Song of the Day: One Week

Happy healing, friend.

Latest thoughts on LOST

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hurry up!

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!

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

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

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?

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

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."

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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.

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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

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

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

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

found on Blue Mass Group

Shhhhhhhh, it's lent

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

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

Eric Hutchinson's the guy.