It's not quite Kiki - but it IS an INCREDIBLE simulation!
Ninja Kitty
Jenna MySpace Video
(Everyone that knows Kiki knows what I mean!!!)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Two Huge Losses
I guess there's no other way to express how this day has gone, other than "tough".
Earlier today, former Yankee player and announcer Bobby Murcer lost his battle with brain cancer at the age of 62. Bobby fought an unbelievable year-and-a-half fight against something that normally takes people within weeks. The Murcer family had released a statement recently stating the Bobby was not doing well, so while this is not totally unexpected, it's still a shock.
Murcer was one of my father's favorite players. When the Yankees traded him to the Giants back in '74, my Dad was crushed - but he was equally ecstatic when he came back to the Bronx during the '79 season. For those that don't know the story, Murcer retired in 1983 to make room for Don Mattingly. The next night, he was in the Yankee TV booth - a place he would stay for the next 25 years.
For today's generation of Yankee fans, Bobby became the modern version of Bill White and Phil Rizzuto rolled into one; a voice in the booth that became synonymous with summer, baseball and the Bronx Bombers, his Oklahoma drawl drawing you in to one of his stories about days gone by or glory days to come.
Unlike many of his retired contemporaries, Murcer was good friends with many of the current Yankee players, extending the hand of the "Yankee family" that he had been a part of for so long. Today's Yankee players were visibly shaken up when they spoke of the loss of this great man.
By all accounts, Bobby Ray Murcer was as good a man as you could find. His endless work for a variety of charities is well-known, and he addressed everyone with kindness and a wide, ear-to-ear smile. There were many times I'd see Bobby on his way into The Stadium and call out his name. He always responded with a wave and that same smile.
Murcer will be sorely missed by the Yankees, their players, their fans and the baseball world in general. The team plans to hold a special day in his memory; no date was announced yet.
Several hours earlier, former White House Press Secretary, news commentator, radio host and equally good guy Tony Snow also succumbed to his (colon) cancer. Back when Tony started up his radio show, there was a period of time when the outfit I work for distributed the program. Naturally, any time you start up a new network, there are going to be issues, and from time to time we'd have to work with Tony's people about refining certain things.
During one of these times I mentioned that something Tony had said on the previous day's show made me laugh uncontrollably for the rest of the day. It was suggested that I send Tony an e-mail and tell him this, which I did, never expecting an actual answer.
Not only did Tony e-mail me back, but we struck up a friendly e-mail correspondence for the next several years….snarky little stream-of-consciousness things about the events of the day and whatnot, always good fun. We were both addicted to Smarties, so when he got the White House Press Secretary job, I sent him a congratulatory package of them that would have probably lasted for the next decade. I always meant to go see his band play down in DC, but never got around to it (of course).
The last time I saw him was just a few months ago. He was up at my job, doing some news and commentary. He looked and sounded great, weak but the way you would expect a guy in recovery to look. He was still just a genuine, fun guy to be around. We talked shop over some Chinese food and had some laughs, hoping to see one another again soon. That was the last time I talked to him.
I'm sure he's somewhere right now, chewing on Smarties and laughing at the insanity of it all...meanwhile Bobby, Thurman, Billy and The Mick have a few beers and catching up.
RIP, Bobby and Tony. You'll both be missed.
Earlier today, former Yankee player and announcer Bobby Murcer lost his battle with brain cancer at the age of 62. Bobby fought an unbelievable year-and-a-half fight against something that normally takes people within weeks. The Murcer family had released a statement recently stating the Bobby was not doing well, so while this is not totally unexpected, it's still a shock.
Murcer was one of my father's favorite players. When the Yankees traded him to the Giants back in '74, my Dad was crushed - but he was equally ecstatic when he came back to the Bronx during the '79 season. For those that don't know the story, Murcer retired in 1983 to make room for Don Mattingly. The next night, he was in the Yankee TV booth - a place he would stay for the next 25 years.
For today's generation of Yankee fans, Bobby became the modern version of Bill White and Phil Rizzuto rolled into one; a voice in the booth that became synonymous with summer, baseball and the Bronx Bombers, his Oklahoma drawl drawing you in to one of his stories about days gone by or glory days to come.
Unlike many of his retired contemporaries, Murcer was good friends with many of the current Yankee players, extending the hand of the "Yankee family" that he had been a part of for so long. Today's Yankee players were visibly shaken up when they spoke of the loss of this great man.
By all accounts, Bobby Ray Murcer was as good a man as you could find. His endless work for a variety of charities is well-known, and he addressed everyone with kindness and a wide, ear-to-ear smile. There were many times I'd see Bobby on his way into The Stadium and call out his name. He always responded with a wave and that same smile.
Murcer will be sorely missed by the Yankees, their players, their fans and the baseball world in general. The team plans to hold a special day in his memory; no date was announced yet.
Several hours earlier, former White House Press Secretary, news commentator, radio host and equally good guy Tony Snow also succumbed to his (colon) cancer. Back when Tony started up his radio show, there was a period of time when the outfit I work for distributed the program. Naturally, any time you start up a new network, there are going to be issues, and from time to time we'd have to work with Tony's people about refining certain things.
During one of these times I mentioned that something Tony had said on the previous day's show made me laugh uncontrollably for the rest of the day. It was suggested that I send Tony an e-mail and tell him this, which I did, never expecting an actual answer.
Not only did Tony e-mail me back, but we struck up a friendly e-mail correspondence for the next several years….snarky little stream-of-consciousness things about the events of the day and whatnot, always good fun. We were both addicted to Smarties, so when he got the White House Press Secretary job, I sent him a congratulatory package of them that would have probably lasted for the next decade. I always meant to go see his band play down in DC, but never got around to it (of course).
