U2 Concert

U2 played the Garden last night, and I was there. Here's the set list and some photos. The show was excellent! The seats were closer than they appear in the photos.

City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns / See Me, Feel Me
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / In A Little While
Beautiful Day / The One I Love
Original Of The Species
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / The Black Hills of Dakota
Love And Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah
Bullet The Blue Sky / The Hands That Built America / When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
MLK

encores:
Until The End Of The World
Mysterious Ways
With Or Without You
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
Instant Karma!

Ocean's Twelve

This movie is not very good and not very interesting. It's sort of like a bunch of celebrities just having fun with each other but not really making a good film. There is some nice stylistic stuff with the way the film is shot and edited but the story leaves a lot to be desired.

The Dreaded Vote of Confidence

For Herm Edwards, from owner Woody Johnson.

Bad Boys 2

This isn't a bad film but it's not a great film. It's actually probably a bit bigger and, dare I say, "badder" than the first one. Throw plot out on the window in this one but there are some nice action scenes, although the final scene is a bit disappointing. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the leads ham it up a little more than in the last film. It's slightly amusing but nothing that special. One thing that was a little frustrating was the blatant corporate sponsorships that popped up throughout the film.

Crappy Sequels Month

There's some days where I feel like I should tell you things you already know. This is one of those days.

Batman and Robin is a bad movie. There's really no way one can justify this movie as good. Even the director has trouble in his DVD commentary. Since I last saw this film (in the theater!) I'd like to report it hasn't changed a bit and is still awful. The director's commentary is awful as well, with Joel Schumacher alternating between taking the blame for the film and passing the buck to the movie studio. The existance of the commentary makes me glad, as at least they punished him one more time for this awful film. I don't think the 60's tv show could have been re-made any better. What grates me the most is how Schumacher keeps describing the stupid plot elements as "comic book." Certainly there are ridiculous comic books but that doesn't mean you need to emulate them, or exaggerate them!

You know, even the animated series has created a better Batman than this film and that was a cartoon!

Okay, enough venting here. Coming soon, I'll pair the same sort of witty comments and in-depth analysis and look at Bad Boys 2 and Ocean's 12.

Bad Idea #3,294,027

Here's a bad idea courtesy of today's NY Daily News.

Oddly enough the headline is paired with this article, which has nothing to do with the Jets.

Gary Myers of the News should have his head checked. This would not be the first time the Jets were involved in a bad idea, a recent example is #3,292,073 - trade a first round draft pick for TE Doug Jolley.

One More Sports Post

Remember how in the last few years the Yankees have tried to have "an All-Star at every position?"

Well, that philosophy seems to have extended to their coaching staff. With some new hires in the fold, here is their coaching staff, full of ex-Yankee stars or former managers:

Joe Torre - Manager (1996 / 1998 AL Manager of the Year with NYY)
Lee Mazzilli - Bench Coach (Baltimore Orioles manager 2004-2005, former Yankee 1B / OF coach)
Larry Bowa - 3B coach (2001 NL Manager of the Year with PHI)
Tony Pena - 1B coach (2003 AL Manager of the Year with KC)
Don Mattingly - Hitting Coach (retired #23 with Yankees)
Ron Guidry - Pitching Coach (retired #49 with Yankees)
Joe Kerrigan - Bullpen Coach (Red Sox Manager 2001 - between Williams and Little)

Side Note: Too bad Mazzilli couldn't stay on with the Orioles to join Sam Perlazzo and Leo Mazzone to fulfill a quest of having a "ZZ" in every coach's name.

Yet Another Pessimistic Comment About the Jets

They won the toss today, and that's probably the only thing they'll win.

Side note: I have a pretty bad feeling about this game. Herm Edwards has a traditionally great November record, but the Chargers aren't a bad team and the Jets are reeling. You know the Chargers have to be out for revenge on last year's playoff loss. Hopefully if K Mike Nugent gets put in a big spot this game, he will be able to convert, it would be ironic if he didn't since the man he replaced, Doug Bryant, was able to convert vs San Diego.

Strange stat of this week: Ladanian Tomlinson, RB on SD, has more TD passes (3) than Vinny Testaverde this year (0).

Basketball Has Started...

...and I already don't care. Wake me when we get to the playoffs.

The one subplot I will be following: how long will it be before Isaiah Thomas makes his next Knicks trade? He has been with the team under two years and already, no player remains from the team he inherited. Examples: Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammad, acquired February 16, 2004 by Isaiah. Mohammad exited on February 24, 2005, nearly a year later. Thomas soon followed, with the trade on October 4, 2005. When will the Knicks revolving door spin again and who will be moving through it? There must be an over/under for this event (two weeks?)!

