothing about military tactics. In Max Bickford, the main character has written a novel that purports to be some combination of Philip Roth, John Updike and James Joyce, but the actual snippets of content we hear in narration stink.
I do not have a good way to address this, and I am not sure it needs to be addressed, but you would think that if a main character is supposed to be brilliant at something, the writers would find someone who actually was, and make sure.
The tv show "Chef!" is an excellent take on a kitchen. Better than reality hows, because in a reality show the camera rolls and people are self conscious. In a scripted show based on reality, the actors have no reason to hide. Now, this obviously has problems. I can't expect "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to make sure it's history course are accurate in the classroom scenes, because the show is not about history. But if the fighting techniques look wrong, that is another thing entirely. Anyway, I still enjoy Max Bickford, and I have finally found it, and I am happy.
One thing that bothers me is something that bothered in a couple other place. In the book, Hannibal, Thomas Harris makes Lector out to be a brilliant Dante scholar. The actual Dante scholarship in the book, however, the actual Dante stuff presented in the book kind of sucks. In comic books, characters are sometimes presented as superintelligent or brilliant in some area, but they are limited in what the author actually knows, so Kang the Conqueror knows nothing about military tactics. In Max Bickford, the main character has written a novel that purports to be some combination of Philip Roth, John Updike and James Joyce, but the actual snippets of content we hear in narration stink.
I do not have a good way to address this, and I am not sure it needs to be addressed, but you would think that if a main character is supposed to be brilliant at something, the writers would find someone who actually was, and make sure.
The tv show "Chef!" is an excellent take on a kitchen. Better than reality hows, because in a reality show the camera rolls and people are self conscious. In a scripted show based on reality, the actors have no reason to hide. Now, this obviously has problems. I can't expect "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to make sure it's history course are accurate in the classroom scenes, because the show is not about history. But if the fighting techniques look wrong, that is another thing entirely. Anyway, I still enjoy Max Bickford, and I have finally found it, and I am happy.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Bring Out Your Dead
American hero, Mark Felt, has died. Was he responsible for a shift in American journalism? Or was that the journalists. It' impossible for us to remember today how much people trusted the government prior to Watergate. In the 1970's we had movies like "All the President's men" and "Serpico," which showed the corruption of our institutions. Mark Felt was at the FBI. I'm sure some people think he should have just tried to arrest the people involved in the coverup, but that would not have been possible back then.
Hal Holbrook is still alive. Mark Twain, still dead. We probably need to keep Holbrook from playing any living people...
Also passed is Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. She is best known for playing various roles on Star Trek shows, such as Nurse Chapel, the computer, Mrs. Troi and who knows what else.
Hal Holbrook is still alive. Mark Twain, still dead. We probably need to keep Holbrook from playing any living people...
Also passed is Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. She is best known for playing various roles on Star Trek shows, such as Nurse Chapel, the computer, Mrs. Troi and who knows what else.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Gutless Cowards and Fun Killers
The last couple seasons the Mets-Phillies rivalry has been heating up. I do not know that prior to 2007 that there actually was a Mets-Phillies rivalry. Before 2007, the Mets were the class of the National League, while the Phillies were sort of perennial also rans. After the Phillies brought up Ryan Howard to replace the injured Jim Thome in 2005, there was a bit of a shift. That offseason they traded Thome for Aaron Rowand. Then mid-year they got rid of Boobby Abreu, and suddenly, they made a run at the post-season. Ryan Howard won the MVP, and the Phils were second to the Mets. Tyhat off-season, Jimmy Rollins made the statement that the Phillies were the team to beat in NL East. He said this after the Phillies acquired Freddy Garcia for prospects, under the theory that the Phillies had acquired an ace.
Rollins' statement caused some mirth in the league, when the Phillies opened the year up as the team to beat -- they proved it by getting beaten by everyone. Garcia was horrible. Brett Myers the opening day starter was moved to the bullpen. Jon Lieber got hurt. Adam Eaton was horrid. So, by the mid-season, three of their opening day starters were gone. Then something strange happened. They started beating Mets in head-to-head matchup regular as clockwork. The Mets collapsed, but the Phillies also beat them.
Rollins went on to win the MVP himself that year, partially for backing up his pre-season prediction. Garcia was a washout, but the Phils did have an ace, in Cole Hamels, and Ryan Howard and Chase Utley both had monster years.They brought up Kyle Kendrick and traded for Kyle Lohse to help the rotation. Eaton still pitched, but you have o put someone out there. Brett Myers turned out to be a wonderful relief ace. The Phils made the post-season, but lost three straight to the Rockies.
