note: i started writing this thursday morning but it has been so hectic since, i have only now been able to finish and clean it up.
i feel like i've cheated. i've only been a fan of the red sox for about 18 years... and only in the last 10 can i say i have followed them well. Oh, I went through the agony of watching buckner in 86, but honestly since 86 was the year i started liking the sox (because of their appearance in the world series, and me fatefully choosing them to root for), i really didnt suffer all that much. most of the suffering came in the relentless replays since then.
but i felt the playoff victory drought until 98. the crap with Clemens. their finally being good in the late 90s. the loses to the Indians (trust me i felt well confident when the sox had to hit against Tom Gordon this year). the confusing time of Jimy Williams (amazingly it still crosses my mind that Williams needed a little more time... am i on crack?!) the futility against the Yankees, in the playoffs and the regular season (like that 22-crap drubbing a few years ago). the hope that Kerrigan would do better. the 'I want to shoot Grady Little' thoughts. A-Rod/Manny. Nomar. last year's Boone home run.
so thats why i feel like I've cheated... but you know what? i don't care. I love the Sox, I truly do. And you know what? Alot of my joy comes in the thought that there are so many people who also love them, and they've been going to sleep the past few days with a huge smile on their face too. People who put up with that crap much longer than me. It's a great feeling.
I was thinking, when it comes to sports, I'm a lucky fan. I've had 4 of my teams win championships in my lifetime: the Boston Red Sox (this year), Maryland Terrapins Basketball (2002), Washington Redskins (1982-83, 1987-88, 1991-92), and DC United (1996, 1997, 1999). Now all i need to see is a Chilean World Cup title, a Terrapins Football Championship and a Washington Capitals Stanley Cup trophy to finish of the set (technically speaking the Washington Bullets/Wizards won when I was alive in 1978 so it would be nice to redo that one... oh and now that I think about it, my newest addition to the group would have to be a World Series title for the new DC baseball team/Expos).
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
time for my own endorsement
It seems this past sunday is dubbed 'Super Sunday' as that the day most newspapers publish their endorsements for President of the United States. Well, According to dKosopedia.com (which is keeping a tally of endorsements, 133-69 for Kerry in case you are wondering) It seems 33 newspapers have 'flip-flopped'... that is switched their year 2000 endorsement of Bush by endorsing Kerry in this years election. That number doesn't include the 6 newspapers that endorsed Bush and are now endorsing neither candidate. By contrast only 2 newspapers have gone from supporting Gore in 2000 to endorsing Bush in 2004.
My favorite endorsement reads were of a paper that switched from Bush to Kerry (in the battleground state of Florida nonetheless!), The Orlando Sentinel and one of the two papers that switched from Gore to Bush, The Denver Post. (Note, tho, that according to EditorAndPublisher.com the Denver Post has a new editor this time around and he is 'known as a strong Bush supporter.')
I almost totally agree with what the Orlando Sentinel has to say but the interesting thing is that I, to a certain extent agree with what the Denver Post says. I was pleased to find an example of what last week I called the only respectable reason to vote for Bush. In essence, they stated that they did not believe what John Kerry said he would do. They then said something most Bush supporters, sadly, would never admit: Our support for Bush is tempered by unease over the poor choices and results of his first term. To succeed in his second-term, Bush must begin by taking responsibility for U.S. failures in Iraq, admit his mistakes and adjust U.S. strategy. (Get that! They admitted Bush's failures) I whole heartedly agree with that statement. If Bush were to be reelected he would need to admit his mistakes and adjust accordingly...
The crux is twofold (can a crux even be twofold??): First, I (along with at least 133 newspaper editors it would appear), do not believe Bush is capable of fixing the mistakes that, even newspapers that endorse him say, he made. (Remember, Bush doesn't even acknowledge these mistakes.) Bush has lost his credibility in the world and is not willing to truly become a 'uniter' by, as the Denver Post puts it, 'reach[ing] out for Democratic talent' for help. Second, I feel George W. Bush should be held accountable for, specifically, those mistakes. He should also be held responsible for policies in issues, like the environment, that apparantly aren't as important to Americans since 9/11. Even the Denver Post admits '[Bush] bows to corporate preference in matters of energy and environment' and that Kerry's postions 'are the superior proposals on environmental protection, on stem-cell research and judicial nominations.'
For me, this leave only one question which would keep me from endorsing John Kerry. Would the United States be less safe if Kerry were to become president? I do not believe it would. That is not to say the U.S. will not be attacked again, understand that no matter who is elected, there will be more attacks. I just do not believe either man would be better for the job of protecting America from terrorism. I do believe, though, that John Kerry would be the better man for restoring US credibility, keeping our environment safe, providing basic needs like health and education, and fixing our enormous budget deficit. (ironically enough that last point is a conservative belief which I hold: fiscal responsibility.)