My advice to Thomas (who is an avid reader of the KFB, I'm sure): Trade Stephon Marbury. I know he's one of the best point guards in the NBA, but look what happened to Minnesota, New Jersey and Phoenix after he left -- instant success!

T3: Rise of the Machines

I just watched Terminator 3 (in from Netflix). The verdict: not as awful as I had expected it to be but not a great film. They pretty much were able to take a formula that worked in T2 and diluted it down to a bunch of good action scenes. There are some decent chases. The story is pretty awful but don't pay attention to it and you'll enjoy. Also, the new Terminator is pretty lame. I preferred the T1000 from Terminator 2 as a more menacing villain.

Advice to the President

Oh look! CNN.com has a section where readers can give advice to the President.

I know what you're thinking: "Blogman, what advice would you give to the President?"

My advice: Quit surfing the Internet for advice and get back to work!

Nobu 57

Nobu opened their third location in New York City over the summer, so I figured to give it a try. I went last night and had to make the reservation about a month in advance! I've been to Nobu Next Door once before but never to the main Nobu. Here are some photos of the dinner. These photos came from my cell phone camera - the snazzy but big LG VX9800, which I also plan on reviewing in this space soon. The photos are a little blurry but hopefully give a sense of what we had.

Overall the service was friendly and great, the atmosphere was nice but pretty plain and not as amazing as I had read in some reviews and it was a little pricey. The food was very fresh and tasted great. I sat in the back area which looked like it could be shut off for a private party.

I have to admit, I thought it was a little awkward to take photos of my dinner.


Yellowtail sashimi
Yellowtail sashimi with jalepeno - a Nobu standard.



Lobster ceviche - quite good - lobster marinated in a lime-type sauce and served on lettuce. Eaten with hands.



King Crab Tempura "Amazu" Sweet Ponzu - my favorite dish of the night. We started eating it before I took the photo.



Squid "Pasta" with light garlic sauce - not actually pasta, but squid supposed to be shaped like pasta.


Artic char with some sort of peppery (hot peppers) sauce. Artic char is a little like salmon. This dish was a special but I think we should have gone with the miso cod instead.



Dessert - the Meyer Lemon Semifreddo (with pine nuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds and caramelized cinnamon ice cream). The black things are caramelized sesame seeds.



Dessert Bento Box (warm chocolate fondant cake, goma tuille and green tea ice cream). I don't know what the "goma tuille" is.

One Trick Pony?

Ben Mezrich, writer of "Bringing Down the House" has another book out, "Busting Vegas." This new book sure sounds a lot like the old one!

Compare for yourself:


Bringing Down the House
The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T.

students who beat the system in Vegas -- and lived to tell how.

Robin Hood meets the Rat Pack when the best and the brightest of M.I.T.'s math students and engineers take up blackjack under the guidance of an eccentric mastermind. Their small blackjack club develops from an experiment in counting cards on M.I.T.'s campus into a ring of card savants with a system for playing large and winning big. In less than two years they take some of the world's most sophisticated casinos for more than three million dollars. But their success also brings with it the formidable ire of casino owners and launches them into the seedy underworld of corporate Vegas with its private investigators and other violent heavies.

Filled with tense action, high stakes, and incredibly close calls, Bringing Down the House is a nail-biting read that chronicles a real-life Ocean's Eleven. It's one story that Vegas does not want you to read.

Busting Vegas
He played in casinos around the world with a plan to make himself richer than anyone could possibly imagine -- but it would nearly cost him his life.

Semyon Dukach was known as the Darling of Las Vegas. A legend at age twenty-one, this cocky hotshot was the biggest high roller to appear in Sin City in decades, a mathematical genius with a system the casinos had never seen before and couldn't stop -- a system that has never been revealed until now; that has nothing to do with card counting, wasn't illegal, and was more powerful than anything that had been tried before.

Las Vegas. Atlantic City. Aruba. Barcelona. London. And the jewel of the gambling crown -- Monte Carlo.

Dukach and his fellow MIT students hit them all and made millions. They came in hard, with stacks of cash; big, seemingly insane bets; women hanging on their arms; and fake identities. Although they were taking classes and studying for exams during the week, over the weekends they stormed the blackjack tables only to be harassed, banned from casinos, threatened at gunpoint, and beaten in Vegas's notorious back rooms.

The stakes were high, the dangers very real, but the players were up to the challenges, consequences be damned. There was Semyon Dukach himself, bored with school and broke; Victor Cassius, the slick, brilliant MIT grad student who galvanized the team; Owen Keller, with stunning ability but a dark past that would catch up to him; and Allie Simpson, bright, clever, and a feast for the eyes.

In the classroom, they were geeks. On the casino floor, they were unstoppable.

Busting Vega$ is Dukach's unbelievably true story; a riveting account of monumental greed, excess, hubris, sex, love, violence, fear, and statistics that is high-stakes entertainment at its best.