That off-season, the Mets' made some predictions, and the Phillies responded. The Mets actually beat the Phillies in head-to-head competition, but then the Phillies led for most of the way. The Mets started losing again, and the Phillies won the division and then the World Series.
Then a couple weeks ago, a New York radio station asked Cole hamels if the Phillies think the Mets are choke artists. Hamels said "Yes." After the Mets signed a couple terrific bullpen artists, K-Rod, their new closer, aid that the Mets were the team to beat. The Mets-Phillies rivalry was starting to get really interesting.
And then this.
All I have to say is that New York Mets General manager Omar Minaya is a major buzzkill.
Rollins' statement caused some mirth in the league, when the Phillies opened the year up as the team to beat -- they proved it by getting beaten by everyone. Garcia was horrible. Brett Myers the opening day starter was moved to the bullpen. Jon Lieber got hurt. Adam Eaton was horrid. So, by the mid-season, three of their opening day starters were gone. Then something strange happened. They started beating Mets in head-to-head matchup regular as clockwork. The Mets collapsed, but the Phillies also beat them.
Rollins went on to win the MVP himself that year, partially for backing up his pre-season prediction. Garcia was a washout, but the Phils did have an ace, in Cole Hamels, and Ryan Howard and Chase Utley both had monster years.They brought up Kyle Kendrick and traded for Kyle Lohse to help the rotation. Eaton still pitched, but you have o put someone out there. Brett Myers turned out to be a wonderful relief ace. The Phils made the post-season, but lost three straight to the Rockies.
That off-season, the Mets' made some predictions, and the Phillies responded. The Mets actually beat the Phillies in head-to-head competition, but then the Phillies led for most of the way. The Mets started losing again, and the Phillies won the division and then the World Series.
Then a couple weeks ago, a New York radio station asked Cole hamels if the Phillies think the Mets are choke artists. Hamels said "Yes." After the Mets signed a couple terrific bullpen artists, K-Rod, their new closer, aid that the Mets were the team to beat. The Mets-Phillies rivalry was starting to get really interesting.
And then this.
All I have to say is that New York Mets General manager Omar Minaya is a major buzzkill.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Pixar's Magic Movies
I have to say, I wasn't that impressed by "Wall-E." I have enjoyed every Pixar movie I have seen, and I guess I liked "Wall-E" okay. But I do not see it as a particularly brilliant film, and I do not see that it achieved anything that hadn't been done before in other Pixar movies. The machine love story? "Cars." Humans interacting with strange creatures? "Monsters, Inc." Bumpkins dealing with sophisticates from the outside? "A Bug's Life." And "Cars." I like the Pixar animation, but it's no longer o far beyond the other companies that it blows them away. Dreamworks, in particular the Shrek series is just as good, technically.
So without an original story, we need a good story. "Wall-E" is a good story, but it's not a great story. A lot of critics are praising it because of the the majesty of the space visuals, but I have to say, I found "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters Inc." more impressive. As to the idea that Wall-E i somehow evocative of silent films, I would find that more convincing if the human characters did not talk up a storm. And according to the subtitles, even the robots talk. Wall-E is a cute character, but in some ways he is a shlub. He does not change his environment. He does not do anything. Stuff happens to him. The classic silent comedians, like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton were not victim because stuff happened to them. They were victims becaue they did something that turned out horribly wrong.
I see the reviewer at Time actually compared the chemitry of Wall-E and Eve to tracy and Hepburn. Uh huh. Was that from "The Desk Set?" Or perhaps "Adam's Rib?"
I suppose I shouldn't be so, so negative. I liked the movie fine, but this is the first time Pixar has not taken a great leap forward. Every movie they have made ha been an improvement over te last one until now. I think this from a quality standpoint would slide in between "Monsters , Inc" which has a great leap forward in animation, but a rather pedestrian story, and "Finding Nemo" which reached about the level where humans can tell when animation has improved and had a terrific story. The emotiveness of the characters in "Wall-E" was more obvious, but not better than in previous stories, and the use of live action sequences was just distracting. To be honest, we've had live action mixed with cartoons since "Anchor's Away," so who cares?
Also, the autopilot looked too much like HAL from "2001."