My favorite endorsement reads were of a paper that switched from Bush to Kerry (in the battleground state of Florida nonetheless!), The Orlando Sentinel and one of the two papers that switched from Gore to Bush, The Denver Post. (Note, tho, that according to EditorAndPublisher.com the Denver Post has a new editor this time around and he is 'known as a strong Bush supporter.')
I almost totally agree with what the Orlando Sentinel has to say but the interesting thing is that I, to a certain extent agree with what the Denver Post says. I was pleased to find an example of what last week I called the only respectable reason to vote for Bush. In essence, they stated that they did not believe what John Kerry said he would do. They then said something most Bush supporters, sadly, would never admit: Our support for Bush is tempered by unease over the poor choices and results of his first term. To succeed in his second-term, Bush must begin by taking responsibility for U.S. failures in Iraq, admit his mistakes and adjust U.S. strategy. (Get that! They admitted Bush's failures) I whole heartedly agree with that statement. If Bush were to be reelected he would need to admit his mistakes and adjust accordingly...
The crux is twofold (can a crux even be twofold??): First, I (along with at least 133 newspaper editors it would appear), do not believe Bush is capable of fixing the mistakes that, even newspapers that endorse him say, he made. (Remember, Bush doesn't even acknowledge these mistakes.) Bush has lost his credibility in the world and is not willing to truly become a 'uniter' by, as the Denver Post puts it, 'reach[ing] out for Democratic talent' for help. Second, I feel George W. Bush should be held accountable for, specifically, those mistakes. He should also be held responsible for policies in issues, like the environment, that apparantly aren't as important to Americans since 9/11. Even the Denver Post admits '[Bush] bows to corporate preference in matters of energy and environment' and that Kerry's postions 'are the superior proposals on environmental protection, on stem-cell research and judicial nominations.'
For me, this leave only one question which would keep me from endorsing John Kerry. Would the United States be less safe if Kerry were to become president? I do not believe it would. That is not to say the U.S. will not be attacked again, understand that no matter who is elected, there will be more attacks. I just do not believe either man would be better for the job of protecting America from terrorism. I do believe, though, that John Kerry would be the better man for restoring US credibility, keeping our environment safe, providing basic needs like health and education, and fixing our enormous budget deficit. (ironically enough that last point is a conservative belief which I hold: fiscal responsibility.)
Thursday, October 21, 2004
we are family!
I'm not into downloading a specific RSS reader mainly because I'm on my Mac most of the time and Safari, the web browser for the mac, will soon support RSS, and will actually be called Safari RSS, with the release of Os X Tiger. So I get my RSS feeds delivered to my account at Bloglines.com. Currently I only have 3 websites (Electoral-Vote.com, PoliticalWire.com and Snopes.com) feeding my account. Thats mainly because I dont want to be overwhelmed with feeds, I have yet to spend some time trying to set controls and such. Anyways on to the real point of my post:
Did you know that John Kerry and George Bush are related? Well I didn't but thanks to PoliticalWire.com (via Electoral-Vote.com) now I do and so do you.
Did you know that John Kerry and George Bush are related? Well I didn't but thanks to PoliticalWire.com (via Electoral-Vote.com) now I do and so do you.
WHO'S YOUR DADDY!
ummmmm i seriously dont know what to say or write... aside from "who's your daddy!" ummmm yeah. Never in the history of postseason baseball... down 3-0 to come back and win a series? just beautiful.... arggggh!
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
i hate chris berman... and now tim mccarver
this will also probably make no sense but here goes: exactly how is giving up a walk when you are down 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth like giving up a home run? Foulke gives up a walk to Matsui and McCarver says its like giving up a home run. So why was giving up the walk to Sierra not like giving up another home run? oh thats right! Because giving up a walk ISNT like giving up a home run!
and to explain the chris berman comment last week... Aside from all the biased remarks he made in the Angels-Red Sox series... He acted like MLB was the scourge of the world for moving the Expos. MLB gave montreal EVERY chance in the world. They didn't do it willingly (the player's union probably had alot to do with it) but Montreal had plenty of chances to prove it would support a baseball team. It's sad to see Montreal lose its team but its not that great of a tragedy. Washington lost its team TWICE, why does the return not even it all out? If Montreal can prove later to be worthy of a team they can try expansion (which admitedly probably isnt happening for at least 15-20 years) or they can try and get a team like the Devil Rays. But trust me its not gonna happen tho, because obviously most of Montreal doesn't care about baseball.
and to explain the chris berman comment last week... Aside from all the biased remarks he made in the Angels-Red Sox series... He acted like MLB was the scourge of the world for moving the Expos. MLB gave montreal EVERY chance in the world. They didn't do it willingly (the player's union probably had alot to do with it) but Montreal had plenty of chances to prove it would support a baseball team. It's sad to see Montreal lose its team but its not that great of a tragedy. Washington lost its team TWICE, why does the return not even it all out? If Montreal can prove later to be worthy of a team they can try expansion (which admitedly probably isnt happening for at least 15-20 years) or they can try and get a team like the Devil Rays. But trust me its not gonna happen tho, because obviously most of Montreal doesn't care about baseball.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
ahhh politics. yum!