DePodesta

Maybe the Yankees should go after former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta for a position in their front office. He was well-regarded in "Moneyball" to having new and innovative ways of evaluating players, and comes from a similar "new school" of thought as Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. There are probably plenty of "old school" guys in the Yankees organization already. It might be helpful to the Yanks, especially since Gene Michael may not be as influential anymore.

The Saints Will Stay in Louisiana?

For some reason this story sort of sounds like when a team says, "we have full confidence in the coach" and then fire the coach at the end of the season. Anyways, shouldn't the governor be worried about more pressing issues than whether or not the NFL team will stay in New Orleans?

At Least The Jets Can't Lose This Week

It's their bye week.

See the Jets Blog for the state of affairs in Jet fandom. The "fan confidence rating" on the left of 1.8/10 tells it all, I think.

White Sox Win!

Congratulations to the White Sox who finished off the World Series pretty quickly, in four fairly good games against the Astros. Does this mean we will see a ton of White Sox hats now that Chicago has beaten their streak? There was definitely an increase in Red Sox apparel after last year's drought ending victory.

Bud Pong

I don't even know where to start, but I will try by asking, does "beer pong" (or beiruit, if you prefer) need to be encouraged or explained by a major brewery?

They'll probably also have to scrap the "Bud Flip Cups" promotion.

Z's

In the competition to have the most Z's on a coaching staff, it looks like the Baltimore Orioles have gotten a head start.

World Series 2005

Pretty interesting World Series match-up, but sadly, I don't think a lot of people will be watching.

White Sox vs. Astros. The Astros (or any Texas team, for that matter) have never been to the World Series. The last time the White Sox made it to the World Series was 1959, and the last time they won was 1917. Is this karma? Red Sox in '04 after 1918, White Sox in '05 after 1917? If that's so, maybe the Cubs will have a chance soon. On the other hand, the Astros have never won, much less, made it to the World Series, but they are the Wild Card.

The White Sox ALCS victory ends the streak of the team that knocks out the Yankees wins the Series (which has gone on since '01).

I have been enjoying Bill Simmons less and less each day. Statements like this after Houston's game 5 loss are why:

"Once you have the momentum, the other team has to take it back. And they can't do that when they're reeling on the road and wondering what the hell just happened. That's why I believe the Astros are finished, just like that '86 Angels team was."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051018

To use an old cliche, "In baseball, momentum goes only as far as the next game's pitcher."

By the way, has anyone noticed all the former Yankee starting pitchers in this series? Clemens, Pettitte, Hernandez and Contreras! Wow.

Ok, I'll try to have some better posts coming up soon. Good night.

I Posted This From My Phone

I am such a loser. Yet my phone is so cool.

Subway Chicken Parmesan

I've been thinking of ordering Subway's chicken parmesan sandwich, the latest way Subway has been trying to straddle the healthy / unhealthy line (I don't think Jared was able to lose any weight eating the chicken bacon ranch sub). But what cheese to get on this sandwich? The typical Subway offerings of American, Swiss or Provalone seem inadequate when what a true chicken parmesan sandwich requires is mozarella. I live a sad life because these are the kinds of things that frustrate me.

Bonus Baseball - Braves vs. Astros

One of the best things in baseball is how there is no time limit and no ties. Granted, in the NFL, there are hardly ties, but the baseball extra innings has got to be one of the tensest situations where just a slight mistake can cost a team.

Consider the Astros-Braves game right now, which has just entered the BOTTOM OF THE 18TH INNING. This thing is a classic already and we don't even know how it ends yet. By the way both teams have had grand slams!

This game reminds me of listening to the radio as a kid and hearing the 1986 Mets / Astros LCS game that went 16 innings. The Mets went on to win the game, and the series, but what was so striking about the game was how see-saw the scoring was even in extra innings!

As I write this, Chris Burke finishes off the game and the series in the bottom of the 18th with a walk-off home run. Wow.

Not a lot of Blog

Sorry there haven't been many posts recently, it's been pretty busy. Hopefully soon I'll be able to discuss more about China (I know, the trip was MONTHS ago), Mr. T Chia Head: The Second Go-Around, 15 Days (or more) with the LG VX9800, and a great comic book, Y: The Last Man.

In the mean time, consider whether or not John Lackey replacing Jarrod Washburn tonight in the Angels / Yankees game is a good thing. Since the Red Sox are out of the playoffs, if the streak of wild card teams winning the World Series is to continue, then maybe it's Houston's year? There is another, longer streak than that of the wild card teams winning the Series, and that is the streak of teams eliminating the Yankees winning the WS - '01 Arizona, '02 Anaheim, '03 Marlins, '04 Red Sox. Of course, twice this occurred in the WS. If these trends were to continue it would mean Houston beats the Yankees in the World Series.