I
So without an original story, we need a good story. "Wall-E" is a good story, but it's not a great story. A lot of critics are praising it because of the the majesty of the space visuals, but I have to say, I found "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters Inc." more impressive. As to the idea that Wall-E i somehow evocative of silent films, I would find that more convincing if the human characters did not talk up a storm. And according to the subtitles, even the robots talk. Wall-E is a cute character, but in some ways he is a shlub. He does not change his environment. He does not do anything. Stuff happens to him. The classic silent comedians, like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton were not victim because stuff happened to them. They were victims becaue they did something that turned out horribly wrong.
I see the reviewer at Time actually compared the chemitry of Wall-E and Eve to tracy and Hepburn. Uh huh. Was that from "The Desk Set?" Or perhaps "Adam's Rib?"
I suppose I shouldn't be so, so negative. I liked the movie fine, but this is the first time Pixar has not taken a great leap forward. Every movie they have made ha been an improvement over te last one until now. I think this from a quality standpoint would slide in between "Monsters , Inc" which has a great leap forward in animation, but a rather pedestrian story, and "Finding Nemo" which reached about the level where humans can tell when animation has improved and had a terrific story. The emotiveness of the characters in "Wall-E" was more obvious, but not better than in previous stories, and the use of live action sequences was just distracting. To be honest, we've had live action mixed with cartoons since "Anchor's Away," so who cares?
Also, the autopilot looked too much like HAL from "2001."
I
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Man, I Didn't Realize how Ugly Everything is...
I have the misfortune of needing contact lenses to correct my vision properly. I hate wearing the damned things, though, so I end up getting a "backup" pair of glasses whih lat time I wound up wearing until they almost literally fell apart. I saw the eye doctor a couple weeks ago at an optometry school and ordered a pair of contact lense. So instead of using my insurance on glases, I went to the open market. I did some research, and discovered that these eyegalss places are a bunch of incompetent boobs. ABC news says that if you order glasses from somewhere, yuo should expect them to work about as well as a Bush adminstration appointee.
I went to For Eyes, however, because they were the cheapest. I asked the manager about the ABC story, and he explained that those result were people going to a place that makes glasses in an hour, and those guys using whatever lenses they happen to have lying around. Actually, I was really impresed wtih For Eyes. They had the same brands as the higher end place, and even as Sam's Club, but they were at least twenty clams cheaper.
Once I got my glases, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only do they work. They work much beter than my older glasses, even compared to what I was expecting based on my eye appointment. My vision is loads better. In fact, I suspect the ganev who made my last pair did not know what he was doing.
So, in short. Good eye sight.
I went to For Eyes, however, because they were the cheapest. I asked the manager about the ABC story, and he explained that those result were people going to a place that makes glasses in an hour, and those guys using whatever lenses they happen to have lying around. Actually, I was really impresed wtih For Eyes. They had the same brands as the higher end place, and even as Sam's Club, but they were at least twenty clams cheaper.
Once I got my glases, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only do they work. They work much beter than my older glasses, even compared to what I was expecting based on my eye appointment. My vision is loads better. In fact, I suspect the ganev who made my last pair did not know what he was doing.
So, in short. Good eye sight.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Please Enjoy This Brief Musical Interlude from Silvio
Due to some time pressure, I haven't been able to finish up anything. However, the last couple weeks "Little Steven's Underground Garage". has been doing some great Christmas shows. Pop by and listen. I think you have to register to listen tothe archives, but it' free, and I actually don't mind the one e-mail a week they send me, becaue it reminds me to go listen to the show.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Mark deRosa would Make a Nice Replacement for Orotn, though
Having failed in their attempt to trade two prospects for the immortal Mark DeRosa, the Phillies signed Raul Ibenez today. Ibanez does not have as much power as Burrell, but he hits for a higher average, and he drives in runs. My hope is he will solve the problem that cropped up the last couple years. The Phillies have these stretches where they all stop hitting at the same times. I will miss Burrell, but the simple fact is that he only hits when everyone else on the team hits, so he does not match the production his power numbers might normally imply. e hit 33 homers and 33 doubles last year, but drove in and scored 88 and 74 run, respectively. Now, those numbers are skewed a little by the use of pinch runners and defensive replacements, but they are not skew so much that in makes up for 20 rbi. Ibanez had one more win share thanBurrell last year. In the end, however, I think Ibanez is a good pick up because of his batting average. He hits for a higher average than Burrell, so we might actually score some of the runners in scoring position we've been stranding the last several years/
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Okay, He's Stopped Even Trying...
