Someday I Will

I have a blog

2011-07-20T10:16:00.002-04:00

I haven't written on it as much lately, but it's still there. It's called "Someday I Will" (title inspired by the song) Go read some of the 1,200 posts I wrote dating back to August 2007.

It's at http://noternie.blogspot.com

If you live long enough....

2011-04-23T17:09:00.001-04:00

You see things like a dog in the drive through at a Dunkin'...with its ear pierced. Zoom in on thw photo if you have to. It's there.

Android

2011-04-08T16:54:00.001-04:00

Testing Blogger app for Android.

someday i will

2011-03-19T08:33:00.000-04:00

Tough, but important to watch

2011-03-08T09:08:00.002-05:00

Could homelessness among children in America reach 25%? It's already coming close in some areas.

"The table is tilted. The game is rigged."

2011-03-08T08:16:00.000-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you George Carlin.

Radiohead

2011-02-28T08:37:00.001-05:00

If you care, go beyond a Facebook status

2010-12-15T11:41:00.001-05:00

I don't have 1000 wishes for Christmas. And I find that most others don't either. The wishes we do have are often ones of luxury, not need. So instead of posting something to Facebook or buying someone something they might not remember 10 days later, make a donation; to a hospital, to a medical research fund, to a local shelter or food pantry. Or take that sentiment and turn it into actual good by volunteering. Then post that to Facebook and challenge others to do their part.

My post on holiday greetings

2010-12-13T11:57:00.003-05:00

I say Happy Holidays, not Merry Christmas.

Why? Because I want you to have a happy holiday season, no matter which holidays you celebrate, even if only New Year's.

To me, insisting on saying Merry Christmas no matter what others might celebrate, is akin to wishing someone a happy birthday or happy anniversary on your own birthday or anniversary because that's what "you" celebrate.

Why do people bitch about "Happy Holidays" anyway? Shouldn't they just be happy to receive good wishes from someone else?

I...gulp...respect the Steelers

2010-11-15T12:42:00.002-05:00

There's no many teams out there that trash talk and play on the edge of the rules than the Steelers. Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Ravens are kind of 1-2 on that front. It's easy to dislike teams that talk more than they need to and often don't admit when they've simply been beaten. You'll recall the Steelers losing the AFC Championship on their home field and then having their quarterback claim that "sometimes the best team doesn't win." He only barely shut up when his team got its ass more thoroughly kicked in the next season's opening game.

But last night I found myself respecting the Steelers. Not all of them, but at least some of the folks making decisions. Why? Because they kept Hines Ward out of the game.

Ward took a shot in the area of his head and neck while trying to make a catch in the first half. He lay on the field while the telecast went to commercial. But when they returned, they showed Ward stumbling off the field with help.

On the sidelines Ward was looked at and tested by 3 or 4 doctor's or trainers who then had a conversation amongst themselves. Despite the Steelers playing a little cute and someone maybe trying to buy time by classifying it as a "neck" injury and calling his return "questionable," Ward never did return to the field.

It clearly wasn't Ward's call.

“I know who I am and how I am and how I respond to hits,’’ Ward said. “I’ve been doing it for 13 years. I’ve been hit a lot worse. I’ve had concussions.

“I mean, how many concussions does it take to cause all the problems they say they cause? Is it one or three or five? Until you give me some real stats . . . I felt like I was fine to get back in there. The doctor saw me stumbling and thought otherwise.”

Though he holds a degree from the University of Georgia in Consumer Economics, Hines Ward is clearly no doctor. I'm glad there are some more qualified folks making decisions in Pittsburgh and around the NFL.

from DOWNtown

2010-10-05T13:41:00.000-04:00

5

2010-10-01T09:37:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth Shue
Jennifer Anniston
Jessica Beil
Diane Lane
Halle Berry
---------------
Maura Tierney
Natalie Portman
Juliana Margulies
Natalie Coughlin
Gwenyth Paltrow
Jamie Gertz
Michelle Pfieffer
Wynonna Rider
Shania Twain

Song of the Day: New York City's Killing Me

2010-08-25T14:03:00.002-04:00

From his new album, "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise" which is just out, here's NH native Ray Lamontagne. Excellent album. Only nine songs, but there's isn't a bad one in the bunch.

Occasional reminder needed?

2010-08-24T12:38:00.002-04:00

It's worth actually watching Fonzie jumping the shark on water skis every once in a while to remind you why it spawned a phrase that is symbolic of someone beginning to pick up speed on the other side of their peak.

Learn about the funding behind the Ground 0 Mosque

2010-08-24T12:25:00.003-04:00

Any right thinking American should be OUTraged by this. Can we legally prevent a company from doing business? Because the company wrapped up in this should no longer legally be able to operate in the United States of America.

Facebook readers, watch here: http://is.gd/eB2Ok

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Parent Company Trap

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Song of the Day: Jefferson Jericho Blues

2010-08-20T12:33:00.003-04:00

No, as a matter of fact it doesn't appear that Tom Petty will ever stop making good music.

This from his recently released album...

Song of the Day: Shine a Light

2010-08-19T14:27:00.001-04:00

Shine a Light, by the Rolling Stones, from Exile on Main Street.

We contribute, then report, then you decide

2010-08-19T14:25:00.000-04:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

News Corp. Gives Money to Republicans

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Song of the Day: Country Honk

2010-08-17T14:04:00.001-04:00

The Rolling Stones, from Let it Bleed.

Song of the Day: Ghost of Tom Joad

2010-08-16T22:14:00.002-04:00

Morello blows it out of the building. Reminded me of Hendrix. I'm not saying he's anywhere near as good as Hendrix, but listen to Morello's solo near the end and see if you don't understand what I'm talking about.

Oh yeah, Sprinsteen and his band play along. This is from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary Hoo-Ha.

Dispatch from the outpost

2010-08-08T17:59:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had ice cream that is at the same time cold and warm? Try the Apple Pie flavor at Smugglers in Dennis. The blend of apples and cinnamon fill your nose with the scent and warmth of a nice slice of warm apple pie from grandma's kitchen counter.* I had it last night in a hot fudge sunday (no whipped cream, but with nuts and a cherry).

Big kudos to Smugglers for making a REASONABLE sized hot fudge sunday; one that can be finished without feeling like Lard Ass from Stand By Me. It's obnoxious how much food is passed of as a serving these days. No wonder we're a fat, jiggling nation.

Since my first vacation here in Dennis four years ago I have been waiting to have their blueberry ice cream. I'm a big fan of blueberries and the ice cream was exquisite. But alas, it was a special that has not returned. I'm not sure it was better than the Blueberry Pie flavor regularly available at Somerset Creamery, but why quibble?

Good solid day at Mayflower Beach today. A big part of a successful day at the beach for me these days is coming home with roughly the same pale skin with which I arrived.

Think we're headed to Chapin's for dinner. Always a solid meal.

A good first full day to a lazy week, beachside.