Offensive

Amazing. I thought it wouldn't be wise to start Curtis Martin on my fantasy football team this week since he was playing against the Ravens, and since the Jets don't have a passing game, he wouldn't have a prayer against the tough Baltimore defense.

As it turns out, Martin wasn't my worst RB in fantasy football this week. That honor goes to Fred Taylor, who ran for an astounding 14 yards on 8 carries. Ugly!

Aren't They Taking this "Evil Empire" Thing a Bit Too Far?

(photo courtesy of AP)

Why did Chewbacca throw out Wednesday's first pitch at the Boston / Toronto game?

FOX Box

Here's a little rant about the awful coverage that FOX has provided today's Yankees / Red Sox game.

At present, the fourth inning has just ended.

So far, throughout the game, there have been live cut-in score updates of the White Sox / Indians game at the rate of about one update per half inning. That's understandable because there is a direct Yankee / Red Sox playoff implication from that game. Of course, but the score updates have been updating the fact that the score is 0-0, and also interrupting game play! In addition, the screen already contains a graphic with continuous updating of the White Sox / Indians game scores. So when they go to game break, we know it won't show any scoring because the live score update still says 0-0.

The biggest abuse of all was in the bottom of the fourth, the Yankee / Red Sox game was relegated to the little FOX Box and we were forced to focus on the Chicago / Cleveland game, which was 0-0. Who cares! Nobody watching the Yankee / Red Sox game cares about the specifics of the Chicago / Cleveland game other than the results. While the FOX box would have been annoying regardless, why did the main game we all tuned in for get relegated to see in the tiny box (and audio of the Chicago / Cleveland game)?

As I finish this post, A-Rod has just hit a non-clutch, top of the 5th, one out, solo home run to put the Yankees up 6-2. Fortunately, there was no FOX box to be seen.

Hopefully one of my favorite tabloid news sports media columnists will complain about this in the next day or two, because this was a horrible misuse of the FOX box.

No More Email

Trying to unsubscribe from a mailing list, this page is full of contradictions.



First of all, why does it say "Join the Team" if I'm trying to unsubscribe?



Ah, the best part of it all, we won't send you anymore email... except an email to tell you that we won't send any more email!!

Four-Way Tie?

There's a chance of a tie in the AL Wild Card race, with the loser of the AL East finishing out with the same record as the Indians, which would necessitate a play-in game for the playoffs. But what happens in this unlikely, yet awesome, scenario?

White Sox go 1-4 (losing final games versus Cleveland)
Tribe go 3-2 (winning only games versus ChiSox)
Yankees go 3-2
Red Sox go 3-2 (one AL East team must split their remaining two games versus Bal or Tor, and then come back to take 2/3 in the final series, while the other team must win both games versus Bal/Tor and lose 2/3 in the final series)

This would set up four teams with identical records (95-67). What then? I think it means three play-in games (for the two division titles, then with the losers going for the wild card). That would be the closest MLB ever gets to having a one and done "tournament" style playoff, and that's what I'm rooting for. Couple this amazing scenario with the Red Sox getting eliminated from the playoffs and it would be like a personal dream. The second best scenario eliminates the White Sox from the playoffs because that sort of collapse would be monumental. Hey, if the Red Sox could win the World Series, perhaps we could have this elaborate and complicated tie scenario!

Vinny's Back

Vinny Testaverde is back with the Jets. Brooks Bollinger is going to start, but does anyone expect him to play well versus the Ravens?

Let's face it, the Jets season is pretty much lost. It will take time for Pennington to recover from the shoulder injury (the only other active QB I can recall who's had major shoulder problems is Brian Griese) and while Vinny's a fan favorite, he's not getting any younger.

It was sort of funny to hear that Fiedler and Pennington traveled together to visit guru Dr. James Andrews.

By the way, the over / under for Sunday's Jets / Ravens game is 32 points. Can Anthony Wright and Brooks Bollinger put up those points? Has there ever been a game where the special teams and defenses might put up more of the points for both teams?

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees - 9/22/05

Wow. The Yankees are back in first place. I would have never expected it.

For the end of the year, it was another $5 night at the stadium, so I got the chance to see the team one last time in '05 (unless some miracle scores me playoff tickets). This was quite a year for me and Yankee games. Please enjoy the photos.


This is where our seats were. Jorge Posada hit his 2nd HR in the area just to the left of this photo.


A-Rod should be the MVP. Let's face it, his offensive numbers are so similar to David Ortiz's and he also plays in the field! This "clutch" stuff I've been hearing about is total garbage. Not to mention, A-Rod, while he won't get a triple crown, is pretty damn close. As of today, 3rd in batting average, tied for 1st in HR and 4th in RBI. Granted Ortiz is 1st in HR and RBI but he's not even in the top 10 in BA.