Pres. George W. Bush -- in an apparent effort to demonstrate his absolute contempt of democracy -- has awarded the Prsidential Citizen's Medal to Chuck Colson. That's right. You read that correctly. Nixon's enforcer just received the second highest civilian medal. The man who tried to cover up Watergate. The man who suggested burning the Brookings Institute and stealing records during the confusion. That guy just received the second highest civilian honor. Lenny Bruce's proclamation of the importance of the first amendment never seemed less hypothetical.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Just a Link for the Day
Strangely haunting, Enya sings "Silent Night" in the original Klingon..er, Gaelic, but not original
The original is actually German:
The original is actually German:
Hey, Let's Not Dismiss the Idea Out of Hand
In Acts 8:18-24, Simon Magus attempts to purchase the ability to infuse people with the Holy Ghost. Thus began the concept of simony, the buying of religious offices. Yesterday, the governor of Illinois was arrested for attempting, among other things, to sell President-elect Obama's now-vacated Senate seat. There has been a general cry of outrage, but the simply fact is, all Blago was asking for was money. Really, is that so wrong? Well, illegal, yes. Horribly distasteful, yes. Subverting democracy, yes. Betraying the electorate in a way that confirms the worst paranoia of the electorate, yes. But wrong?
Who should get the seat, who is going to get it, and who can afford it are separate questions, I suppose, but if there is a special election, for example, candidates will spend money. "Who is going to get it" and "Who can afford it" are intertwined. For example, Oberweis and Ryan and Keyes are all still around. None of them are getting it, and all could probably afford it (well, maybe not Keyes.) On that basis the seat was never going to the highest bidder. The popular candidates are people like Jesse Jackson, the younger, and Tammy Duckworth, but really, does it make a difference? The people who were going to get the seat would have been the same anyway. Typically, a spouse is nominated, but I can't see Michelle Obama having the time.
There are advantages, as I see it, to a straight forward above-board bribe for power. For one thing, there is no payback because "you owe the guy." You have your senate seat, and the governor's wife has her cush job. Things are even. If you just got the job "on merit," then there'd always be a feeling of gratitude. In Roddy's proposed system, there would be no future favors. The favors would all be in the past. You'd have your Senate seat. If Blago called for a favor, you could tell him where to go. What's he gonna do, take it back? Royal families have been selling patents of nobility for centuries.
On a side note, I was also amused at the outrage" over an Illinois governor being corrupt, because we've never seen that happen before.
As to who should get the seat. I'll tell you who could win an Illinois election for senate: Mike Ditka, Oprah Winfrey and Richard Daley. None of them want the job. (Though they'd all probably be fairly good at it, at least in comparison to the bozos we have in Congress now. Even Da Coach.)
I wouldn't mind seeing Paul Simon take the seat. The politician is dead, but the singer/songwriter is alive. He has the right name for an Illinois senator. And he once beat Connie Hawkins at one-on-one.
Here's my suggestion: Illinois should forfeit that seat. I say give it to whomever winds up losing the Minnesota senate race. That way both sides in Minnesota win, and Illinois has at least one political office that cannot involve it in a political scandal. When Obama's term as senator is over, Coleman or Franken can either move to Illinois or someone else can run.
Who should get the seat, who is going to get it, and who can afford it are separate questions, I suppose, but if there is a special election, for example, candidates will spend money. "Who is going to get it" and "Who can afford it" are intertwined. For example, Oberweis and Ryan and Keyes are all still around. None of them are getting it, and all could probably afford it (well, maybe not Keyes.) On that basis the seat was never going to the highest bidder. The popular candidates are people like Jesse Jackson, the younger, and Tammy Duckworth, but really, does it make a difference? The people who were going to get the seat would have been the same anyway. Typically, a spouse is nominated, but I can't see Michelle Obama having the time.
There are advantages, as I see it, to a straight forward above-board bribe for power. For one thing, there is no payback because "you owe the guy." You have your senate seat, and the governor's wife has her cush job. Things are even. If you just got the job "on merit," then there'd always be a feeling of gratitude. In Roddy's proposed system, there would be no future favors. The favors would all be in the past. You'd have your Senate seat. If Blago called for a favor, you could tell him where to go. What's he gonna do, take it back? Royal families have been selling patents of nobility for centuries.
On a side note, I was also amused at the outrage" over an Illinois governor being corrupt, because we've never seen that happen before.