The last time I saw him was just a few months ago. He was up at my job, doing some news and commentary. He looked and sounded great, weak but the way you would expect a guy in recovery to look. He was still just a genuine, fun guy to be around. We talked shop over some Chinese food and had some laughs, hoping to see one another again soon. That was the last time I talked to him.
I'm sure he's somewhere right now, chewing on Smarties and laughing at the insanity of it all...meanwhile Bobby, Thurman, Billy and The Mick have a few beers and catching up.
RIP, Bobby and Tony. You'll both be missed.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Some Interesting News
Gallup (who does some of the most accurate and realistic polling out there) offered up THIS little tidbit of information yesterday:
The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on the presidential election finds John McCain and Barack Obama exactly tied at 45% among registered voters nationwide.
Good news, indeed...yet McCain (in lieu of any actual Conservativism) needs to start pounding away at The Messiah (TM) with a little more direction.
Some days I wish I could just sleep until November 5th and avoid the four months of agita that I have ahead of me. This is gonna be a good year for Maalox.
The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on the presidential election finds John McCain and Barack Obama exactly tied at 45% among registered voters nationwide.
Good news, indeed...yet McCain (in lieu of any actual Conservativism) needs to start pounding away at The Messiah (TM) with a little more direction.
Some days I wish I could just sleep until November 5th and avoid the four months of agita that I have ahead of me. This is gonna be a good year for Maalox.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Not So Strange Bedfellows
From one craptastic former president to one potential craptastic president, a show of support. Can't you feel the love? Or is that nausea?
Courtesy Tammy Bruce:
One Complete Disaster for the Country Endorses Another One
Peanuts in a pod. Now that he has the coveted Hamas endorsement, why not pull in the nod from the biggest failed president of the modern age? Yes we can!
Ahh yes, James Podunk Carter, the last POS President we got saddled with when the vox plumbeus decided to vote based on touchy-feely emotions and not with their heads.
Of course, it's highly possible they did vote with their heads back in '76, but the heads were all on 'empty'. I can sense the same wind whipping through the empty whipperwills right about now.
I know Hillary's supposed to have spoken tonight or will speak or some such nonsense, but I'll read about it tomorrow. There's something about the sound of her voice when she goes off on that shrill, sticatto shouting thing that she does during every speech she makes that makes me want to shove knitting needles through my ear drums, and I'd like to avoid the Emergency Room tonight if I can.
I hope she stays in somehow - or (gasp) even runs on an Independent ticket. Then we'll have some REAL fun around here.
Courtesy Tammy Bruce:
One Complete Disaster for the Country Endorses Another One
Peanuts in a pod. Now that he has the coveted Hamas endorsement, why not pull in the nod from the biggest failed president of the modern age? Yes we can!
Ahh yes, James Podunk Carter, the last POS President we got saddled with when the vox plumbeus decided to vote based on touchy-feely emotions and not with their heads.
Of course, it's highly possible they did vote with their heads back in '76, but the heads were all on 'empty'. I can sense the same wind whipping through the empty whipperwills right about now.
I know Hillary's supposed to have spoken tonight or will speak or some such nonsense, but I'll read about it tomorrow. There's something about the sound of her voice when she goes off on that shrill, sticatto shouting thing that she does during every speech she makes that makes me want to shove knitting needles through my ear drums, and I'd like to avoid the Emergency Room tonight if I can.
I hope she stays in somehow - or (gasp) even runs on an Independent ticket. Then we'll have some REAL fun around here.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
It Snows Everywhere But Here
Unbelieveable. There are blizzard warnings up all over the place, and what do we get here in Joisey?
FLOODS!
Bah! There's no justice, I tells ya. A Friday night snowstorm would have been pretty cool...but it was not meant to be.
FLOODS!
Bah! There's no justice, I tells ya. A Friday night snowstorm would have been pretty cool...but it was not meant to be.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Surprise, Surprise!
Gomer Pyle said it best, no? Looks like the Democratic battle just got a whole lot more interesting. That ceratinly wasn't the feeling yesterday morning when one of my co-workers humorously noted, "Tonight we begin finding out all about the devil we don't know". So much for that.
Well, we wake up today and wonder of wonders, Hillary's back in it. I guess all the eulogies and coulda-shoulda-woulda's can be put on hold for at least a few more weeks, if not months.
So what happened? Could be any number of things. First of all, we pretty much know now that polling data is useless. It has been since the 2000 election. Why people still read anything into polling data is beyond me. We know for sure that HillyBill ain't going anywhere now, and things should start getting interesting.
Of course, we still have to wait for the results of the Texas caucases (what is with that state anyway?) and this can flip-flop back on a dime, but did Hillary's sudden aggressive ad campaign (however disjointed it may be) combined with Michelle Obama's unfortunate habit of being unable to control her Marxist maw (and some dirt on hubby beginning to surface in the form of questionable business dealings) make for some of the difference leading up to yesterday?
With McCain having sewn up the nomination now, and Huckabee heading back to his Fender bass, all that remains for him now is the dog-and-pony show of the GOP Convention. On the Democratic side, I think the gloves are about to come off. McCain can sit back and watch the fireworks while HRC and BHO go after one another like foaming pit bulls.
Before anyone assumes that this will be a civilized battle going forward, remember these ARE the Clintons we are talking about. Just ask the fomer White House Travel Office employees about how civil Hillary can be. No, I'm betting that we are going to see a real street fight here, possibly all they way up until the Democratc convention.
As Hank and Jim listener Chris pointed out last night, this upcoming Dem Convention might make the 1968 one look like a backyard tea party. I better go to the wholesale club and stock up on popcorn.