Bruce Chen pitched very well against the Yankees earlier this year. Fortunately this game wasn't earlier this year.


Mike Mussina pitched a great, great game. But he was limited to under 80 pitches.


These fans were trying to start the wave. I think the people who like the wave the most are the ones trying to start it.


Coaches (counterclockwise from top left) Luis Sojo, Dave Cash, Rick Dempsey and Roy White. Only Dempsey stands in the white box by the base. Why does that box exist? Nobody ever stands in the box.

Overheard in New York

Here's one that I'll post here before submitting.

Overheard in a hospital lobby between two security officers:

Officer 1: Astroglide. Is that the one you use?
Officer 2: Oh yeah. It's much better than K-Y.
Officer 1: Really? I've never heard of it.

Citysearch

I was invited to something at "Top of the Copa." So I looked it up on Citysearch.

My result?

"We assumed you meant Top Of The Cove, instead of top of the copa."

No, in fact I actually meant, "top of the copa."

This reminds me of an old saying:

If you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.

525 posts, Google Talk, Weekend observations

This is post #525. The blog began back in May of 2004, and so I'm esitmating just over one post per day. If you were to combine the funny things or useful observations I've seen over the course of this time period, it would likely come out to less than one per day. That makes me wonder where the rest of the crap on this blog comes from.

Google Talk: I've had Google Talk for several months now but nobody I know uses it. Not sure why this is. In fact, I've never had a conversation using Google Talk. Instead, I just have it in my system tray, allowing it to notify me of when I get new GMails.

Weekend observations:

Two observations from the weekend. The first was on the bus, where a man (who looked a little hungover) took about 6 tries to put his metrocard into the slot but kept inserting it in the wrong direction. This was fairly amusing and betrayed the fact that he never uses the bus.

Second was at Whole Foods where behind the deli meat slicer was a huge sign that said, "do not touch blade directly with hand." While this seems a bit obvious, it was interesting to note such a huge sign. Wonder if some poor deli meat slicer had an incident that necessitated the posting of this sign.

New England Loses, Jets Win!

Of course, it wasn't the same game...

The Patriots lost for the first time since that freak game last December against Miami. The Jets beat Miami and it's a division full of 1-1 teams. The Jets didn't look great against Miami but it's so hard to gauge how good Miami is this year. The Dolphins made a lot of mistakes on offense but seemed to play good defense. The Jets played decent defense and average offense. It was clear the Jets weren't as bad as last week and the Dolphins weren't as good, but I think the degree is still in question. I felt like Peter King made an uninformed pick by picking Miami over the Jets. Of course, that wasn't the only one. In the first 13 games of the week, he went 3-10.

The New Super Size?

I went to McDonald's for breakfast today (a sin, I know) and when I ordered my meal, I had the following exchange with the server:

Server: Would you like another hash brown?
Me: Did you say, another hash brown?
Server: Yes, would you like an additional hash brown?

It took all my willpower to decline the crispy fried golden potato goodness, but I did. Afterwards, I wondered if I had essentially been offered a super size.

As an aside, I meant to order a #2 (bacon egg and cheese biscuit) but somehow ended up with a #3 (sausage mcmuffin). I guess I shouldn't have gone in the first place.

A Few Links

Here's a few links I found fairly interesting this morning / afternoon. Not sure why I noticed a sudden spike in stories I found interesting.

Youppi! changes teams. That's not a metaphor, he actually changed teams, since the Expos moved away.

Football's players union stinks. It's about time someone pointed this out in the press.

On a more serious note, a NY Times story about abortion. Seems like a lot of people have extreme positions on this issue, but this gives some insight into those people who have to struggle with the decision.

Unfortunately, linking to the NY Times may get a little more tricky in the coming days, as their new pay service will launch.

Blander

Just as when you add salt or pepper to make something more flavorful, someone should research into making an anti-seasoning in case food has been made too spicy or too salty. That way, if you're at a restaurant and the food is unbearably spicy you could tone it down a little bit. This could be a big hit.

Over-the-shoulder

First it's crossword puzzles at the Roberts confirmation hearings, now it's notes at the UN. You'd think politicians would be more aware of where the cameras are. Check out this Reuters photo.



"I think I need a bathroom break. Is that possible?"

Do you think the photographer was laughing hysterically up as he was catching this shot?

Roberts Hearings

Trying to avoid political posts, but there was some comedy in the Roberts confirmation hearings the other day. I have to admit, most of this was stuff that was observed on the Daily Show, but I find humorous enough to pass along.

There were a number of long-winded questions asked throughout the session, and a number of Hurricane Katrina references as well. But most amusing was Tom Coburn (R-OK) getting caught doing a crossword puzzle in the middle of the hearing!