As to who should get the seat. I'll tell you who could win an Illinois election for senate: Mike Ditka, Oprah Winfrey and Richard Daley. None of them want the job. (Though they'd all probably be fairly good at it, at least in comparison to the bozos we have in Congress now. Even Da Coach.)
I wouldn't mind seeing Paul Simon take the seat. The politician is dead, but the singer/songwriter is alive. He has the right name for an Illinois senator. And he once beat Connie Hawkins at one-on-one.
Here's my suggestion: Illinois should forfeit that seat. I say give it to whomever winds up losing the Minnesota senate race. That way both sides in Minnesota win, and Illinois has at least one political office that cannot involve it in a political scandal. When Obama's term as senator is over, Coleman or Franken can either move to Illinois or someone else can run.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
William Hartnell was the Coach in "This Sporting Life"
[This somehow failed to post yeterday.]
So, I got the Doctor Who story, "The Time Meddler" from Netflix, and was not for the first time struck by the fact that William Hartnell was actually kind of a touch guy. I decided, then to list the Doctors in descending order of physical toughness:
(Btw, there's rumor going around that Patrivck Stewart will play the Meddling Monk in an upcoming Dr. Who series. That's actually good casting, in my opinion.)
1. The Third Doctor. Jon Pertwee's Doctor was the mater of Venusian Aikido, and was constantly getting into fights.
2. The First Doctor. Bill Hartnell was actually a standard tough guy in British cinema sort of like a poor man's Gene Hackman or something. People remember him as a frail old guy, but he was actually pretty solid.
3. The Tenth Doctor. David Tennant. The Tenth Doctor is not so much shown fighting on screen but he always threaten people, and he has racke up a heavy body count.
4. The Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton actually had a tough side to his portrayal of the Doctor. In the Ice Warriors epsidoes, he's always willing to do dangerous stuf, but he never so much engages in combat.
5. The Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker was over 6 foot tall and over 200 pounds. He went back and forth though. He'd engage Sontaran and villains in combat. But he'd also get beaten up. He was like Jim Rockford.
6. The Seventh Doctor. Sylvester McCoy's Doctor was pretty damned cold-blooded in the Troughton tradition and has some similarities to Tennant.
7. The Sixth Doctor. Colin Baker was a big guy, and did some stuff that was heroic, but he was kind of a wimp.
8. The Ninth Doctor. Christopher Eccleston's Doctor got beat up kind of a lot, andnever actually engaged anyone phyiically that I recall. Also, Jackie slapped him.
X. Peter Cushing, the Doctor Who from the movies. He was one of the the great stage fihters, and I'll be damned if I am rating Peter Davison over Van Helsing. He doesn't do anything fighting in the Who flicks, though.
9. The Fifth Doctor. Peter Davison actually did a fair amoutnof action, but he was never credible.
10. The Eightth Doctor. Paul McGann never had much of a chance but such is life.
So, I got the Doctor Who story, "The Time Meddler" from Netflix, and was not for the first time struck by the fact that William Hartnell was actually kind of a touch guy. I decided, then to list the Doctors in descending order of physical toughness:
(Btw, there's rumor going around that Patrivck Stewart will play the Meddling Monk in an upcoming Dr. Who series. That's actually good casting, in my opinion.)
1. The Third Doctor. Jon Pertwee's Doctor was the mater of Venusian Aikido, and was constantly getting into fights.
2. The First Doctor. Bill Hartnell was actually a standard tough guy in British cinema sort of like a poor man's Gene Hackman or something. People remember him as a frail old guy, but he was actually pretty solid.
3. The Tenth Doctor. David Tennant. The Tenth Doctor is not so much shown fighting on screen but he always threaten people, and he has racke up a heavy body count.
4. The Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton actually had a tough side to his portrayal of the Doctor. In the Ice Warriors epsidoes, he's always willing to do dangerous stuf, but he never so much engages in combat.
5. The Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker was over 6 foot tall and over 200 pounds. He went back and forth though. He'd engage Sontaran and villains in combat. But he'd also get beaten up. He was like Jim Rockford.
6. The Seventh Doctor. Sylvester McCoy's Doctor was pretty damned cold-blooded in the Troughton tradition and has some similarities to Tennant.
7. The Sixth Doctor. Colin Baker was a big guy, and did some stuff that was heroic, but he was kind of a wimp.
8. The Ninth Doctor. Christopher Eccleston's Doctor got beat up kind of a lot, andnever actually engaged anyone phyiically that I recall. Also, Jackie slapped him.