*I can not remember, ever, a time when either of my parent's mother's made or served me apple pie from their kitchen counter. I have an aunt on my father's side who makes a great apple pie from scratch and I can only assume that she learned it from her mother, my Memere. But I do not remember eating one from my Memere, unfortunately.

~~~~~~
Someday I Will
noternie.blogspot.com

Song of the Day: The Gambler

2010-08-02T15:48:00.000-04:00

Song of the Day: Rockin' Robin

2010-07-28T14:02:00.001-04:00

Rockin' Robin, by Bobby Day.

You Tube fun

2010-07-28T13:57:00.001-04:00

Watch all the way to the end. Good pay-off.

Song of the Day: Billionaire

2010-07-13T08:02:00.001-04:00

Grown up talk on the campaign trail?

2010-07-01T09:28:00.001-04:00

This came to my Inbox, from the Governor. Yeah, we're tight.

Dear Friend,

Yesterday, we saw another example of the clear choice the Commonwealth faces in this election.

I signed a budget that faces our fiscal challenges squarely and directly. For the fourth consecutive year, our budget is responsible, balanced, on time, and accountable to taxpayers. To achieve that, over the last couple of years we have had to cut many worthy programs and services, eliminate thousands of state jobs, impose furloughs, reach agreement with employee unions on contract concessions, and otherwise find ways to share the burden of the economic crisis. But we have continued to move forward, with first-in-the-nation results in student achievement, health care, energy efficiency and job recovery.

The budget decisions have been painful, but we have faced up to them. Because we have been realistic and responsible in our approach, our high bond rating has been reaffirmed three times by all the independent rating agencies. And because we have focused on economic recovery and job growth as our long term strategy, we have seen 45,000 new jobs created on the last four months, business confidence improving, and home sales and retail leasing surging, so that our Commonwealth is coming out of this recession stronger and faster than much of the US and people are seeing a way forward again for themselves and their families.

Listening to some of the campaign rhetoric of my opponent yesterday, former Health Insurance CEO Charlie Baker, just makes the contrast between us even sharper. The simple difference is that he has not been straight with the public.

In particular, Baker proposes over $2 billion in additional tax cuts, on top of the budget cuts we have already made. Yet he refuses to explain what he would cut from the state's budget to make up for that lost revenue.

This goes beyond thoughtlessness: it's reckless.

You and I know what is behind Baker's cuts. It's teachers. It's firefighters. It's police. It's services for our most vulnerable. It's the strength of our communities. Baker is ignoring that reality. But governors have to confront reality, and the fact is Baker cannot cut an additional $2 Billion or more from this budget without devastating our schools and our health care, or jeopardizing the job growth and economic recovery that has begun to take hold.

You know how strongly I feel about generational responsibility, the notion that we owe the next generation every effort to leave a better, stronger Commonwealth than we found. That requires us to face our hard choices honestly, to make them wisely, and that we keep our eye on the horizon. Hope for the best AND work for it. That's what you can count on from me. And that's a difference.

Sincerely,
Deval L. Patrick

New frontiers in pretzel logic of Catholics

2010-06-10T12:33:00.000-04:00

So according to the Catholic Church, “the gays” are bad. Really bad. They’ve always been pretty upfront about that, haven’t they?

A big part of that, perhaps, is that “the gays” are waaaaay more into porn than the Adam and Eve-ers. That’s what one bonehead who’s respected enough to have a regular column in the Catholic Pravda thinks is the reason children of “the gays” should not be allowed in Catholic schools. He thinks porny stuffs “go along with the same-sex lifestyle, which — as not being related to procreation — is inherently eroticized and pornographic.’’

Let’s see if that proclamation leads to massive behavior changes among homophobes and deflates the largest business on the intranets: PORN; the subject material of which is most often men having sex with women. If you were a homophobe hetero, wouldn’t you stop watching porn—even straight porn—if someone told you it was “gay”?

But if you don’t have a stake in the interests of “the gays” maybe you know someone who has adopted a child. Nice of folks to do that kind of thing. The believers often encourage adoption as an alternative to allowing women to think and act on their own when it comes to their bodies. Still, they might put those kind folks in a lesser class than, you know, actual parents.

Not so.

Dingbat Barnicle-wannabe sort-of apologized* for his “the gays love porn way more than ‘normal’ people” statements. But according to the Boston Globe, he’s standing by other statements he wrote in the column, including that “gay parents should not be called “parents’’ unless they are biologically related to their children.”

Grab a Latin thesaurus, we need a new word! Maybe “Civil caretakers?”

I guess it’s no surprise that this dumb-dumb doesn’t think the children of civil caretakers who are gay should be allowed into catholic schools. In addition to probably bringing in porn, he thinks it would open the door for paren…sorry, civil caretakers, to “advocate” for their “lifestyle.” He thinks they’re looking for an ‘in’ to recruit!! If you could recruit people into “gaydom” wouldn’t a free sample of gay sex being given by the trusted parish priest be something the church would’ve wanted to avoid?

Ah, but I ramble. The Catholic Church and a good number of their members think “the gays” are bad. Really, really bad. Is this news in ANY way?

----------------------------------
*“I think I probably would not make that point again, and I can see how it would be offensive,” is not an apology. It’s not even close. An apology isn’t even “I’m sorry if anyone felt offended by this,” which the paper said. An apology is “These statements were offensive and I/we apologize for writing/publishing them.”

The Scott Brown, Murkowski thing explained...

2010-06-10T10:37:00.001-04:00

Brown goes for profit over protection

2010-06-10T07:05:00.000-04:00

The following was written by Scott Brown* and published in the Cape Cod Times to explain his opposition to environmental protection regulations being considered in Washington.

While many of my colleagues have argued that giving the EPA the ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would help protect the environment, agree. This action would prevent companies from polluting. But we should let them do whatever they want. Profits are at stake, people!

Americans trying to protect the environment say that this resolution is an attack on the Clean Air Act. The EPA is looking to use newer, effective methods to get better results in meeting its mission. But that is bad. The bottom line is that we can't have every person on the planet worried about the planet. This is why I am supporting Sen. Lisa Murkowski's resolution to oppose these badly needed new EPA regulations.

As I continue doing public appearances, business owners all say the same thing: "We need money, not a planet to live on." For that to happen, America's businesses need the confidence to pollute freely. What Bay State businesses don't need is the federal government protecting the environment with regulations that would dramatically restrict their potential to repeat BPs recent achievements.

Our national unemployment rate is hovering near double digits and Massachusetts energy prices keep going up. That's how supply and demand works. No matter how you feel about the Gulf Coast, there is no arguing that oil-free oceans comes at a high premium. The billions of dollars in extra costs to clean up oopsies like that should be passed on to Massachusetts ratepayers. Now is the time to further increase pollution, add to resulting long-term health costs for businesses, and create massive new layers in the lower economic class.