Well, we wake up today and wonder of wonders, Hillary's back in it. I guess all the eulogies and coulda-shoulda-woulda's can be put on hold for at least a few more weeks, if not months.
So what happened? Could be any number of things. First of all, we pretty much know now that polling data is useless. It has been since the 2000 election. Why people still read anything into polling data is beyond me. We know for sure that HillyBill ain't going anywhere now, and things should start getting interesting.
Of course, we still have to wait for the results of the Texas caucases (what is with that state anyway?) and this can flip-flop back on a dime, but did Hillary's sudden aggressive ad campaign (however disjointed it may be) combined with Michelle Obama's unfortunate habit of being unable to control her Marxist maw (and some dirt on hubby beginning to surface in the form of questionable business dealings) make for some of the difference leading up to yesterday?
With McCain having sewn up the nomination now, and Huckabee heading back to his Fender bass, all that remains for him now is the dog-and-pony show of the GOP Convention. On the Democratic side, I think the gloves are about to come off. McCain can sit back and watch the fireworks while HRC and BHO go after one another like foaming pit bulls.
Before anyone assumes that this will be a civilized battle going forward, remember these ARE the Clintons we are talking about. Just ask the fomer White House Travel Office employees about how civil Hillary can be. No, I'm betting that we are going to see a real street fight here, possibly all they way up until the Democratc convention.
As Hank and Jim listener Chris pointed out last night, this upcoming Dem Convention might make the 1968 one look like a backyard tea party. I better go to the wholesale club and stock up on popcorn.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
More Ado About Nothing
If you were unlucky enough to watch that entire multi-million-dollar dog and pony show on ESPN yesterday, then you probably feel the same way I do today: completely disgusted.
Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee both appeared before the House Governmental Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday to participate in an ambigiously-defined session of "He Said / He Said". And for what? Clemens was looking to clear his name, and in one of the best examples of our society, McNamee was looking to futher ruin his in an effort to show how "honest" he is.
What we actually saw was among the biggest wastes of time and money that you will have ever witnessed. Two questionable (at best) characters vying for the title of Biggest Bullshit Artist on national television, each not worthy of any benefit of the doubt. Clemens, a loudmouth whose self-serving verbiage is surpassed only by that of the equally-bulky (but somehow uninvestgated) Curt Schilling. McNamee, a scummy, dirty ex-cop who has made a career out of hindering investigations (until now, of course).
After four-and-a-half snowbound hours of my life that I will never get back, my opinion on this matter hasn't changed one iota: Clemens is full of shit and McNamee is probably embellishing what he knows to avoid further jail time. Meanwhile, the guy that distributed the steroids McNamee used in the first place (ex-Met Clubhouse Attendant Kirk Radomski) gets 5 years probation and is laughing at us all.
This whole mess, from the Mitchell Report on down to this friggin' display we were all subjected to yesterday, has been nothing more than a smoke-and-mirrors dance being orchestrated by that Used Car Salesman Bud Selig to keep Congress out of Baseball. Yep, that REALLY worked, Bud. You truly, TRULY are a genius. Of course, after the wonders of Interleague Play and the All-Star Game World Series Coin Toss, we should have all known that already.
I wonder what Congress and Senator "Bawston" Mitchell would say if they realized that the majority of baseball fans could care less about all this. The only people that actually give a shit are the cranky old baseball scribes that yearn for the days when baseball was perfect - and only had alcohol abuse, cocaine, rascism, gambling and homophobia as problems to worry about.
Here's an idea: institute an effective testing policy and let's move the fuck on. Stop wasting my tax dollars on nonsense that can't change what's already been done. Stop showing me trials with no verdict but lots of mud. In the words of North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry (R), "We're facing huge challenges in housing, government spending, taxes and illegal immigration. Congress would be better served to focus on any of those issues instead of inserting itself into a name-calling, finger-pointing, school-yard brawl."
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Gee, I can't wait until the Justice Department gets involved and this BS starts all over again. Yeah, that will sure help keep baseball clean.
Not.
Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee both appeared before the House Governmental Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday to participate in an ambigiously-defined session of "He Said / He Said". And for what? Clemens was looking to clear his name, and in one of the best examples of our society, McNamee was looking to futher ruin his in an effort to show how "honest" he is.
What we actually saw was among the biggest wastes of time and money that you will have ever witnessed. Two questionable (at best) characters vying for the title of Biggest Bullshit Artist on national television, each not worthy of any benefit of the doubt. Clemens, a loudmouth whose self-serving verbiage is surpassed only by that of the equally-bulky (but somehow uninvestgated) Curt Schilling. McNamee, a scummy, dirty ex-cop who has made a career out of hindering investigations (until now, of course).
After four-and-a-half snowbound hours of my life that I will never get back, my opinion on this matter hasn't changed one iota: Clemens is full of shit and McNamee is probably embellishing what he knows to avoid further jail time. Meanwhile, the guy that distributed the steroids McNamee used in the first place (ex-Met Clubhouse Attendant Kirk Radomski) gets 5 years probation and is laughing at us all.
This whole mess, from the Mitchell Report on down to this friggin' display we were all subjected to yesterday, has been nothing more than a smoke-and-mirrors dance being orchestrated by that Used Car Salesman Bud Selig to keep Congress out of Baseball. Yep, that REALLY worked, Bud. You truly, TRULY are a genius. Of course, after the wonders of Interleague Play and the All-Star Game World Series Coin Toss, we should have all known that already.