X. Peter Cushing, the Doctor Who from the movies. He was one of the the great stage fihters, and I'll be damned if I am rating Peter Davison over Van Helsing. He doesn't do anything fighting in the Who flicks, though.
9. The Fifth Doctor. Peter Davison actually did a fair amoutnof action, but he was never credible.
10. The Eightth Doctor. Paul McGann never had much of a chance but such is life.
Mark DeRosa?
The Phillies are apparently considering trading prospects to the Cubs for Mark DeRosa in order for the Cub to trade those prospects to the Padres for jake Peavy. WHich leads me to ask...who the hell thin k Mark DeRosa i worth enough prospects to get jake peavy? Yeah, DeRosa can play left field and bats right, so he could, in principle, replace Pat Burrell, I guess, but if the Phillies are going to get anyone from the Cubs in a trade that net the Cubs Peavy, it should Aramis Ramirez. I'm just saying.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
So, That's Why Hawkeye was into Her
I am a huge fan of "M*A*S*H." I liked the tv show I liked the movie. I liked the books. "M*A*S*H" turned me into a fan of acting, because it made me aware when I was a small child that actors could appear in more than one role. Macia Strassman played Margie Cutler for a year on M*A*S*H and then Julie on "Welcome Back Kotter." I do not know what the people on MASH did not like about her, but she apparently was only on six episodes.
There are a couple other actresses from MASH that Hawkeye was into who did not seem that attractive on the show, who I only saw years later and realized when she was in another outfit on Qunicy that she actually was worth the trouble hawkeye seemed to be going through over her. Or Gretchen Corbett. She was Rockford's lawyer on "The Rockford Files." She shows up in a bikini on "Columbo."
I was wondering about this the other day, because an actress showed up on a DVD, and I could not figure out where I has seen before. Well, she has guest-starred on "The Pretender." The question, of course, is whether recognizing an actor from a different role throws the audience out of the story.
For many years I insisted the world's greatest living actor was Bill Daily who played essentially the same role on "I Dream of Jeannie" and "The Bob Newhart Show" and never threw me out of the show.
There are a couple other actresses from MASH that Hawkeye was into who did not seem that attractive on the show, who I only saw years later and realized when she was in another outfit on Qunicy that she actually was worth the trouble hawkeye seemed to be going through over her. Or Gretchen Corbett. She was Rockford's lawyer on "The Rockford Files." She shows up in a bikini on "Columbo."
I was wondering about this the other day, because an actress showed up on a DVD, and I could not figure out where I has seen before. Well, she has guest-starred on "The Pretender." The question, of course, is whether recognizing an actor from a different role throws the audience out of the story.
For many years I insisted the world's greatest living actor was Bill Daily who played essentially the same role on "I Dream of Jeannie" and "The Bob Newhart Show" and never threw me out of the show.
Friday, December 5, 2008
YESSSS!
Ball State lost. Karma's a predictable bitch. I feel so very happy. I am doing the Snoopy dance. Buffalo beat them. I am very, very happy. Let us bask in the glow of the Football Gods refusing to let the Cardinals duck an opponent and be rewarded with a unbeaten record.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
At Least Hitler Had One...
The most ironically named college in the country, Ball St., has has turned down a chance to play fellow unbeaten Boise St. in the Humanitarian Bowl. This move is completely gutless. The reason, apparently, is that the Humantiarin Bowl is played on Boise State's home field. That coimbined with being several states away, thus limiting the Cardinals' ability to bring their fans along led to them aying, "Thanks but no thanks."
Nuh uh.
You suck it up and accept the challenge. You say, "Hell, yeah, we'll take on Boise St. on their own field. Nobody has beaten us yet, and we're not going to start losing now." This annoys me because with Notre Dame and Pur-who dying, Hoosier football is going nowhere. The Ball State Cardinals had a chance to play in a game of enormous national interest, and they completely dropped the ball...so to speak.
If I sound unforgiving, it's because this was both Ball St. and the Mid-American Conference to become players. They could have gained some respect in the college football world. Here's what their director had to say, "“I think it would be great for television but I’m not sure it’s fair to our student-athletes to ask them to go out and play on Boise State’s home field.” So not only won't they play in the bowl, but they won't schedule Boisie St., I guess. Maybe they can only play home games next year. I bet the players, especially Nate Davis, one of the finest quarter bakcs in college football, like being made out as gutless cowards. I wonder what David Letterman think of his beloved Cardinals chickening out. Personally, I think the Ball State palyers would have relished the chance to go into Boise State's house and beat them. Boisie State has earned a deserved reputation as a tough program, but if Ball State and the MAC want a chance for national exposure and a solid pigskin reputation, they need to take invitations like this.