*These aren't exactly the words Scott Brown used. Though he did use quite a few of the same words, he didn't use all of them. And he put them in a bit of a different order. This organization of some words he used may not exactly express the intent of his word organization. If you want to read his dumb version, follow the CCTimes link, above. But I don't recommend it. You've already wasted a bunch of time reading this.

I'm still uncertain about Celtics

2010-06-07T13:40:00.002-04:00

It's great that they're up 2-1 and all, but I still think the Lakers might be too much for the Celtics. Ray Allen's shooting got them out to a lead in the first half of Game 2, but that quickly disappeared at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. Some tremendous play by Rondo toward the end gave them the win, but it was anything but comforting.

The entire series feels to me like Garnett tipping another rebound out of bounds (How do they screw up that call using instant replay?!?!) or Glenn Davis taking three chances at a layup and never getting the ball to the rim.

Garnett is the real problem in my mind. He's passing up shots he needs to hit and he's not aggressive enough under the boards. Rather, he's not aggressive enough getting position and then too aggressive when he doesn't have the inside line to the rebound.

Overall, the Celtics don't look aggressive enough hitting the boards. It's stunning to see the stat sheet from last night and see that the Celtics out-rebounded the Lakers overall 55-49 and--more stunningly--on the offensive glass, 13-10. The blocked shots stats were a bit scary, too; Lakers 14, Celtics 3.

Let's hope the home court puts a little pep in their step. If they can take 2 of 3 in Boston, #18 will be looking really good.

Happy Birthday

2010-06-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to the love of my life: my wife.

Song of the Day: There's No Place Like Home (from LOST)

2010-05-28T08:11:00.003-04:00

The song actually picks up about a minute and a half or so into this clip from the show. LOST watchers will recognize it. Not sure if I'm going to do a post on the LOST finale. Took me a few days to figure out the show and how I felt about the ending. Now it might just be too late. And I wonder if people would rather just settle in with their own interpretations.

Anyway, good piece by the show's composer, Micheal Giacchino. Poignant and fitting. I've even downloaded it to my iPod. It first appeared during Season 4, when the Oceanic 6 arrive home. Since then it's been used numerous times.

Up Wolves!

2010-05-27T13:17:00.003-04:00

I am a fan of the Wolverhampton Wanderers of the English Premiere League. (soccer)

How did I become a fan? Well, I'd been getting geared up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup by watching an increasing amount of soccer on the Fox Soccer Channel (check local listings. Given that the EPL is one of the top leagues in the world, FSC shows a good number of their matches.

I've always enjoyed watching soccer, but in the past was generally limited to the World Cup. A few MLS matches have graced my screen, but I find it hard to really get into it. The stands are more empty than full, the fields are always lined for something else and the television productions are second or third rate. Between all that and the fact that it's not soccer being played at the highest level, I tend to lose interest. Honestly, I don't hold out much hope that the MLS will ever compete with the European leagues, though I think it can and will get better. It just strikes me that MLS suffer in comparison to European Leagues the way Japanese baseball does to MLB, the Canadian Football League does to the NFL, Euro Basketball does to the NBA, etc.

So I figured to really become a proper fan, I needed to pick a league to follow, then a team. It's not that I won't watch and follow some other leagues (Go Revs!) but it's always easier, i think, to learn from the experience of one team. I tell people that want to learn about NASCAR to pick a single driver and learn from them. You'll pick up other stuff while you watch, but you won't be overwhelmed if you focus mainly on one driver, rather than the entire field.

The EPL seemed a logical choice for a league, but what team? I traded messages with my nephew a bit, because he's a fan of West Ham in the EPL. He became a fan because when he was younger, his dad went to England, saw a West Ham game and brought back a shirt and program for his son.

So, over the course of a week or so, I picked the Wolverhampton Wanderers to be my team. Here was the logic I gave my nephew:

"Why Wolverhampton? Some randomness, some reasons. They have a long history. I don't feel like I'd be cherry picking from "the big four" or other current top teams. Good logo. Cool name. They just got back in the EPL and appear to be building. They've got an Irish manager and some Irish players and a stadium with a French name. (me being Irish/French)

Their academy produced Robbie Keane and some other notables. Their u17 team is World Youth Cup Champions. And I like Orange.

I didn't study all the teams. Some I ditched for dumb reasons. Like I said, I may switch teams as I get more into it. But it's easier to get into it when you can learn from one team.

Plus, we can see who makes more progress next year, West Ham or the Wolves, since they finished 17/15 this year. They split their two games last season, each winning on the road."

So, like Robert Plant, I am now a fan of "Wolves." Timing was a bit dodgy (yes, I'm going to start using English phrasing when discussing soccer) as the season was just ended when I settled on Wolves. But it gives me plenty of time to brush up before the next season starts in the fall.

Until then, I've also been following the UEFA Champions League (jumped on at the end of the semis) and getting excited for the World Cup.

I'll try to post updates on Wolverhampton team news and my learning curve as it goes along. First tidbit to share is that Wolves regular keeper (translation: goaltender), Marcus Hahnemann, is on the US World Cup team. He's not expected to start, but it's still a nice honor.

Right, then. Carry on.

Riveting photos

2010-05-19T14:14:00.001-04:00

Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words.

"Baseball is 90% mental -- the other half is physical."—Yogi Berra.

2010-05-19T09:03:00.002-04:00

Celtics putting on a tremendous show of mental toughness. Underdogs? Fine with them. Facing the game's best players on the road? Bring it on. Giving up big leads early AND late? It's ok. Foul out starters? [shrug] They just keep plugging away.

Do the Magic wait until the last 90 seconds to give up? I think it’s going to be more like Lakers ’08. Celts get an early lead in a clinching game and Dwight Howard curls up into the fetal position and the game turns into a 40-point laugher. Even money on whether Vince Carter goes down with an injury or puts up monster “garbage time” numbers.

Someone needed to take a stand

2010-05-07T14:01:00.002-04:00

It's about time someone spoke out about this issue. We should all be grateful that someone is LeBron James...

CLEVELAND—Cavaliers forward LeBron James railed against the harsh conditions of referee camps in the developing world Wednesday, calling attention to the plight of millions of referees worldwide who flee oppression and the threat of violence only to live without access to adequate food, water, or basketball facilities. "Sadly, thousands of referees are forced to live in unhygienic and crowded tents, unable to return to their home courts," James told reporters, adding that many referees lacked proper officiating equipment and their uniforms were in rags. "I don't always agree with the referees, but no one should have to live like that. Unfortunately for many, their whistles remain unheard, and numerous double dribbles and over-and-back violations are going unpunished." James, who called the situation "unsportsmanlike," has reportedly pledged $2 million to provide much needed shot clocks and urged NBA coaches to draw up a play to save the referees.

Source.

Song of the Day: Cobwebs and Strange

2010-05-05T15:36:00.001-04:00

A Keith Moon tune from the Who.

Is John Stamos a terrorist?

2010-05-05T13:39:00.003-04:00

Cape Cod needs more coal plants

2010-05-05T13:37:00.002-04:00

Against offshore windmills. Now opposed to land-based ones, too.

They should shove a coal plant up their ass, see how the town likes that.

Maybe mandate that any oil used to heat homes in the community come from drills within the town or be offloaded at a dock within that town.