I wonder what Congress and Senator "Bawston" Mitchell would say if they realized that the majority of baseball fans could care less about all this. The only people that actually give a shit are the cranky old baseball scribes that yearn for the days when baseball was perfect - and only had alcohol abuse, cocaine, rascism, gambling and homophobia as problems to worry about.
Here's an idea: institute an effective testing policy and let's move the fuck on. Stop wasting my tax dollars on nonsense that can't change what's already been done. Stop showing me trials with no verdict but lots of mud. In the words of North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry (R), "We're facing huge challenges in housing, government spending, taxes and illegal immigration. Congress would be better served to focus on any of those issues instead of inserting itself into a name-calling, finger-pointing, school-yard brawl."
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Gee, I can't wait until the Justice Department gets involved and this BS starts all over again. Yeah, that will sure help keep baseball clean.
Not.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Super Tuesday Burnout
Well, Super Tuesday is upon us - and if you are like me, at some point today you are going to feel political burnout (despite the welcome distraction of the Giants Victory Parade today). It's to be expected: there only so much blather and rhetoric one can stand about the witch Hillary, empty suit Obama and that robotic animatron McCain before you want to smash your face through the nearest storefront window.
Which is why I am pleased to report that I just discovered a web site I never knew existed before: ENOUGH-LUPICA.COM. If you're a regular reader of this blog, or know me personally, you know I hate that little prick more than I hate cilantro, and that's a LOT of hate. It's nice to know that there are apparently a lot of other people out there that see the little midget for what he is: an egotisitcal dog shit on the sidewalks of sports journalism.
You have to love a web site that points out just what a little, demeted piece of shit Lupica is. I heartily recommend the Photoshop page, which features delightful gems like this:
Good stuff...good stuff.
So - when the Super Tuesday burnout kicks in...go have a couple of laughs at that dipshit Lupica's expense. I know I sure did.
BTW - I've been lax at keeping this thing updated, so I'll try and copy over the entries from my Blogspot blog at some point so you can all enjoy my recent blaterings.
Come on, you know you love it.
Which is why I am pleased to report that I just discovered a web site I never knew existed before: ENOUGH-LUPICA.COM. If you're a regular reader of this blog, or know me personally, you know I hate that little prick more than I hate cilantro, and that's a LOT of hate. It's nice to know that there are apparently a lot of other people out there that see the little midget for what he is: an egotisitcal dog shit on the sidewalks of sports journalism.
You have to love a web site that points out just what a little, demeted piece of shit Lupica is. I heartily recommend the Photoshop page, which features delightful gems like this:
Good stuff...good stuff.
So - when the Super Tuesday burnout kicks in...go have a couple of laughs at that dipshit Lupica's expense. I know I sure did.
BTW - I've been lax at keeping this thing updated, so I'll try and copy over the entries from my Blogspot blog at some point so you can all enjoy my recent blaterings.
Come on, you know you love it.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
2008 Is Doin' Great
I hope everyone survived New Year's in one piece...not a whole lot going on right now, just hard at work on the WHOT Archive and other fun bits of this 'n that. Trust me, when I have something to say, you'll be the first to know!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Meowy Christmas!
I know, I haven't been saying a whole lot latey (I suck!), but I did want to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderully Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Monday, December 03, 2007
Why? Because It's Fun!
Since my posts of late September I have gotten some e-mails from people wanting to know what my beef is with the NY Mets and why I took such glee in watching them collapse (hee hee hee...sorry, I still can't stop chuckling about it).
Believe it or not, there was a time when I really didn't care either way about the Mets. In fact (gasp!), back in the mid-80s I even followed the Mets because they were such an intriguing team to watch. I never really "hated" the Mets back then and they were fun to watch. At the end of the day, my heart still belonged in the Bronx. I was just indifferent at the time.
Of course, it didn't take the Mets long to get back to doing what they do best - sucking. I could not believe that after winning the World Series in 1986, GM Frank Cashen began IMMEDIATELY dismantling what would have been a potential dynasty team. He couldn't leave well enough alone. One by one he picked them off - Ray Knight, Kevin Mitchell, Len Dykstra - while placing emphasis on spoiled crybaby types like Greg Jefferies. Watching all that go down reminded me why I was a Yankee fan, and after the '88 NLCS loss to the Dodgers enough was enough. I couldn't figure out why I gave two shits about the Mets anyway since I was a Yankee fan. The clandestine fling was officially over.
Still, I didn't "hate" the Mets. They were the NL team in town, good for them, they were bad, whatever. One day my buddy AJ said to me "there's no way you can be a Yankee fan and be ambivalent about the Mets". I argued this point but he said (in his prophetic way), "you'll see".
The answer to the question actually explains itself. What finally made me loathe the Metros was (drumroll)...Met fans. I worked with some pretty obnoxious ones at the time (a few were particularly obnoxious about it) and while I never disrespected or poked fun at them when the Mets invariably did what they do best (sucking), they never missed an opportunity to bust balls when the Yankees were going through lean times. It wasn't that they enjoyed watching the Yankees stink - they enjoyed busting balls of Yankee fans about it, which is pretty pathetic.
It's like Red Sox syndrome. When the Sox were finding new and exciting ways to lose every year, with their fans it was NEVER the Red Sox management's fault, never the players' fault. No, it somehow was always the Yankees' fault. The penis envy was always pathetic. Beer's too warm? The Yankees must have all the cold beer! Player made an error? The Yankees must have willed it to happen with voodoo! Turns out Met fans are just as bad, if not worse. No bad event is ever the Mets organization's fault, it's always those damn Yankees. Get a grip.