The Associated Press realeased an interesting list of quotes from 2004 Presidential Endorsements from various newspapers. The most interesting part to me was the "No Endorsement" section at the end which listed two quotes:
The Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, N.C.:
"This is a presidency in deep trouble, made worse by the refusal to acknowledge the trouble. ... Unfortunately, Sen. John Kerry has not convinced us that he will be able to steer the nation out of the mess in Iraq and move forward appropriately in the war on terrorism."
The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Fla.:
"We find ourselves deeply conflicted today about the presidential race, skeptical of the promises and positions of Sen. John Kerry and disappointed by the performance of President George W. Bush."
This fits well with two things i think about the upcoming election:
1. If you are voting for Bush, the only respectable reason I can think of is that you are not willing to believe John Kerry's promises to be better than Bush.
2. The second best reason (The best reason would be because you are willing to believe John Kerry's promises) to vote for Kerry is to hold GW Bush accountable for his "disappoint[ing]... performance" and his unwillingness to acknowledge the touble this country is in.
The Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, N.C.:
"This is a presidency in deep trouble, made worse by the refusal to acknowledge the trouble. ... Unfortunately, Sen. John Kerry has not convinced us that he will be able to steer the nation out of the mess in Iraq and move forward appropriately in the war on terrorism."
The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Fla.:
"We find ourselves deeply conflicted today about the presidential race, skeptical of the promises and positions of Sen. John Kerry and disappointed by the performance of President George W. Bush."
This fits well with two things i think about the upcoming election:
1. If you are voting for Bush, the only respectable reason I can think of is that you are not willing to believe John Kerry's promises to be better than Bush.
2. The second best reason (The best reason would be because you are willing to believe John Kerry's promises) to vote for Kerry is to hold GW Bush accountable for his "disappoint[ing]... performance" and his unwillingness to acknowledge the touble this country is in.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
a place called... vertigo?
I need to remember to put a link with each post. It makes it more interesting when I give you something to click on. You know: "inter-ACTIVE!" Riiiight, so anyways, to the real point of this post: song lyrics!
U2 has a new song out called Vertigo. Not a bad song but definitely not outstanding lyrics. But come to think of it, when it comes to lyrics, U2 is definitely hit or miss. Which isn't exactly a bad thing, but it's an interesting trend.
Certain U2 songs just plain have weak lyrics ("well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot/for any spirit to haunt"). Now I'll admit not exactly bad lyrics, i mean they've had worse I just can't remember any right now. Those words roll well and sound good, but the metaphor is cliched. It's only when U2 comes up with some good original lyrics ("they say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by a moon/you know I don't see you when she walks in the room") that you realize the other lyrics are subpar for them.
U2 has a new song out called Vertigo. Not a bad song but definitely not outstanding lyrics. But come to think of it, when it comes to lyrics, U2 is definitely hit or miss. Which isn't exactly a bad thing, but it's an interesting trend.
Certain U2 songs just plain have weak lyrics ("well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot/for any spirit to haunt"). Now I'll admit not exactly bad lyrics, i mean they've had worse I just can't remember any right now. Those words roll well and sound good, but the metaphor is cliched. It's only when U2 comes up with some good original lyrics ("they say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by a moon/you know I don't see you when she walks in the room") that you realize the other lyrics are subpar for them.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
hello? is this thing on?
Am I practically the only person who thinks the Jib Jab Bush/Kerry "This Land" and "Good to be in DC" videos are pretty lame? Seriously... Is it just me? If it is, what's wrong with me? Am I getting old? (Il'd say "old and crochety" but I think I'm already crochety.) They're really just not funny and the worst part is the second one is the same jokes as the first one, just set to different music. Ahhhh phooey! Oh, and get of my lawn!
Saturday, October 09, 2004
roadkill cafe
I was driving home early this morning and I drove by some deer. It got me thinking about roadkill and about why some animals like to hang out near roadways. Practically everywhere in the DC area you'll see squirrel, racoon, and oppossum. On roads near and in wooded areas you'll also find groundhog, skunk (ya smell them real quick when they're dead), and deer. In the summer you'll also see snake and turtle. (you also find all types of feathered roadkill which has always surprised me since I thought birds were pretty skittish around cars anyways... not to mention they can fly! i mean, how do you get runover when you can fly?!) thats about it when it comes to roadkill... but i've seen fox in places like rock creek park and along the clara barton. i guess they must be wilier, tho, since i dont recall seeing fox roadkill. oooooh i almost forgot: i once saw a bear (yes a live BEAR) on the side of I-68 just west of Cumberland, MD but thats hardly the DC area, and most likely an aberration.