They should jack up the power rates and return that money to towns that host coal/oil plants that send their energy there.

A-holes.

Big week on LOST (spoilers)

2010-05-05T12:55:00.002-04:00

There's always lots of debate and discussion on LOST in the Facebook world. And people seem to like the speculating. So, in the interest of cross pollination, I'm going to copy and paste some of the discussions I've been involved with there since last night's episode wrapped up.

Thread one
RLM status: Freaking Lost!!! WTF??!!

Noternie: :-(

RL: I was absolutely appalled that Jin wouldnt leave Sun to go and be with his child so she wouldnt be parentless. Horrible. I imagine the leaving her there would be awful but there was no hope! he died for nothing! ugh. and Sayid....poor, poor Sayid. :o(

noternie: Sayid needed to do that for redemption. Remember, he's been a pretty bad guy recently. They (the writers) really never knew what to do with him, other than use him as a tool to do bad things. Can't soil the morality of potential successors to Jacob. They have him doing all of this for Nadia, but he was all about moving on from her when Shannon was good to go. Remember his mourning over her?

As for Jin: He didn't die for nothing. He died for love. Plus, he's way f-ed up from being on that island for so long in weird situations. Three years with Sun gone and then he gets her back and only knows he has a daughter for a matter of days? That kid was never real to him. Plus he's Korean. They can rely on some cultural differences to explain his behavior. That's why he switched to speaking Korean at the key moment.

RLM: I agree about Sayid but not Jin. Sun should have made him leave. I hated it...and listening to my podcast is appears i am not alone...

I wonder where this is all going.... Des is alive in the well but what role will he play? and what about the flash sideways? They definitely are realizing that something is up but where will this lead? and what is Widmore all about? And the big question for me is where the heck is Richard, Ben and Miles??

MLK: Ok, get it...noternie all your points well taken, but 3 candidates (and Lapidis) in one shot....and my Sayid, ...booohooo.. I still blame Sawyer, he acted irrationally and just pulled it, him, Jack and Sayid should have tried to come to some consensus! we aren't getting any answers, i give up!

noternie: Richard, Ben and Miles aren't doing anything. Just hanging out in the woods. If there's anything we've learned about LOST, it's that characters NEVER take advantage of idle time to accomplish or learn anything. In 3 years living with Dharma, what did they learn? Sawyer, head of security and essentially married to a woman who had been on the inside for years. We gained no knowledge from that.

Desmond is going to set things up in the sideways flash for another time change to bring the candidates to the island. Jack will fix Locke's legs and Rose's cancer will get cured and then 815 will crash on the island. Other things will be lined up, as well. The show will end how it began, with Jack opening his eye in the woods.

It only ends once. Everything else is just progress. This show will not reach "the end" in the final episode. It will only show and celebrate the progress these people have made.

noternie: MLK, I get that you're shocked and bummed. I am, too. There were some major developments last night.

You could see Sayid was going, but hook or by crook. He was just too damaged. And Lapidis was always just kind of a hanger-on. The show only kept him around to keep alive the possibility that they'd get off the island on the plane. Killing the two of them at once was bold, but not shocking.

Killing off Sun and Jin together and with the other two was what made last night so huge. They appeared to have finally overcome the obstacles that kept them apart on all those different occasions. And it was over for them so quickly. It seems they were a little clumsy handling the "Jin just orphaned his baby" issue, but I wonder if that won't get handled before the end of the show.

As for Sawyer, they are showing you why he hasn't come far enough to be the chosen one. He disqualified himself last night when he pulled those pins. Two things to consider: motivation for making decisions and process for making decisions. Jack has always been selfless in his motivation for decisions, Sawyer was not, but he is now. BUT where they were both selfish in the process of decision-making, Jack has changed. He steps back, considers others' thoughts and shows some faith. Sawyer still trusts nobody to make a decision other than himself. He has faith in nobody other than himself.

-------------------------------
On another...
KM status: Geez LOST, I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach for the last hour. So traumatic!

noternie: They switch over to that slow piano, you know it's tearjerk time.

MRV: The sub scene was reminiscent of Titanic!

SAG: No spoilers!

RLM: yeah...totally Titanic. and I posted how disturbed I was by Jin's sacrifice. There is a kid involved! wtf.

----------

More new thoughts by me:
Isn't Hurley still a candidate? If so, doesn't the current pattern mean he's gonna go down? They've got no qualms about killing off popular characters like Jin/Sun, Charlie, etc. And truth be told, I really like and respect that. Keeps it unpredictable, realistic.

I'm looking forward to next week's episode. Looks like we'll get more of the man in black and Jacob. Good for two reasons. One: we'll get more about the nature of the island and the goings on from the only two that seem to have the complete story. Two: I think the actors that play them do a great job, particularly the man in black. Sad to see that his role was essentially taken over by Terry O'Quinn. O'Quinn is great, but he had his character. If the writers didn't' want to loose O'Quinn, they shouldn't have killed Locke.

Song of the Day: A Quick One (While he's away)

2010-05-03T07:48:00.000-04:00

The Who, from Live at Leeds.

Without going into a lengthy, full-blown review, this selection highlights the Who's strengths as a band and why the rose above so many others to become one of the top acts of their era. And why they continue to influence so many.

1--It's not typical for it's time or the category in which the Who played. Tommy is the single piece folks point to for the band's uniqueness, but there are a bunch of other examples. This is one of my favorites. At one point, rather than include the instrument, they all sing "cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello."

2--Great live band. I couldn't find a good video of them doing this live, but I've clips of portions. Let's just say Keith Moon could've been a great front-man.

3--Speaking of Moon, listen to him drum his way through this thing. Tremendous. And if you can pick out the bass line, you'll hear Entwisle's well-established brilliance.

4--It's fun. Amusing little story in there. Not uncommon with Who songs if you get past the standards you hear on the radio. There should always be a little whimsy available.

Song of the Day II: Georgia on my mind

2010-04-30T14:13:00.001-04:00

The Willie Nelson version. Good feel to this song. Matches today's weather.

Red Sox last night

2010-04-30T12:10:00.003-04:00

ORR-tease didn't embarrass himself at the plate and the stating pitchers didn't give up a bunch of early runs. Nobody failed at situational hitting and the fielding was flawless.

I don't have a single bad thing to say about the Red Sox based on what they did last night.

Let's see how it goes tonight.

Song of the Day: Won't Go Home Without You

2010-04-30T12:08:00.002-04:00

Maroon 5.

I often forget to listen to "It Won't Be Soon Before Long." But when I remember, it's a great listen from front to back.

Read up, all

2010-04-30T08:08:00.000-04:00

Taxes AND Cuts. That's what we need to get America's books in order. That oughta go over well, eh?

I guess what we need is a few generations of elected officials who don't care about re-election. Seriously. People who are willing to come in, do what needs to be done and then just walk away. Don't worry about how things will play when attack ads start or how the campaign donors are going to run for the hills. Just do the dirty work and get out.