When the Yankees lose, Yankee fans don't walk around going "it's those damn Wilpons and the Mets - they get everything" (after all, the Mets have the highest payroll in the NL, so it's worth being envious of them, right...?). No, we know when they suck it's because they suck - not because some other team made it happen simply by existing (side note: somehow after finally winning a World Series, Red Sox fans have actually gotten worse about this...it's sad, actually).
The final straw was the day after Mickey Mantle died. It was a pretty somber day at my job, and the Yankee fans were having a group talk around my desk about The Mick and his unfortunate passing. On cue, the resident King Asshole Met fan came by and unleashed some of the most classless, scummy, childish insults about Mantle - and he did it just to dig at us personally so we'd feel even worse on a sad day. He almost got thrown out the 32nd story window, but cooler heads prevailed.
It was at that very moment that I awoke from my baseball amnesia. I realized that AJ was right - there was simply no way a Yankee fan could exhibit compassion to a Met fan because he would never get it back in kind. I had this proved in one trashy exchange that Monday in 1995 by a prototypical, "Letsgo Mets"-ing, Mr. Met bobblehead-ing Met fan in all his blue-and-orange glory. At a time when if the shoe had been on the other foot, I would have gone to this person and expressed condolences from one fan to another, I was not afforded the same luxury. At that moment I opened my eyes from the coma.
It was also the moment I went back to doing as I did in the 70s and wished for the Mets to somehow implode spectacularly. It took 12 years, but my prayers were finally answered, on the last day of the 2007 season. Even now, the thoughts of it take the sting off the way the Yankees' season ended. It was a fair trade.
So now you know. Never question the power of prayer.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Well Look Who's Back...
Stop the presses...Alex Rodriguez has retuned to the Yankees. Arod essecntially has crawled back to New York, and in the process has wrested control of his future from his Svengali-like "super agent" and full-time asshat, Scott Boras.
I am not prepared to take back all the bad things I said about Alex a few days ago. This is a good thing for Alex. Boras was single-handedly ruining his client's reputation and making him look like a fool. By dostancing himself from Weasel Man, Alex has shown himself to be smarter than I gave him credit for.
Alex will be a part of the Yankees for the next 10 years now and if he can stop himself from tripping over his own feet and ego - something he has had issues with in recent years since leaving Seattle - this should be a good marriage for both sides.
Welcome back, Arod. Don't piss me off again.
I am not prepared to take back all the bad things I said about Alex a few days ago. This is a good thing for Alex. Boras was single-handedly ruining his client's reputation and making him look like a fool. By dostancing himself from Weasel Man, Alex has shown himself to be smarter than I gave him credit for.
Alex will be a part of the Yankees for the next 10 years now and if he can stop himself from tripping over his own feet and ego - something he has had issues with in recent years since leaving Seattle - this should be a good marriage for both sides.
Welcome back, Arod. Don't piss me off again.
Monday, November 05, 2007
It’s Official: TV Writers Walk
Yep, the WGA went on strike last night at midnight, which means that most TV series’ should be in re-runs a few weeks from now, and most (if not all) late-night talk shows should be in re-runs tonight.
How lame and pathetic are the late-night talk show hosts that a writer's strike is enough to send them into immediate re-runs? I wish I had a job where all I had to do was read unfunny crap that other people wrote for me. I can't believe that for what these guys get paid, they can't function without their precious cue cards.
I bet Carson would have stayed on just to spite ‘em. Wimps.
How lame and pathetic are the late-night talk show hosts that a writer's strike is enough to send them into immediate re-runs? I wish I had a job where all I had to do was read unfunny crap that other people wrote for me. I can't believe that for what these guys get paid, they can't function without their precious cue cards.
I bet Carson would have stayed on just to spite ‘em. Wimps.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Halloween Sure Can Be Scary
Happy Halloween, one and all – hope everyone doesn’t suffer from sugar shock after eating all those chocolate bars and candy corns!
Wanna hear a scary Halloween story?
Back when I was a college puddin head, I was out having a few brews with friends and I innocently asked if they had anything planned for Halloween – any parties, hay rides, what have you.
Much to my surprise, a peripheral aquaintence - whom up to that point I'd assumed was completely normal - chimed in with “We don’t do Halloween in our house”. Say what? I was dumbfounded. “What do you mean, you don’t “do” Halloween”? “It’s a nasty, evil holiday”, he tells me. I queried on. “Do you give candy to trick or treaters?” “No, because that just further legitimizes this evil day”. Evil day? What planet had I just fallen on to?
I attempted to point out that the paganism of the day had long ago been co-opted by seven-year-olds dressed up like Superman looking for Bite-Size Snickers, and teenagers looking for a more creative use for toilet paper, eggs and shaving cream. None of this seemed to matter. No, on a scale of one to ten - with one being puppies and ten being Hitler - apparently, Halloween was an 11.
This would have been scary enough, except that further prodding revealed that growing up, his family never did any of the innocent, childhood things most of us grew up with: no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny…I was dumbstruck. I looked at the other people we were with and asked “Did any of you guys have a NORMAL childhood”? Thankfully, I was not alone in my self-percieved sanity.
Thankfully, my parents didn't think my childhood should be all about them. There is only one time in your life when your suspension of disbelief is such that you can find yourself believing in something as wonderful and innocent as jolly old St. Nick and other bearers of joy (I'll even through the Tooth Fairy into the math - why not). There’s plenty of time when you are an adult, with mortgages, utility bills, illness and threats of terrorism to be a cynical mess. To not know that innocence ever in your life is a shame.
Ever year when I am enjoying my marshmallow Jack-o-Lanterns and nasty candy corn, I still think of him, all these many years later.
Who said Halloween wasn’t scary anymore?
Wanna hear a scary Halloween story?