Also, he gave this speech (click here for video)

"When I ponder our country and its greatness, its weaknesses, its potential, my heart aches for less divisiveness, less polarization, less finger pointing, less bitterness, less mindless partisanship, which at times sounds almost hateful to the ear of Americans."

Here are some great quotes from Coburn in the last year or so. Maybe he was talking about himself?

“I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life.”

“The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power..."

See this link for some more gems.

Let the Overreacting Begin (NFL)

Week 1 is nearly in the books, week 2 is on its way, let the overreacting in the media begin. As we know, and will hear all week, all the teams that have lost their first week games are awful, and everyone who won their first week game is going to the Super Bowl.

Big Games?

This weekend the Red Sox visit the Yankees, and my excitement level couldn't be any less. Jim Caple mentions similar feelings on ESPN.com (although I couldn't stand all those fans who jumped on the Red Sox "underdog" bandwagon last year; hopefully some of them will now go root for the Twins or A's).

Here's more reason to not be so excited. Even if the Yankees were to sweep the Sox, they'd still be one game back in the East, and then they face their nemesis, the Devil Rays, later in the week. The Yanks have lost the season series to Tampa, and that is the difference between being in first and second place. It's hard to imagine the Yankees keeping up a consistant run to make up ground on the equally inconsistant Red Sox. On top of that, the Yankee pitching staff is full of injuries. I still think their best hope will be to make the playoffs as the wildcard and then catch fire in the playoffs. Don't forget, the wildcard team has won the World Series the last few years.

If the Yankees take 2/3 from Boston and then sweep Tampa, then they'll have my attention again. I don't have the patience for the up and down stomach/heartache. I get enough of that from the Jets.

Fantasy Football

My fantasy baseball team is cruising around in 2nd place, but I just had my fantasy football draft. Here's my team, the number of starters at each position listed in parentheses.

QB (1)
Michael Vick (ATL)
Jake Delhomme (CAR)

RB (2)
Deuce McAllister (NO)
Curtis Martin (NYJ)
Kevin Barlow (SF)
Stephen Davis (CAR)
Fred Taylor (JAC)
Ricky Williams (MIA)

WR (3)
Reggie Wayne (IND)
Issac Bruce (StL)
Justin McCareins (NYJ)
Robert Ferguson (GB)

TE (1)
Daniel Graham (NE)

K (1)
Mike Nugent (NYJ)

DEF (1)
Philadelphia

Yes, I have a ton of running backs, but I imagine one of them will get injured soon, and I'll need to replace Robert Ferguson at WR with someone... I have no idea if my team is any good, all I know is during week 8, I have to replace quite a few players since the Jets and Indianapolis have BYE weeks.

A1 Steak Sauce

The people who make A1 Steak Sauce must be losing it. Either that, or I think they hired some marketing "genius" away from the folks at Snapple.



This is not the sort of corporate image I would have expected A1 Steak Sauce to try and build.

BlogDay 2005

August 31 is BlogDay

So try these five blogs out:

1 - Jets Blog (where I found out about this "BlogDay")
2 - Google Blog - How long will it be before Google goes from "Company That Makes Cool Stuff I Like" to "Powerful Media Conglomerate That I Hate Due to Privacy Abuses?"
3 - Funny photos
4 - Ars Technica - Technology
5 - Med Student in the Midwest. He sort of babbles a little bit.

Hmph. BlogDay2005. Can I get more hits?

Game Recap

Here's a screen capture of the Yankees game recap from their 8/26 game against Kansas City. What a great headline! See the original link here.



*Thanks to the friend who pointed this out to me.

Cell Phones in the Subway

I guess this means we'll have to retire the white lie, "Uh sorry, I was in the subway and couldn't talk to you."

The Who

The Who should make another album and call it, "Who's Left" or "Who's Remaining."

*ba dum bum*

To: Mike Mussina

Mike,

I need you to come through for my fantasy team. I know it's not your highest priority right now, but you're a key contributor to the staff. We're in the home stretch and we've put together a nice run recently for first place. You are one of the aces of my pitching staff. Sure, Kris Benson and Carlos Zambrano are there to help anchor things, but they are just too inconsistant to rely on. I need wins from you, Mike because I don't like to finish second, just like your boss.

Tonight's outing was a bit disappointing, to say the least. When you had the bases loaded in the fifth inning, it reminded me of a start that you had on August 3 against Cleveland where you were cruising along and suddenly imploded in a game the Yankees eventually lost. The same thing seemed to happen tonight. What happened? Please don't let this happen again. I know you're doing your best but I need you to try even harder.

Thank you,
Blogman

China - Part 4

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Welcome to my fourth posting related to ten days in China. This one has quite a few images, but if I think there may be about two more posts to this virtual vacation slide show and I really only want to do about two more.




