Roster Nostalgia

I was searching for a site where I could find old Red Sox rosters and have spent the last hour or so reading Baseball-Reference.com. Reading through the last fifteen years of rosters brings back so many memories of guys who showed flashes like they were going to be good players but just faded into mediocrity and, ultimately, oblivion (like Phil Plantier) or veterans they brought in late in their careers that you forget played for them -- the likes of Nick Esasky, Rob Deer, Tom Brunansky, Frank Viola, etc...

Buffy Spoilers

So they killed Buffy off and we're all wondering how she comes back. We ought to wait for the show to come on. But, if you're working 2nd shift like me, you know odds are good you'll miss it, so you might as well read the spoiler-rich article at AICN about how she comes back for season six. How they do it is no surprise and it's not the way I would've gone about it ... although it sounds like the Buffybot has an important role in the period after her death.

Carter on Bush

Jimmy Carter expresses his opinion (not flattering) of Wombat.

PawSox

On tap for tomorrow: finally going to McCoy Stadium to see the Pawsox play. Saberhagen is scheduled to pitch; hopefully, as a prelude to his returning to the bigs to help stabilize the rotation while Pedro recovers. Unfortunately, it looks like Nomar won't be with the AAA team until next week. Oh well.

Genattack

I got a kick out of genattack!. A, presumably, fictionalized account of building a giant robot. Adding to the entertainment value: monkey references. Look, I'm not saying it's the best thing going, I'm just saying that 99% of the time I click on the recently updated blog list I'm treated to a steaming pile of feces loaded, typically, with overfancy designs, cringeworthy use of terms like "kewlies", and paypal donation buttons. As if.

Quick Hitters

A couple quick hitters before I leave work...

• Ahh, Fawlty Towers ... that's the stuff.
  
• A blog for Sox fans: Curse of the Bambino. Yanks fans can go suck on this dead link for all I care.
  
• If you're not already, you should so be reading our man m.a.d.'s Cheek. It's all brill.

Defiance

A Howard Zinn article, via The Progressive, with some encouraging words about conscientious artists. Kinda sad though that in thinking about artists who were defiant, his list of examples barely gets beyond the immediate post WWII-era.

Silver Lined Coffins

The Nando Times: Smoking foes angered by Philip Morris report on upside of early deaths. What other businesses and organizations could benefit from conducting studies like the one done by Philip Morris? The NRA leaps to mind: The NRA: Saving Taxpayers Money by Facilitating People Blowing Each Other's Heads Off.

Not Objectivism Again

Ayn Rand's name has been popping up more than usual lately. Witness:

• A week or so ago, I noticed a large sticker on the back window of an SUV which proclaimed in large box letters, "REASON". By tailgating, I was able to read the small print suggesting people "use it" and read Atlas Shrugged.
  
• Earlier, a buddy of mine at work had raved about that same tome, something I hadn't heard anyone do since high school.
  
• Yesterday, in a promo for a new fall series (Undeclared?), a character was reading cliff notes of a Rand book.
  
• The latest reference to her legacy I've stumbled across is in the NYRB's review of two books on Alan Greenspan. Apparently, Greenspan is something of a Rand disciple and, according to the article, a confidante of her inner circle. (Whatever that means -- I'm guessing it's not exactly like being in the Algonquin Roundtable if dour Alan's in it.)

Is she coming back into vogue? Are we already awash in a tide of objectivism? I'm keeping my eye on this.

.406 Is Greater Than 56

I've got a serious beef with TSN's: 25 Greatest Moments of the A.L.


Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak comes in at #8 and Williams's .406 comes in at #15?!? The 56 game streak is more of a statistical anomaly than an accomplishment. Comparing it to the .406 is like saying it's more of an accomplishment to hit for the cycle than to hit 4 homers in a game. You can't hit .406 for a season and suck but, theoretically, you can hit in 56 straight games getting one hit every five at bats, driving in no runs, and grounding into inning ending double plays the other four trips to the plate. Joe D's hitting streak was quality, I'd never say it wasn't, but it pales next to Ted's accomplishment that same year.

Izzy Alcantara

Some guys play like they want to charge the mound, Izzy Alcantara goes all Hong Kong Phooey about it.

Women on TV

NOW's Second Watch Out, Listen Up! Report scores network television shows based on Gender Composition and Diversity, Violent Content, Sexual Exploitation, and Social Responsibility. Here are their top ten (no comment means I haven't seen it):

• Gilmore Girls: This show makes me feel old. It's the single-mom character that I think is attractive. Coincidentally, the shows chief demerit according to NOW's analysts is that the female characters confrom to a narrow, cookie cutter view of female attractiveness -- skinny and white. It is a good show though Plus, it's set in Hartford. Neat.
  
  
• Girlfriends
  
  
• What About Joan?
  
  
• My Wife and Kids
  
  
• That's Life: My god, where are they finding these shows? I've never even heard of them.
  
  
• Buffy: Now we're cooking with gas. One of the best shows on. NOW didn't like the violent content but praised the inclusion of lesbian characters. Nevermind Willow used to be a fun character and is now part of a showkilling tandem. Right rating, wrong reasons. Dark Angel, btw, another girl kicks butt show scored pretty low.
  
  
• Felicity: My friend Allie likes it and she's also a Bruins/Celtics/Bosox fan, so I trust her judgement. The show looks like crap though and I'd never watch it.
  
  
• Boston Public: This raised my eyebrows. Sure it deals with teacher/student issues and has a diverse cast ... still, you'd think they would've objected to episodes like the one about the cheerleaders doing a routine that was too sexy for teen girls. I didn't have any particular objections to it except they might have showed the routine more than just twice.
  
  
• Ed: Another show people tell me is good that I've never seen more than a minute of. I get a Northern Exposure knock-off vibe off it.
  
  
• CSI: A so-so show in the vein of The Profiler. It's strange how every drama on CBS has the look and feel of Walker, Texas Ranger regardless of how different it is.

Star Trek: Voyager also earned high marks because of the portrayal of Janeway. However, I don't imagine Seven did much for NOW's analysts.


I would've have been interested in more commentary on specific shows and episodes. The report pretty much lists the shows that did the best in each category, chastises a few of the worst, and gives barely more than a sentence or two to any one show.

Sap

Would the company selling those wireless mini-vid cams which it promotes with those omnipresent pop-up ads please hurry the hell up and go out of business. Despite having to slam shut your ad five times in the last hour I am no closer to learning the name of your company or product, nevermind purchasing it.


Should I see A.I.? Answer is the same as to: A.I., less sap than a vermont maple tree?

Pulling A Chmura

Republican campaign adviser pulls a "Chmura." (link via Smudge)

Chmura Promo

Jacksonville Suns - June Promotions: check out the June 29th promotion. Classy. This ought to give the Madison Black Wolf (can't find a link, have they folded since I left?) an idea for their Hot Tub promotion: Mark Chmura Hot Tub Night, girls under 17 admitted free!