Back when I was a college puddin head, I was out having a few brews with friends and I innocently asked if they had anything planned for Halloween – any parties, hay rides, what have you.
Much to my surprise, a peripheral aquaintence - whom up to that point I'd assumed was completely normal - chimed in with “We don’t do Halloween in our house”. Say what? I was dumbfounded. “What do you mean, you don’t “do” Halloween”? “It’s a nasty, evil holiday”, he tells me. I queried on. “Do you give candy to trick or treaters?” “No, because that just further legitimizes this evil day”. Evil day? What planet had I just fallen on to?
I attempted to point out that the paganism of the day had long ago been co-opted by seven-year-olds dressed up like Superman looking for Bite-Size Snickers, and teenagers looking for a more creative use for toilet paper, eggs and shaving cream. None of this seemed to matter. No, on a scale of one to ten - with one being puppies and ten being Hitler - apparently, Halloween was an 11.
This would have been scary enough, except that further prodding revealed that growing up, his family never did any of the innocent, childhood things most of us grew up with: no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny…I was dumbstruck. I looked at the other people we were with and asked “Did any of you guys have a NORMAL childhood”? Thankfully, I was not alone in my self-percieved sanity.
Thankfully, my parents didn't think my childhood should be all about them. There is only one time in your life when your suspension of disbelief is such that you can find yourself believing in something as wonderful and innocent as jolly old St. Nick and other bearers of joy (I'll even through the Tooth Fairy into the math - why not). There’s plenty of time when you are an adult, with mortgages, utility bills, illness and threats of terrorism to be a cynical mess. To not know that innocence ever in your life is a shame.
Ever year when I am enjoying my marshmallow Jack-o-Lanterns and nasty candy corn, I still think of him, all these many years later.
Who said Halloween wasn’t scary anymore?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Breaking News (of the Insane Variety)
This just in via e-mail from Jim Nazium:
From: Jim Nazium
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 6:26 PM
To: Pete Sayek
Subject: It's over!
I can say without feeling guilty to anyone including my friends that if you voted for Eliot Spitzer you're an asshole!
NY Senators mum on Spitzer's ID plan for immigrants
Eliot Spitzer's Halloween Trick: Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens
Thankfully, Jim knows I do not qualify under the ‘asshole proviso’ as I left New York for greener pastures many a moon ago, and even IF I still lived there, there’s no way in Hell I would have been THAT stupid.
I guess the events of 9/11 weren’t tragic enough for shit-for-brains megalomaniacs like Elliot “the bulldozer” Spitzer to have learned anything of value. I guess the guy is always too busy to trying to ruin people that oppose him to pay attention to what goes on in the real world.
Equal shame on “Homeland Security Secretary” and withering corpse Michael Chertoff (a.k.a. Skeletor) for capitulating to this effing insanity. What a disappointment this administration has truly become.
I am guessing this will NOT be the final word on this matter. Stay tuned.
From: Jim Nazium
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 6:26 PM
To: Pete Sayek
Subject: It's over!
I can say without feeling guilty to anyone including my friends that if you voted for Eliot Spitzer you're an asshole!
NY Senators mum on Spitzer's ID plan for immigrants
Eliot Spitzer's Halloween Trick: Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens
Thankfully, Jim knows I do not qualify under the ‘asshole proviso’ as I left New York for greener pastures many a moon ago, and even IF I still lived there, there’s no way in Hell I would have been THAT stupid.
I guess the events of 9/11 weren’t tragic enough for shit-for-brains megalomaniacs like Elliot “the bulldozer” Spitzer to have learned anything of value. I guess the guy is always too busy to trying to ruin people that oppose him to pay attention to what goes on in the real world.
Equal shame on “Homeland Security Secretary” and withering corpse Michael Chertoff (a.k.a. Skeletor) for capitulating to this effing insanity. What a disappointment this administration has truly become.
I am guessing this will NOT be the final word on this matter. Stay tuned.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Goodbye, Alex…Hello, Joe
Early this afternoon, the Yankees announced that Joe Girardi had been chosen to succeed Joe Torre as manager. This is good news. Girardi is that anti-Torre. He’s a smart baseball man who won’t play favorites and allow funk to spread uncontrolled. The rumor is a formal announcement could come as early as Wednesday.
The real BIG news took place overnight and into the early morning hours. The fires hadn’t even been set and the windows barely broken in Boston last night when Alex Rodriguez announced via his mouthpiece and pimp, Scott Boras that he had chosen to opt out of his final contact year, effectively severing his ties with the New York Yankees, ending a tumultuous – occasionally caustic – three-year affair between Arod and the Yanks.
There’s no denying that Arod is a phenomenal player. That is one thing that can’t be argued. However, when he played with Texas – and before that, Seattle – you would always hear rumors about what a head case the guy was, how for all the good he brought to the table, there was always the bad; there was “the baggage”.
Who knew that no only were those rumors true – they were 100x worse than you could ever have imagined.
When Arod came to the Yankees, it was right after a deal to send him to Boston fell through. Remember that? Oh yeah, New York really pulled a fast one on Boston, didn’t they? They pulled Arod right out from under them! Nothing left to do now but sit back and count the rings. Well, since “stealing” Arod away from Boston, the Red Sox have two World Series titles while the Yankees have made three hasty first-round exits from the playoffs.
In lieu of championships, we were treated to the Alex Rodriguez Traveling Road Show and Flying Circus. Stupefying heights. Mystifying slumps. The Contract. The sports psychologist. The bad blood with Jeter. The carefully-rehearsed interviews. Photos from Toronto with a mystery blonde. The ‘HA!’ incident. The ‘don’t boo me’ pity party. The 500 HRs. The magnificent regular seasons…and most glaring of all, the mind-numbing, Winfield-like post-season failures that piled up like leaves in Autumn.