I've got no problem with it. Give a dollar figure and split it in half. For every dollar you cut, you raise a dollar in taxes. A lot of people would get hit, both with taxes and service cuts. I'm a liberal, so I'll feel worse for the people who will suffer a loss in services, but I'll go a little cold-hearted on them for a bit. Long-term problems caused by doing nothing would hurt more people more significantly.

My biggest fear for the United States is not that some religion-obsessed or militia nut job is going to blow our shit up. (Though that is in my top five.) My biggest fear is that our economic weakness and exporting of manufacturing is going to lead to a hostile takeover by the Chinese--with the help of some profiteering Americans--that puts us under new management. And we've seen enough examples of how the Chinese treat their people.

Song of the Day: I Hold On

2010-04-29T14:38:00.001-04:00

Slash and Kid Rock team up for a cool tune off Slash's new disk. Does Kid Rock every disappoint? Wouldn't mind seeing one of his shows.

Cool!

2010-04-29T13:22:00.002-04:00

I think the new Nightmare on Elm Street looks like a great flick and I was looking forward to seeing it at some point (opens this week).

And that was before I knew that Kelly Leak was playing Freddy!

It would've been great if they could've cast Tatum O'Neal as a meaningless teacher or other adult that gets killed while Freddy makes some coded reference. Or one of the other Bears. Who would you want to see in it?

BIG Breaking political news

2010-04-29T12:17:00.001-04:00

Alan Magnus expected to announce run for Bill Delahunt's seat. Claims to be naked "all the time" and drive a "jalopy."

Drill, baby, drill

2010-04-29T11:36:00.002-04:00

What a bunch of friggin' assholes*. Seriously.

They do all they can to tell people they can take care of their own business. The government doesn't need to be involved. They don't need anything more than "voluntary" safety compliance.

Then they fuck* up so bad, they kill 11 people. They can't cop to the extent of the damage they're doing and they can't stop the oil from leaking anytime soon. Certainly not with government help.

ASSHOLES*!

*--Pardon my language.

Song of the Day: Excuse me Mr.

2010-04-28T13:00:00.001-04:00

Ben Harper, from "Fight for your mind"

Knight in Shining Armor having trouble getting horse to gallop

2010-04-28T07:08:00.004-04:00

Mass GOP Golden Boy Charlie Baker is already shuffling his campaign. Trouncing Christy Mihos at the State Convention last week was supposed to give him a boost. But it came a week or so after polls came out showing that while Mihos wasn't the lead opponent to Governor Deval Patrick, neither was Baker. Without an established party base or a strong fund raising machine, Tim Cahill has been out-polling Baker.

So, the campaign manager was sent packing. They wanted a local person, not a Washington person, they say. But they didn't know that until now? Ok, sure. Doesn't bode well for a stable cabinet team if Baker gets elected, but why should that worry anyone.

To address Baker's "Cahill problem" some of Charlie' friends at the national Republican Governor's Association made an ad buy going after Cahill. The thought is that they can drive up Cahill's negatives and cause him to spend money earlier than he can afford to.

But is it possible they've misplayed their hand? Some Republicans in today's Boston Herald (of all places) think so.

Anti-tax crusader Barbara Anderson, who endorsed Baker this month, said the ad “appalled” her and she hoped Baker would issue a strong rejection of tactics she fears may backfire. Even a former consultant for GOP superstar U.S. Sen. Scott Brown blasted the ad.

“This could be deja vu for the Massachusetts GOP all over again. Running for governor isn’t about attacking people,” said a former Brown campaign operative.

Here's the ad:

"Reckless" from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

Carlin bonus

2010-04-27T16:08:00.002-04:00

You can't talk about the strangeness of religion without paying homage to George Carlin.

Religion is odd, no?

2010-04-27T16:03:00.003-04:00

If you depict the god of one particular religion in a cartoon, you get death threats. Huh? I mean, whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?! That's not odd? Maybe more like bizarre.

John Stewart once again nails it.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

South Park Death Threats

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Song of the Day: Watch This

2010-04-27T15:42:00.003-04:00

From Slash. He gets help from Dave Grohl and Duff McKaggan. This is officially my new entrance music. Please plan accordingly.

Suspending Russina adoptions...Um, really?

2010-04-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

At first this sounds like a major overreaction by Russia. One whacked out lady sends a kid back to mother Russia by himself and ALL adoptions have to be put on hold? More thorough screening, sure. But suspending all adoptions? Lunacy, right?

But the story talks about Russian kids who have been abused and killed after being adopted into the US. That's kind of an issue.

And apparently, there is a real lack of substantive procedures in any sort of agreement between the two countries on how to handle some of this stuff. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Maybe the Russians aren't being so kooky here?

Lost goes Hurley-centric

2010-04-14T13:16:00.004-04:00

So Hurley, through legitimate talent and a fair amount of bullshit, is now a "leader" among our favorite island-bound travelers. Good deal. He's a likable character, a favorite of many fellow LOST-ers. I don't for a second think the writers can or will not make Jack the central player in the end of the series--they've invested too much in him--but they've done goofy things before.

Locke is beginning to show increasing signs of weakness. He was thoroughly unprepared for Desmond's return and maybe more surprised by his lack of fear, Brother. If you didn't see Desmond ending up in the well, set an alarm before the next episode and swig a few cups a Dunks.

Is anyone else bothered by the total unraveling of Richard? Are they just trying to write him into irrelevance? Aside from Jacob and the MIB he's spent more time on the island than anyone, even if he was in the dark much of the time. Did they really build him up that much just to discard him as meaningless?

Song of the Day: Up in Arms

2010-04-14T13:13:00.001-04:00

Foo Fighters, in honor of the teabaggers shaking their fists at the government over on the Boston Common today. Somewhat contrary lyrics, though.

Woody words for monday

2010-04-12T08:22:00.000-04:00

Impressive crowd

2010-04-09T20:45:00.002-04:00

Nice to see a crowd of several hundred come out to see their Royals. I bet the Palin Teabaggers get more people at their upcoming rally in Massachusetts.

Song of the Day: Slash Blues

2010-04-09T15:28:00.002-04:00

Because I jsut downloaded the new Slash album and am enjoying it, I thought I'd feature him just fiddling around with his Les Paul. Not really a song, but cool.

Well that's a nice thing to say

2010-04-09T15:19:00.001-04:00

Ryan Westmoreland's family released a statement today.

Song of the Day: One Week

2010-04-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

Happy healing, friend.

Latest thoughts on LOST

2010-04-08T12:27:00.002-04:00

I really liked this week's episode of LOST, but not in a real substantive way. The show featured characters I've always liked or liked in this episode more than any others.

I've always been a big fan of Charlie's, so I was glad to see him come back. And I thought they did a good job of making him a mix of good and bad. In the past his character had some flaws, but was always a bit more the soft victim. This week he had a hard edge to him at times, though he did maintain his likability just enough. In some ways I think this "reverse Sawyer" bit should have been how he was written from the start. But I think they wanted Jack to play that type of role within the show, something I was never a big fan of.

Desmond has always been great on the show. I don't know who gets more credit for that, the writers or the actor, but he's been tremendous before and continued that in this week's show. It was nice to see a hint that he will play an important role.