These first two photos are from the city of Chongqing, which faced a lot of the troubles in WWII. Now, it's a pretty big manufacturing center. There's not a lot of bicycles because the landscape is so hilly. Instead there are a lot of motorcycles, and even motorcycle taxis! What was striking about the city is that you would see a lot of development coupled with a lot of poverty. You can see a little of this in these two photos, taken from about the same area of the city. The first shows more commercial development, and the second has a bit more of a run down buildling.

We went to a Szechuan hot pot restaurant that was pretty cool. You wouldn't see anything like it in the states. The pot in the center had a spicy broth, and then a little conveyor belt (only this was small wooden boats in water) would bring around a bunch of ingredients you could cook in the hot pot. Lots of different, unidentifiable meats, including some organ meat (we also saw brain float by). Might not have been that sanitary. Fortunately, none of us got sick.

The reason we were in Chongqing was that we went on a Yangtze River boat cruise. The scenic highlight are the Three Gorges along the river. There's a hydroelectric dam that will be completed in 2009, and this may affect the way the gorges and other upstream sights appear since upstream water level will rise about 175 meters.



The photo above is of the first of the three gorges. On the ten yuan bill, there is a photo of this area. Here's one scan I found on the 'net of the bill.





The two photos above come from the second gorge, which has a number of sights such as the rhinocerous gorge (first photo) and the goddess gorge (second photo). The "goddess" of the goddess gorge is the little nub to the right of the two large protrusions. Pretty tiny, and we were fortunate it wasn't too foggy.








As the weather got better that day, we made a stop off, got on a ferry and travelled down the Shennong stream. The first three photos are photos of the stream. The ferry took us to these 15 person boats with four-man crews. When the water got really shallow, instead of rowing, the guys got out and pulled the boat (see the fourth photo). Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the boats these guys were pulling. I was also sad that I didn't capture them taking cigarette breaks while there was a little bit of a break.

No Respect?

Sometimes I hate how people say the NFL Champs don't get any respect. They are one of the most covered football teams in the league. But today I saw a poll on ESPN.com that made me think that maybe they the "no respect" mantra isn't just talk.



They've won three out of the last four championships, have a coach who is considered a defensive "genius" and don't even make it on to espn.com's crummy little poll. I suppose that is the definition of "no respect."

Here are the poll results. Maybe they need a few more crooks on the team so they can be "noticed."

24

As I watch the third season of 24 (the only season I have not seen in its entirety) it dawns on me that much of the show's success isn't just from the action and plot twists, but much of the drama is predicated on relationships, particularly family relationships. Primarly it seems to be the parent/child relationships, but inter-sibling and husband/wife relationships are also quite common.

Spam Comment

I just got a spam comment! What a hassle.

Troops

I'm in a little bit of a political mood.

Many people like to suggest that we need to have an "end date" for our troops in Iraq. Setting any discussion of whether or not we should be in Iraq in the first place aside, if anyone thinks that there will be a complete US withdrawl of troops anytime soon, they're kidding themselves. As far as I can tell, the only major conflict of the last 60 years where we didn't leave troops behind was the Vietnam War. Germany, Japan, Korea, all have US troops still stationed there. Granted, in the case of the former Axis powers the roles of the troops have changed, but still, we have maintained our positions. We also still maintain a base in Cuba, although we just recently left the Phillipines. Let's face it, while the troop presence in Iraq may be reduced, some of our men are out there for the long haul. To expect we'll be completely gone in a year or even five years so seems unrealistic and unfair to public expectations, soldiers and Iraqis.

Doesn't Seem Very Christian

Pat Robertson suggested that if the US was planning on assassinating Venezuela's head of state Hugo Chavez, we should. Wait a tick, did he just say we should kill him? I'm no Bible expert, but...

He also goes on to say that Chavez would like to make Venezuela "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent" and that it's our responsibility to stop him because he is operating in "our sphere of influence." Amazing, he's able to draw references from the 1950's, current day, and the 1800's. I think the last time I heard the term, "sphere of influence" I was 15 and we were talking about the Boxer Rebellion in US History class. Who else in this world has spheres of influence right now anyways? Are the Spaniards making a come back?

Subway Talking

Recently I've had a knack for picking the subway car that has the person sitting on the end having the louder than normal conversation. Typically, this isn't a problem, it's just slightly annoying because the conversations are louder than my iPod volume. But occasionally the conversation is quite loud, filled with obscenities, and involves only one person. When a conversation involves just one person, you have to be concerned.

Junk Mail

I respect the institution of direct-mail marketing that is junk mail. I accept that I will receive junk mail from time to time (including the possibility of daily). But I just received two pieces of junk mail that rub me the wrong way.

First, the pre-approval notices keep coming in for an American Express Blue card. Great, I can sign right up! Wait, I already have an American Express Blue card. Now I'm pre-approved for another one? As Charlie Brown would say, aaaaugh!