Arod’s stay in New York will be littered with the debris of “the baggage”. People will remember three things about Alex now that he’s gone: the fact that he could never live up to the money he was paid no matter how many heroics he put up (he never allowed himself to); his astonishing October disappearing acts; and the fact that when push came to shove, he just couldn’t hack it in New York.
Alex is represented by Scott Boras, as big a dirty pimp as there is in organized sports. He schools his clients in the fine art of selfishness and disloyalty; his only concern is big contracts to maintain his big percentage cuts and large lifestyle. The onus however is all on Arod. Boras also represented Bernie Williams. Bernie had no problem telling Boras to shut the fuck up when he wanted to stay with the Yankees. Arod is different – he is Mr. Sensitive, Boras’ Golden Goose. As such, he is kept on an obedient, short leash.
Arod’s departure allows the Yankees to take the 30-million per it would have cost them to keep him in Pinstripes and disburse it in a wiser, saner way – namely on bringing in some sorely-needed bullpen help and keeping their new, youthful core intact well into the 2010’s.
So long Alex. Thanks for that meaningless home run in Game 4 against the Indians.
Take your “baggage” and your pimp with you.
The real BIG news took place overnight and into the early morning hours. The fires hadn’t even been set and the windows barely broken in Boston last night when Alex Rodriguez announced via his mouthpiece and pimp, Scott Boras that he had chosen to opt out of his final contact year, effectively severing his ties with the New York Yankees, ending a tumultuous – occasionally caustic – three-year affair between Arod and the Yanks.
There’s no denying that Arod is a phenomenal player. That is one thing that can’t be argued. However, when he played with Texas – and before that, Seattle – you would always hear rumors about what a head case the guy was, how for all the good he brought to the table, there was always the bad; there was “the baggage”.
Who knew that no only were those rumors true – they were 100x worse than you could ever have imagined.
When Arod came to the Yankees, it was right after a deal to send him to Boston fell through. Remember that? Oh yeah, New York really pulled a fast one on Boston, didn’t they? They pulled Arod right out from under them! Nothing left to do now but sit back and count the rings. Well, since “stealing” Arod away from Boston, the Red Sox have two World Series titles while the Yankees have made three hasty first-round exits from the playoffs.
In lieu of championships, we were treated to the Alex Rodriguez Traveling Road Show and Flying Circus. Stupefying heights. Mystifying slumps. The Contract. The sports psychologist. The bad blood with Jeter. The carefully-rehearsed interviews. Photos from Toronto with a mystery blonde. The ‘HA!’ incident. The ‘don’t boo me’ pity party. The 500 HRs. The magnificent regular seasons…and most glaring of all, the mind-numbing, Winfield-like post-season failures that piled up like leaves in Autumn.
Arod’s stay in New York will be littered with the debris of “the baggage”. People will remember three things about Alex now that he’s gone: the fact that he could never live up to the money he was paid no matter how many heroics he put up (he never allowed himself to); his astonishing October disappearing acts; and the fact that when push came to shove, he just couldn’t hack it in New York.
Alex is represented by Scott Boras, as big a dirty pimp as there is in organized sports. He schools his clients in the fine art of selfishness and disloyalty; his only concern is big contracts to maintain his big percentage cuts and large lifestyle. The onus however is all on Arod. Boras also represented Bernie Williams. Bernie had no problem telling Boras to shut the fuck up when he wanted to stay with the Yankees. Arod is different – he is Mr. Sensitive, Boras’ Golden Goose. As such, he is kept on an obedient, short leash.
Arod’s departure allows the Yankees to take the 30-million per it would have cost them to keep him in Pinstripes and disburse it in a wiser, saner way – namely on bringing in some sorely-needed bullpen help and keeping their new, youthful core intact well into the 2010’s.
So long Alex. Thanks for that meaningless home run in Game 4 against the Indians.
Take your “baggage” and your pimp with you.
Friday, October 19, 2007
The End of an Era
The Joe Torre era came to an end for the New York Yankees yesterday. Torre’s tenure ends with a whimper – a poor post-season showing and first-round elimination for the third straight year. Despite that, the Yankees made a more-than-fair offer to Joe: 5 million for next year with added incentives for each milestone that the Yankees reach: a mil for the Division, another mil for the Division Series, another for the Championship Series, and a payoff for a World Series title – with an option for a second year.
In light of how things have gone since 2001, I can’t say as I blame the Yankees for making that offer. Torre parlayed the good will of four championships in the late-90s into becoming the highest-paid manager in baseball by a WIDE margin. What did the Yankees get for their buck? Not much bang. Six straight years of post-season disappointment following the bloop-and-error-aided 2001 WS loss. Joe didn’t think so, and so he moves on.
I appreciate what Joe did while he was here. Four World Championships are nothing to sneeze at. However, many knowledgeable Yankee fans – who watch this team day in and day out – will tell you that the four championships could have (and should have) easily been seven or eight.
So what happened? There is a theory that managers are only successful for a certain amount of years because once the familiarity sets in, managers become partial to “their guys”. They play favorites over doing the right thing (something Joe Torre was guilty of the last few years), and the complacency starts to set in.
Joe’s dugout naps and lack of a pulse were OK when the Yankees were winning. When they are getting screwed repeatedly by bad calls and being blinded by bugs, suddenly it’s not so cute. It’s an old saying, but it is true – sometimes you DO need to make changes just for the sake of making changes. Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy, Miller Huggins – all eventually parted ways with the Yankees because that’s the way it goes. Nothing lasts forever.