So it becomes apparent that Ball State has none.
Nuh uh.
You suck it up and accept the challenge. You say, "Hell, yeah, we'll take on Boise St. on their own field. Nobody has beaten us yet, and we're not going to start losing now." This annoys me because with Notre Dame and Pur-who dying, Hoosier football is going nowhere. The Ball State Cardinals had a chance to play in a game of enormous national interest, and they completely dropped the ball...so to speak.
If I sound unforgiving, it's because this was both Ball St. and the Mid-American Conference to become players. They could have gained some respect in the college football world. Here's what their director had to say, "“I think it would be great for television but I’m not sure it’s fair to our student-athletes to ask them to go out and play on Boise State’s home field.” So not only won't they play in the bowl, but they won't schedule Boisie St., I guess. Maybe they can only play home games next year. I bet the players, especially Nate Davis, one of the finest quarter bakcs in college football, like being made out as gutless cowards. I wonder what David Letterman think of his beloved Cardinals chickening out. Personally, I think the Ball State palyers would have relished the chance to go into Boise State's house and beat them. Boisie State has earned a deserved reputation as a tough program, but if Ball State and the MAC want a chance for national exposure and a solid pigskin reputation, they need to take invitations like this.
So it becomes apparent that Ball State has none.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Just a Link for the Day
Former New York Doll, Buster Poindexter does the Satchmo classic, "Zat You Santa Clause."
It's a Fair Cop
I have decided that Hugh Laurie is the best actor in the world. I say this because I have followed his career since the late-1980's. Black Adder, Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie. He's a brilliant comedian. I watch him on House, and his American accent is so good, most people who did not know him at the start of the show do not realize he is British. But here's the thing: Hugh Laurie is an icon of British comedy, and I ahev known this for years. So last night, I am watching House, and House makes a Monty Python and the Holy Grsil reference. And I thought, "Huh, I wonder who the Monty Python fan is on the House set." Hugh laurie was right there on screen, and I thought "I wonder who the Monty Python fan is on the House set."
So, rather than admit that I am a moron, I have decideed that Hugh Laurie is just that good. He made me forget who he was so totally that even when a reference on the show threw me into a metatextual consideration of who made the Python reference, and Hugh frickin' Laurie was right there on the goddam screen, it still took me a second to realize that it might have been an adlib, because Hugh Laurie probably knows every line of Python by heart.
So, rather than admit that I am a moron, I have decideed that Hugh Laurie is just that good. He made me forget who he was so totally that even when a reference on the show threw me into a metatextual consideration of who made the Python reference, and Hugh frickin' Laurie was right there on the goddam screen, it still took me a second to realize that it might have been an adlib, because Hugh Laurie probably knows every line of Python by heart.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Barack was Second on Yahoo
Britney Spears was apparently the top search on both Yahoo and Google this past year. Think about this for a second: people apparently do not get enough Britney Spears inflicted on them just walking around in their everyday life on the news, on magazine covers, in newspaper, on the web, etc. They have to deliberately seek out more Britney Spears.
Just a Link for the Day
If you saw the Colbert Christmas Album shill, this song from Bing Crosbie and David Bowie is the sort of thing he was lampooning:
Maybe It's Time to Examine the Knicks' Management
Stephon Marbury is not a jerk. He has been named to The Sporting news list of "Good Guys in Sports" several times. His Starbury line of shoes is priced at 15 clams specifically to let poorer kids afford the shoes. And he backed it up, too. He played an entire seaon in the NBA wearing the shoes. He's also not a Hall of Famer, except the NBA Hall of Fame let's everyone in.
I bring this up because all ESPN can talk about is how big a jerk he is. All big time sports guys are jerks. People used to whine about Bobby Knight, and Knight was a jerk. But John Cheney threatened to kill another coach. Mike Krzyzewski's wife threatened to leave him. And those are the good people that people like.
Every single pro athlete or coach and even at the elite college and high school level is kind of a jerk. The reason Marbury sticks out is that he's only good player on the Knicks. My friend Todd Allen asures me that Marbury was an asshole compared even to other players. I don't claim to know better, but the stories I hear about Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Scottie Pippin make me think that's impoible. He might be as big an asshole as those guys, but it's not possible to be bigger. Of course, Kobe kind of went off the rail for a while, and he was actually charged crimnally. Now, I brought MJ up to Todd and he said "Yeah, but that's Jordan," like he got to be a bigger jerk just because of his superior ball skills.