Farrady has never been my favorite character. Maybe it's because he mirror's the show's model of being obviously intelligent on the one hand, but withholding so much of that information as to be almost worthless. Especially because when you find out what's been withheld, it doesn't seem all that worth of being kept a secret. It's a great skill of the show's writers to be able to keep us tuning in and wondering without really giving us much insight into what's going on. But I liked Farrady in this episode. He was a little more like us, totally in the dark and trying to piece things together, knowing that someone could easily help them along, but they refusing to do so.

My growing frustration with the show is with the way they've handled the "master plan." I do not for a second believe that they had any of the end of the show thought out when they started or even into the second or third season. There is just too much that was made to be important that has been cast aside. And if they bring it back, they're waiting a bit to long to do so, I think. It's really badly obvious if you go back and watch earlier episodes and see the importance that was put into Walt or the numbers or the healing power of the island (Rose, Locke).

To me, this has really reduced my interest in theorizing or guessing what's coming next. Keeping secrets is one thing, but they've used a bit too much misdirection* to keep me actively guessing. There's too little time left and too much discarded stuff that was supposed to be significant. I don't know that they can neatly tie i tall up without relying on a dream sequence explanation. I'm basically just along for the ride at this point. I still love the show, but not as sport so much anymore.

*--The "this is what would've happened if 815 hadn't crashed" thing is a prime example. That's what they set it up as, but that's clearly not what it is. Linus would not be a teacher with Locke if the plane didn't crash, he was already on the island. Locke would not be engaged to Helen if the plane didn't crash, they weren't together when he left. Jack didn't have a son before the crash. The creepy leader of the temple wouldn't be meeting Jack at the music school auditions. On and on.

I am a real America, living in real America

2010-04-06T13:53:00.003-04:00

I'm an actively involved citizen, in fact. In an area where the country was founded, no less.

Thanks for the defense, Paul.

I've visited this type of ground before.

Yeah, I'm watching

2010-04-05T22:46:00.002-04:00

I'm half irritated that Butler is keeping me watching because I still don't think they've got much of a chance of winning. And I'm getting pretty tired.

That Zoubek is like Rick Robey without the jumpshot and if Robey got all the calls. What a hacker!

I'm also plenty irritated with Jim Nantz (thanks Pete) and the bufoonish Clark Kellog.

That fourth grader coaching Butler is starting to learn the truth of Duke getting ALL the calls.

My whole-hearted support to this guy...

2010-04-05T12:48:00.002-04:00

By David Cross, found on a blog by a guy who is trying to become Sox fan, but might not be sincere about it. Funny blog. Check it out after you watch/listen to this.

Don't get me started today

2010-04-05T12:01:00.000-04:00

I can only imagine if the Red Sox had lost last night.

First of all, I’m all set with Neil Diamond. They guy should’ve been there to sing Game 1 of the 2004 World Series or even Game 1 of the 2007 World Series. But the 2010 Opening Night Game? No thanks. They did him a big fat favor when they let him play a concert at Fenway Park. And now they’re doing him another one. How many of his regular shows you think he has to play to sell 35,000 tickets? Who’s looking for him?

And on top of that, he wears that stupid $#*!@% coat with the Brooklyn thing on it. Hey Neil, you’re not in New York City, the Dodgers aren’t playing and just about anybody that remembers seeing the Dodgers play in Brooklyn is collecting Social Security.

The opening “night” game rubs me a little the wrong way, but not as much as it does some others around here. It became a bit more confusing, though, when I saw the game was on espn2. You strip some city—they move it every year—of an excuse to knock off work for a day, presumably because you want to give MLB a jump to start the season and maybe bring in some extra revenue. Then you put it on the second tier station?!

If I were the NCAA Women’s Tournament, I’d be a bit miffed. You get the lead network, but they’re pulling a good deal of potential audience right out from under you. Not that their making the best decisions over there, either. Sunday night? With the second game so late?

Speaking of NCAA basketball and late games, I think the Red Sox game last night might have put a nail in the coffin of any plans of me seeing the nets cut down tonight. I have only very mild interest in the game, anyway. I hate Duke and they figure to win. The only interesting aspect is the possibility of Butler winning. If Duke’s up big or is holding a steady lead in the second half, it’s going to be early lights out for me.

A woman I work with is married to a Duke graduate, who by all other indications is a good guy. Due to the Red Sox game last night and her inability to stay up, she said she doesn’t figure to see the end of the game tonight, either. She roots for Duke with her husband, so we agreed we wouldn’t discuss the game tomorrow, since one of us will be sore with the result and neither of us is likely to have seen the entire game.

Since I always try to be a Life is Good type, I’ll end by expressing my pleasure that the Sox pulled out the win last night and the weather is and figures to be very good the next few days.

Song of the Day: New Hampshire State of Mind

2010-04-02T08:48:00.002-04:00

Pissah! Great video/song.

Go watch quick before Jay Z's legal team issues a cease and desist. Homie's got mad lawyers, yo!

Check out other videos by the Super Secret Project. "The Realistic Love Song" is pretty damn funny and so is "Cry Like a Bitch."

Now THAT's treatment

2010-03-30T14:30:00.003-04:00

Is this kind of treatment going to help Wes Welker recover faster or ensure that he never fully recovers?

From the Boston Globe: "Pity not Wes Welker. The Pats receiver, who's rehabbing from a serious knee injury, was photographed at the Playboy Mansion over the weekend with Ashley Dupre, the woman snared in the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. Welker, dressed in a blue bathrobe, was among several athletes, including Bode Miller and Miles Austin, who were at the mansion celebrating the Playboy golf finals."

Song of the Day: Stagger Lee

2010-03-29T16:11:00.001-04:00

Made a trip to the border this weekend. Border Cafe in Cambridge, that is. Good feed, good drink. While there I heard a song that sounded very familiar. Couldn't place it or think of the name of it, but it was a great tune, so i figured I'd look for it later.*

Easier said than done. There have been A LOT of versions of this song. The Lloyd Price version was my favorite of the bunch and is so presented here. It has a nice bounce to it and features some cool horns.

When I first heard it, it made me think of the movie Shag. But it wasn't on the soundtrack. There was, however, a version by the Fabulous Thunderbirds featured on the Porky's 2 Soundtrack.

*I know, I know, there's an app for that. But I have an iPod Touch, not an iPhone. If wifi were more widespread I might have been able to use that app, but it's not, so I don't have it. I use a tried and true old fashioned method: I listen for a line of the song and then google it later.

Americans LIKE the health care reform laws

2010-03-25T08:29:00.004-04:00

It's ok to ignore angry opponents of successful health care reform who claim Americans don't like it and will revolt at the ballot box in November. Their myth continues to die.

By a 49%-40% margin (11% undecided), Americans think it is a GOOD THING that Congress pased this bill. Even people who identify themselves as "independents" approve of the legislation.

Republicans did a good job building opposition and making it hard for the bill to pass, but at what risk? Obama, showing more courage than I thought he'd have in these battles, dug in and won.

Now, Republicans are watching their loss turn into a possible catastrophe. First, their plans to obstruct anything and everything and keep health care reform on the front burner may not be such a good idea, given what could be growing support for the newly passed laws. Second, the violent reactions--now too many to be considered isolated incidents--are clearly the result of angry rhetoric by Republican leadership in the run-up to the vote. They run the risk of being angry, sore losers who are backed by whack-jobs and thugs.