So long Joe…it was fun while it lasted and what you did while you were here is definitely appreciated…but it’s time for a change.
In light of how things have gone since 2001, I can’t say as I blame the Yankees for making that offer. Torre parlayed the good will of four championships in the late-90s into becoming the highest-paid manager in baseball by a WIDE margin. What did the Yankees get for their buck? Not much bang. Six straight years of post-season disappointment following the bloop-and-error-aided 2001 WS loss. Joe didn’t think so, and so he moves on.
I appreciate what Joe did while he was here. Four World Championships are nothing to sneeze at. However, many knowledgeable Yankee fans – who watch this team day in and day out – will tell you that the four championships could have (and should have) easily been seven or eight.
So what happened? There is a theory that managers are only successful for a certain amount of years because once the familiarity sets in, managers become partial to “their guys”. They play favorites over doing the right thing (something Joe Torre was guilty of the last few years), and the complacency starts to set in.
Joe’s dugout naps and lack of a pulse were OK when the Yankees were winning. When they are getting screwed repeatedly by bad calls and being blinded by bugs, suddenly it’s not so cute. It’s an old saying, but it is true – sometimes you DO need to make changes just for the sake of making changes. Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy, Miller Huggins – all eventually parted ways with the Yankees because that’s the way it goes. Nothing lasts forever.
So long Joe…it was fun while it lasted and what you did while you were here is definitely appreciated…but it’s time for a change.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
NY Libs Wild About Rudy
Courtesy Tammy Bruce comes this little gem: a piece in The Observer outlining the various ways the mere CONCEPT of Rudy Giuliani running for president is driving New York Libs crazy:
Rudy’s Doin’ It! Shocked Cacophony Among New York Democrats That The Rudy They Know May Actually Become Republican Candidate
“It’s totally unbelievable,” said Charles Rangel, the dean of the New York Congressional delegation and a longtime adversary of Mr. Giuliani. “I refuse to believe that this could possibly happen to our country. I have too much confidence in our country to believe that this could really happen.”
The article is chock full of classic New York Liberal narcissism in action from the likes of Rangel, Norman Siegel and Ed "You actually didn't do so good" Koch.
The reason why Rudy drove (and drives, apparently) charlatans like Siegel, Rangel and Koch bananas was because he came in after two administrations (Koch and the uber-charlatan Dinkins) that made it their day-to-day business to bend over backwards for every “special interest” and “activist” like pathetic puppets.
Giuliani came in and fumigated the stench from City Hall by not doing the popular things, but doing the correct things. He took people and situations on a case-by-case basis and (correctly, IMHO) wouldn’t give clowns like Sharpton and his ilk the time of day, letting them know in no uncertain terms that they would no longer be allowed to run slipshod over City Hall like they did the previous four years. Little things like actually enforcing laws started to make a difference immediately. This drove a whole sub-class of rabble-rousers insane because they were effectively de-fanged and made irrelevant. Meanwhile, the city turned around and it became a decent place to live in again. Autocrat Bloomberg is doing his best to reverse all that, unfortunately.
Yet, I have a lot of misgivings about Rudy as President. However - if he can take out the Clinton Machine, I might be able to live with them.
Rudy’s Doin’ It! Shocked Cacophony Among New York Democrats That The Rudy They Know May Actually Become Republican Candidate
“It’s totally unbelievable,” said Charles Rangel, the dean of the New York Congressional delegation and a longtime adversary of Mr. Giuliani. “I refuse to believe that this could possibly happen to our country. I have too much confidence in our country to believe that this could really happen.”
The article is chock full of classic New York Liberal narcissism in action from the likes of Rangel, Norman Siegel and Ed "You actually didn't do so good" Koch.
The reason why Rudy drove (and drives, apparently) charlatans like Siegel, Rangel and Koch bananas was because he came in after two administrations (Koch and the uber-charlatan Dinkins) that made it their day-to-day business to bend over backwards for every “special interest” and “activist” like pathetic puppets.
Giuliani came in and fumigated the stench from City Hall by not doing the popular things, but doing the correct things. He took people and situations on a case-by-case basis and (correctly, IMHO) wouldn’t give clowns like Sharpton and his ilk the time of day, letting them know in no uncertain terms that they would no longer be allowed to run slipshod over City Hall like they did the previous four years. Little things like actually enforcing laws started to make a difference immediately. This drove a whole sub-class of rabble-rousers insane because they were effectively de-fanged and made irrelevant. Meanwhile, the city turned around and it became a decent place to live in again. Autocrat Bloomberg is doing his best to reverse all that, unfortunately.
Yet, I have a lot of misgivings about Rudy as President. However - if he can take out the Clinton Machine, I might be able to live with them.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Give Paws a Chance
Hey fellow Cat Peeps – in case you didn’t know, today is National Feral Cat Day. The whole purpose of this day is to clear up some of the misunderstandings about feral cats.The most common misconception is that feral cats are “wild”. Feral cats are NOT “wild cats”. They are the same domestic species as the house cats that simultaneously sleep on - and destroy – your sofas at home. The only difference is that “feral” cats were never socialized, so they fear human contact.
Many communities have begun the humane population control of feral cats though the effective method of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). The ineffective method of destroying unadoptable ferals is an unacceptable control method – especially when TNR is a viable alternative that better manages and reduces feral cat populations.
Take a couple of minutes and read all about the good work that the people at Alley Cat Allies do every day to spread the word about TNR. The little feral fuzzbutts in your area will be glad you did.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Behind The Wall of Sheep
I love the Smithereens and I always have, since the first time I heard the "Especially for You"LP back in the summer of 1986. WHOT...