I think there's something to that, actually. If you're Scottie Pippin, you have to moderate your behavior a little bit, because you cannot be more nuts than Michael. When Michael wasn't there, Scottie actually refused to participate in a game, remember? He took himelf out out of game three of the 1994 playoffs with the score tied because with 1.8 seconds left Phil Jackson designed the last play for Toni Kukoc. You can't do that if there's another superstar of greater or equal stature on the team. If you're Larry Bird, you can't sulk if Kevin McHale is on the team because he'll kill you. Not only that, but if you're Larry Bird, you might be better than Kevin McHale, but you are not that much better. If you suddenly do things like opt out of the tie game, you are no longer the best player on the team.
You are the sulking superstar who won't play. Michael could be as nuts as he wanted, actually, but his nuttyness manifested itself in an intense desire to win. I still remember him yelling at Steve Kerr for passing up a three-point shot in the finals.
So marbury might be a little isolated from other superstars being on a crap team. Also, I gues the other players ont he Knicks just do not want him around, but when you here someone talking about how big a jerk Steph is, do not forget he's an athlete, and ask "Compared to whom?"
I bring this up because all ESPN can talk about is how big a jerk he is. All big time sports guys are jerks. People used to whine about Bobby Knight, and Knight was a jerk. But John Cheney threatened to kill another coach. Mike Krzyzewski's wife threatened to leave him. And those are the good people that people like.
Every single pro athlete or coach and even at the elite college and high school level is kind of a jerk. The reason Marbury sticks out is that he's only good player on the Knicks. My friend Todd Allen asures me that Marbury was an asshole compared even to other players. I don't claim to know better, but the stories I hear about Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Scottie Pippin make me think that's impoible. He might be as big an asshole as those guys, but it's not possible to be bigger. Of course, Kobe kind of went off the rail for a while, and he was actually charged crimnally. Now, I brought MJ up to Todd and he said "Yeah, but that's Jordan," like he got to be a bigger jerk just because of his superior ball skills.
I think there's something to that, actually. If you're Scottie Pippin, you have to moderate your behavior a little bit, because you cannot be more nuts than Michael. When Michael wasn't there, Scottie actually refused to participate in a game, remember? He took himelf out out of game three of the 1994 playoffs with the score tied because with 1.8 seconds left Phil Jackson designed the last play for Toni Kukoc. You can't do that if there's another superstar of greater or equal stature on the team. If you're Larry Bird, you can't sulk if Kevin McHale is on the team because he'll kill you. Not only that, but if you're Larry Bird, you might be better than Kevin McHale, but you are not that much better. If you suddenly do things like opt out of the tie game, you are no longer the best player on the team.
You are the sulking superstar who won't play. Michael could be as nuts as he wanted, actually, but his nuttyness manifested itself in an intense desire to win. I still remember him yelling at Steve Kerr for passing up a three-point shot in the finals.
So marbury might be a little isolated from other superstars being on a crap team. Also, I gues the other players ont he Knicks just do not want him around, but when you here someone talking about how big a jerk Steph is, do not forget he's an athlete, and ask "Compared to whom?"
Monday, December 1, 2008
A Couple Links for the Day
My X-mas song today is "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen, note the Christmas Turce ending:
But here's also the original Snoopy vs. the Red Baron song
Or
But here's also the original Snoopy vs. the Red Baron song
Or
See, the Problem is America Doesn't Play Soccer
Well, we do, but we're really, really bad at it. Back in the first world war, both sides took some time off for Christmas. This was the so-called "Christmas Truce." They exchanged presents. They had music. They played football. Not real football, but soccer. They call it "football" to hide the fact that it's really just a bunch of small guys running around for a couple hours not scoring.
We won't play soccer against the Afghanis and Iraqis, and they won't play real Football or Baseball (they play cricket) against us, and also they don't celebrate Christmas. So, basically we have to challenge them to hoops.
There's a pretty good movie about the Christmas Truce called "Joyeux Noel". The History Channel special is also available.
We won't play soccer against the Afghanis and Iraqis, and they won't play real Football or Baseball (they play cricket) against us, and also they don't celebrate Christmas. So, basically we have to challenge them to hoops.
There's a pretty good movie about the Christmas Truce called "Joyeux Noel". The History Channel special is also available.
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