Americans don't support GOP on health care reform

2010-03-23T07:22:00.002-04:00

Listening to much of the angry reaction to passage of health care reform, you would be forgiven if you concluded there's a groundswell of opposition to Democrats. You might think Americans--by an overwhelming margin--think Democrats "over reached" (very popular buzzword) and are in the GOPs corner on the issue.

It's just not true. The majority of America doesn't take the Republican position on the issue.

Many cite poll results that 59% of Americans oppose the health care reform that passed. What they ignore is that a decisive group of Americans oppose it because it is not liberal enough in their minds.

39% support
43% oppose because it's too liberal
13% oppose because it's not liberal enough
3% oppose with no opinion
2% no opinion

So all the crap about Congress forgetting who they represent is nonsense. If Congress matched these results exactly, it would take only a majority of that 13% to "hold their nose" and vote for a bill they think it's liberal enough.

It may well prove that Republicans are angry enough over the way they were overrun on this issue to mobilize their base and pick up seats. And some of those liberals that feel Democrats didn't go far enough may stay home on election day. But to say a majority of American's think this health care reform went too far is just not accurate.

Song of the Day II: By My Side

2010-03-19T12:54:00.003-04:00

Now that your toes are sandy and your brain relaxed, reach out and touch someone.* Let Ben Harper keep you in the mood.

*Make sure they're ok with it. No means no, even on warm sunny funny days.

Song of the Day: Moonshine

2010-03-19T11:21:00.002-04:00

Feels like a Jack Johnson day today, doesn't it? Here's a short instrumental to help you feel the warm breeze and the sand sticking to your toes.

Goodbye, Merlin Olsen

2010-03-11T16:54:00.002-05:00

I might have guessed the late Merlin Olsen was older than 69.

He and Enberg were a great team in the broadcast booth. I watched a old game on the NFL Network recently and it was being called by them. Felt like I was a kid again.

Great crossover appeal, too. My sisters will know him from Little House...and maybe his FTD commercials.

Horror show

2010-03-11T13:02:00.000-05:00

Video courtesy of HubBlog.

I criticize religion because they all too often DON'T want to keep their beliefs to themselves. And, near as I can tell, have never wanted to. So to the rank-and-file who do keep it to themselves and want to be left alone I say: I'm happy to do that. But until and unless the "leaders" of your groups stop the kind of talk in the video above, I will be an unabashed critic.

As always, if you're viewing this on Facebook, jump on over to the blog to see the embedded video. http://noternie.blotspot.com

Make time to read, think

2010-03-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

Interesting--and lengthy--profile update on Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff.

Sometimes it doesn't matter whether you do it well or not, you just catch heat for doing your job.

I tend to like Rahm and respect the position he's in. Has he been effective? Probably, if only because both sides of the political spectrum think he's gone the toher way too much. But in reality, his success is tied up in the success of his boss and how things turn out at the end of many policy days. In other words, he doesn't get enough control over many of the factors that determine his success or failure.

Song of the Day: Sunshine Day

2010-03-09T13:07:00.000-05:00

Not the Brady Bunch version. This is one I found while looking for that. The visual is much better and frankly, though the song isn't entertaining in a campy way, I'm not sure it's worse.

Sit down for this one

2010-03-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

Shocking news from the art imitates life category. Sometimes a thing isn't official until it's official. I guess.

Hurry up!

2010-03-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

You don't have the time you used to. Your day just got shorter. I'm betting they won't shorted your workday, so your free time just shrunk.

Brilliant!

2010-03-01T14:27:00.002-05:00

UniversalHub brings to our attention the victim of a car break in that resulted in his laptop being stolen. Unfortunately for the theif, the guy has remote access to his computer. So there's mounting evidence of someone at the very least receiving stolen property.

IP address? Got it. Location? Yup. Photos and video? Yeah, that, too.

Check it out.

http://joshbob.com/off-topic/robbery/

Schilling Red Sock Doctor in hot water

2010-02-26T08:11:00.002-05:00

Why would one leave their job as a team physician for a minor league baseball team AND their gig at St. Vincent Hospital AND voluntarily give up their license to practice medicine all at the same time?

That's apparently what Doctor Bill "Bloody Sock" Morgan did last fall. Herald says he's under investigation for "unspecified allegations." Not exactly showing the same fighting spirit he did when the Sox' backs were up against the ropes, is he?

I wonder if there's any connection between his trouble last fall and his departure from the Red Sox.

Goodbye Mosi

2010-02-24T08:15:00.002-05:00

Mosi Tatupu, former fullback and special teamer extraordinaire has died. Cause of death is unknown right now.

I hate to hit him when he's dead, but this is my biggest lasting memory of Mosi. A heartbreaker. He was a big fan favorite, though, so this was kind of a Wakefield-Boone moment on a much smaller scale.

Lost or Found?

2010-02-23T22:01:00.002-05:00

Ok, so what do we know now? Is the sideways plot what happens if they go back to where Jacob touched them and start over? Lots of the same stuff, but no crash and a few different outcomes?

I wish they would've kept the actor who played the unknown man in black. The actor that plays Locke is good, but he wasn't this character. From what I've read, the actor who talked to Jacob on the beach was a well respected actor. So let Locke live on in flahbacks or flash sideways, even as a ghost. But keep that other guy playing the man in black.

Who's going to be the candidate and what are the job requirements? All signs have pointed to Jack since the start. They've spent so much time trying to perfect him it's hard to imagine them going in another direction, but I hope they do. There's something unlikable about him. Something a little too preordained. Like things have essentially been handed to him all along and he just doesn't want them or appreciate them.

I get the whole thing about his redemption, finally accepting his role, his duty and fufilling his apparent destiny, but I'm still rooting against him.

I think I'm leaning Sawyer/Ford. He's remorseful, admitted even to a death wish, presumably out of guilt, as a reason for getting on micheal's raft at the end of Season 1.

Speaking of which, Waaaaaaaaaaaalt was such a strong interest of the Others and seemed to hold so much power and potential that it's hard to imagine he's not coming back to play a role of some sort. Bit he wasn't a candidate we saw listed on the wall with one of "the numbers" was he? If we can believe that was Jacob's list and not one the man in black was working.

Toyota keeps piling up the bullshit, pardon my French

2010-02-23T16:14:00.002-05:00

Interesting and disgusting revelations in Washington today, as Congress holds hearings on quality/safety problems in Toyota vehicles. This stuff doesn't even go into the evidence that they knew about the problems and how serious they were, but made a business decision, more or less, not to address them.

Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said "We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."

--------

The president of Toyota's U.S. operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally" solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.

--------

House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.

LaDamian

2010-02-23T12:34:00.002-05:00

NFL running backs lose it in a real hurry, don't they? LaDamian (out of respect for the real LT I will only call this guy LaDamian)was the best back in the league for a few years. But when the league is full of really big guys that run really fast and just about everytime you have the ball the play ends with one or more of those guys hitting and/or landing on you, the lifespan at the top of the mountain is short.