Anyways all this thinking also reminded me how recently I was surprised to find out that some people (from the west) had never seen a groundhog "in the wild." So I looked it up and it appears that in the western United States (practically speaking, east of the mississippi), groundhogs are only found in northern Washington state and northern Idaho. Most people are familiar with Phil of Punxsutawney fame. But they've never seen his kin outside of the realm of film, video, zoo, etc. We'll I've been to Texas and Arizona and I've never seen an armadillo in the wild, so maybe that makes us even?!? right?
Anyways all this thinking also reminded me how recently I was surprised to find out that some people (from the west) had never seen a groundhog "in the wild." So I looked it up and it appears that in the western United States (practically speaking, east of the mississippi), groundhogs are only found in northern Washington state and northern Idaho. Most people are familiar with Phil of Punxsutawney fame. But they've never seen his kin outside of the realm of film, video, zoo, etc. We'll I've been to Texas and Arizona and I've never seen an armadillo in the wild, so maybe that makes us even?!? right?
Friday, October 08, 2004
talking baseball
take a wild guess when i started watching todays game? middle of the 3rd... and the Sox greet me with two runs. (now i never said the Angels dont score, since it appears everytime im watching Troy Glaus seems to hit the crap outta the ball) its 2-1 now but the bases are loaded and Manny is up... btw, i seriously hate Chris Berman.. seriously.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
very superstitious, writings on the wall
im not braggin. i promise. but everytime i turn on the tv to watch the Red Sox-Angels series, the Sox score runs.
i turned on a bit late on tuesday because i thought they were playing later. the top of the 3rd inning was ending, and i watched Schilling handled the bottom half beautifully. And then came the 7 run top of the 4th. Thats the ballgame... Sox win 9-3.
wednesday night, i spent making cookies... i know, a(n) horrendous excuse, but its the truth. i was, tho, checking the score online periodically. finally when i'm almost finished with the (mighty delish, i should say) cookies, ESPN said it was top of the ninth, 4-3 Sox. my thinking was: wait till the bottom half, Foulke holds the 4-3 lead, sox go back to Boston up 2-0 in a best of 5. what more could i ask for?
So i go turn on the TV and the Sox aren't up 4-3... they're up 5-3. Orlando Cabrerra is up. there are 2 outs, but the bases are loaded. And what happens? He clears the bases with a triple in between left and center field. 8-3. Foulke's arm would have had to pull an "Idol Hands" and started killing people (never saw the movie, so i dont know if thats what happens, but im sticking with the comparison) for the Angels to have had a glimmer of a chance to just THINK that they could make up the 5 runs. ahhh nice... nice i tell you?
i turned on a bit late on tuesday because i thought they were playing later. the top of the 3rd inning was ending, and i watched Schilling handled the bottom half beautifully. And then came the 7 run top of the 4th. Thats the ballgame... Sox win 9-3.
wednesday night, i spent making cookies... i know, a(n) horrendous excuse, but its the truth. i was, tho, checking the score online periodically. finally when i'm almost finished with the (mighty delish, i should say) cookies, ESPN said it was top of the ninth, 4-3 Sox. my thinking was: wait till the bottom half, Foulke holds the 4-3 lead, sox go back to Boston up 2-0 in a best of 5. what more could i ask for?
So i go turn on the TV and the Sox aren't up 4-3... they're up 5-3. Orlando Cabrerra is up. there are 2 outs, but the bases are loaded. And what happens? He clears the bases with a triple in between left and center field. 8-3. Foulke's arm would have had to pull an "Idol Hands" and started killing people (never saw the movie, so i dont know if thats what happens, but im sticking with the comparison) for the Angels to have had a glimmer of a chance to just THINK that they could make up the 5 runs. ahhh nice... nice i tell you?
Friday, October 01, 2004
click
Well its a sad day in the world of photography. Richard Avedon died today. I'm not the biggest pop/fashion photography fan, but growing up there were 3 portrait/fashion photographers I admired: Mark Seliger, Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon. (I know, they're probably the 3 most well known pop photographers... but gimme a break, i told you i was young.)
Avedon's photography atracted me because he made photos of celebrities which felt real. It felt like you could tell so much about the person from just one photo. His photos and subjects weren't always glamorous, but were beautiful, telling, and often strange. Just like most of us, i guess...
Well here's saying goodbye to one person who made me want to be a photographer.
Avedon's photography atracted me because he made photos of celebrities which felt real. It felt like you could tell so much about the person from just one photo. His photos and subjects weren't always glamorous, but were beautiful, telling, and often strange. Just like most of us, i guess...
Well here's saying goodbye to one person who made me want to be a photographer.
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