Adrian Peterson took over as the elite back, but he fell off quite a bit this last year. Let's see if he can get back to the top.

They look great in commericals, but these guys still pale in comparison to Brown, Payton, Sanders and Emmitt.

Song of the Day: Kool Thing

2010-02-22T12:32:00.000-05:00

Quality Sonic Youth material from back in the day.

Thanks to Whiskey Fire's rant on feminism for the suggestion.

While you're there, read some more Whiskey Fire. He's got some high quality rants on there. Warning: it's political and language is not "G" rated.

Good stuff

2010-02-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

Trying to justify bad things. You can always kind of tell it's wrong on it's face. But if you're willing to do some mental gymnastics, you can start to think something's not all that bad. I guess.

Dealing with climate change deniers

2010-02-22T11:58:00.000-05:00

found on Blue Mass Group

Shhhhhhhh, it's lent

2010-02-19T10:37:00.002-05:00

Don't make too much noise about it because then Catholics will remember they aren't supposed to eat meat today. That would ruin the fun of trying to trick a Catholic into eating meat which would damn their souls to hell or something.

The particular axe I have to grind today is that I want to get Sushi tonight and I'm worried that the place will be bogged down by too many Catholics who are allowed to eat the flesh of aquatic animals instead of the flesh of barnyard animals.

I'm worried it will be like trying to get Chinese food on New Year's Eve.

Song of the Day: You don't have to believe me

2010-02-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Jump Back! Get the feeling this skiny white guy was influenced by Stevie Wonder and James Brown?

Eric Hutchinson's the guy.

Song of the Day: Teen Angst

2010-02-17T12:55:00.003-05:00

Hoppin' tune by Cracker. Good lyrics, too.

The band's much more famous single is Low (remember the disgraced cosmonaut?). But I actually think this one's more fun.

Steve Nash is a pretty cool guy

2010-02-16T14:24:00.001-05:00

YouTube evidence here...

The halftime show

2010-02-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

My idea for future halftime shows is to feature the year's inductees to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. They've been at it for a while, so most of the really, really old groups have been put in. Granted there are still a few oldies from the 2009 class but you could do an entertaining show. What is it, 20 minutes?

It would be good publicity for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and would ease some of the annual tension the NFL seems to endure in trying to find an act.

For the record, I'm a huge fan of the Who, have been since I was in middle school. But I don't think they're want the Super Bowl crowd was looking for. Would've been better to throw out Metallica, Jeff Beck and Run D.M.C., don't you think?

What a weird dude (not about Micheal Jackson)

2010-02-16T13:38:00.003-05:00

Ok, so King Tut takes over when he's 10 years old and ten dies when he's 19. Odd enough. But the latest revelations are mind bottling.

--He had a cleft palate.
--And a club foot. Probably walked with canes.
--He died of a malaria infection linked to a broken leg.
--His father was his uncle and his mother was his aunt. Translation: his mother and father were brother and sister.

Science suddenly needs consensus?!?!

2010-02-16T13:04:00.003-05:00

A very good discussion over at BMG about global warming/climate change which raises the issue of how lay folks understand and react to sciency folks. Politicizing science. Carve out some time and take a look. Here's a taste, a comment in the thread from one of my favorites, lightiris.

I'd be interested in the reaction to this of any sciencers out there.

No science is going to convince the "deniers" or "skeptics" or whatever you want to call them at this point. Climate change has jumped the shark, so to speak, and now resides in the realm of hoax and conspiracy theory. The science has been done, and anyone who claims there is any "debate" about that is a) lazy, b) disingenuous, or c)ignorant. Climate change has received a toxic injection of politicization, ensuring no rational treatment of the topic is forthcoming. The "deniers" or the "skeptics" have a vested interest in rejecting the evidence and furthering their narrative; they're not going to give that up any time soon, even though the overwhelming body of science is not on their side.

This issue is a perfect example of how this generation's crop of scientists is poorly trained. There's a reason MIT is now requiring eight semesters of English for its undergraduates: science, as a discipline, is unable to communicate effectively. It's not enough to hole up in your lecture hall or your lab and shun the unwashed masses, but that is what science has done. I've had a lot of conversations with educators as well as my own family members who are PhDs in hard sciences--genetics, geology, biology, virology--who all seem to indicate that this is a serious concern among the nation's university leadership. My brother-in-law even went so far to say that at his research university, the tipping point for graduate students getting good fellowships is a) their ability to reduce complex ideas into lay terms--in writing and b) their demeanor. The geeky, socially awkward science kid with the straight As is going to find s/he has some competition based on skills that they do not have. Fortunately, there are a small number of outliers to this trend--Brian Greene, Neil deGrasse Tyson, V.S. Ramachandran, and Neil Shubin to name a few--but the history is not good--and we're living the consequences. Science, too long ensconced in its labs and ivory towers, has become an object of ridicule rather than admiration. Neil deGrasse Tyson is particularly eloquent on this topic. Carl Sagan is is more likely weeping than laughing in his grave at what has happened since his groundbreaking dream of bringing complex science to the masses so that people can understand and make informed decisions.

The corresponding ascendancy of anti-intellectualism in the United States is a concomitant problem and is as likely to ensure our relegation to the international back row sooner rather than later, all the hand-wringing by conservatives about wanting "good schools" notwithstanding.

Someone please fire Bob Costas

2010-02-15T21:56:00.002-05:00

Seriously, the guy is insufferable. Does he have pictures of that many NBC executives in compromising positions?

He knows his stuff, no doubt. And he 's a decent presenter. But all of that is undermined by the fact that he insists on being too cute by half...and then some. He's got absolutely no humility. He is totally unlikable.

So please, fire him. He doesn't need to be drummed out of the business, just knocked down a peg or two so he can recalibrate his persona.

BTW: the Canadian mogul skier who won the country's first gold medal is a great story. Just saw the feature piece on he and his brother. Good stuff. Glad he won the first gold for Canada instead of the woman who was favored to repeat.

Lost the Knack?

2010-02-15T21:40:00.002-05:00

The lead singer of the Knack has died. Who are they, you ask? Shame on you.

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This is great stuff!!

2010-02-04T15:16:00.001-05:00

And it's not from the Onion, it's from Boston.com.

Excellent work.

For the record, on LOST

2010-02-04T15:14:00.001-05:00

The Man in Black, who is also the smoke monster, did NOT invade Locke’s body. Locke’s body is whole and unpossessed, lying dead on the beach. What the Man in Black did, somehow, was create a replica or clone or apparition or some sort of image of Locke’s body for his own use.

I don’t know if this is relevant in any way, but I’ve seen too many people describing Locke’s body being taken over or possessed and it simply is not true.

This may or may not play into scenarios people are floating about Jacob taking over Sayid’s form. What also might play into that is the fact that we have no evidence the Man in Black died before taking Locke’s appearance. Jacob certainly appeared to have been killed. For Jacob to do with Sayid after death what the Man in Black is doing with Locke would take one more ability than we’ve seen from the Man in Black so far.

As always, take this for what it is.