Second, I purchased something from the NFL store for someone and it was Patriots gear. Everything was fine except now I receive Patriots store mailings. I don't really like the Patriots, now I keep getting the Patriots junk mail catalog. Super. As if I need to be reminded again and again who the Super Bowl champs are. Side note: I'm getting pessimistic about the Jets given how often the national pundits are talking about their chances for the postseason this year. When the sports talking heads are enthusiastic about your football team, it's not always a good sign.

Chicken Fries

What exactly are chicken fries? I saw an ad for them in a Burger King in Manhattan.



Are they chicken in the shape of french fries? Or are they some sort of fried chicken / potato combination, bringing together the best of both worlds? After looking them up on the internet, it's clear that they are purely chicken, and very reminiscent of the White Castle chicken rings.


Which part of the chicken is the ring?

Book Drop

It's been a while since my last post, but that's partly because for my 500th post, I wanted to create something worth reading.

Here goes:

I went to the library yesterday to return a book. I knew the library was closed at the time I went, but I figured I could leave the book in the book drop. That seems like a fairly reasonable expectation, after all, libraries invented the book drop.

When I got to the library, which has two sets of double doors at its entrance, I noticed that the book drop was between the sets of doors. Pulling on the outer door in order to reach the book drop, I found it was locked. I checked again. The outer door was locked, making the book drop inaccessible. What then, is the point of this book drop?

As a side note, I thought that perhaps the book drop was no longer used because people dropped more than books in it. After all, this is New York City.

This Week In Baseball

Summed up by three amazing plays and one semi-rare occurrence.

Three amazing plays. Sorry I don't have video / images of these.

1) David Wright's barehanded catch in Tuesday night's Mets / Padres game. He got an ovation from the opposition fans!

2) K-Rod's lapse of judgment and Jason Kendall's great steal of home to win the game for the A's in extra innings. What a great play by Kendall!

3) Mike Cameron colliding with Carlos Beltran in Thursday afternoon's Mets / Padres gams. Hopefully they are okay. Later in the game, Cliff Floyd was hit on the knee by a pitch and Roberto Hernandez had a ground ball hit him in the hand. The Mets also lost the game.

For the first time, post-9/11 a fan jumped into the net behind home plate at the Yankees game. There was a ton of press coverage about this, and the fan got put in jail. But, pre-9/11 this actually happened once before (and I hadn't noticed it in any articles until I checked google) but back then there definitely wasn't as much coverage of the event.

Football Prediction

While I've got football on the brain following the Ty Law signing, and WFAN's visit to Jets camp, where they interviewed Herm Edwards, Terry Bradway, Donnie Henderson, Mike Heimerdinger, Chad Pennington, Jonathan Vilma, Eric Coleman, Pete Kendall and Ben Graham, here's a little prediction I cooked up from a discussion I had the other day with a friend.

*Out of the twelve playoff teams in the NFL in the 2005-2006 season, five to seven of them will have qualified in the playoffs from the 2004-2005 season.*

Not an "official" prediction, but it's likely that three of these will be New England, Indianapolis and Philadelphia. I just hope the Jets will be one of the teams as well.

Two NY Sports Notes

Note 1

The New York Jets look to sign Pro Bowl CB Ty Law today, a move that should definitely improve the defense, even if Law still is not 100% from his foot injury last season. Unfortunately, it sounds like the team will also have to cut 10-year veteran Ray Mickens to make room for Law. While this move will add a spark to the recently one-sided Jets / Patriots rivalry, which has gotten a bit stale since Bill Parcells left the area, it's a bit sad to see Mickens, the Jet with the second-longest tenure on the team let go. Mickens has never been an outstanding player but he's been consistant and durable throughout his career (until last season's injury) and due to his smaller physical size (5' 8", 180 lbs) has been a bit of an underdog who has been easy to root for. Perhaps they can bring him back at a lesser salary.

Note 2

I try not to link to other blogs on this site, as an effort to keep the content fresh (no pun intended) but this transcript of banter between Ken Singleton and Michael Kay was too easy to pass up. I guess when the tv stations go to commercials, the microphones aren't always off on MLB.tv. It's too bad I can't get MLB.tv because the Yankees and Mets are blacked out for anyone living in NYC. Hearing this sort of banter would be worth the price alone.

China - Part 3 - Terra Cotta Soliders

When we last left off my China trip virtual slide show, we were in the city of Xi'an. Just outside of the city are many tombs of leaders and a very well known cultural site, the terra cotta warriors. They were found thirty years ago by some farmer who was digging a well. I thought that was both funny and remarkable. The government has invested a lot in trying to publicize the soldiers and the cultural value. I think the farmer who found the soldiers is still alive and signs autographs.

There are three main pits with soldiers in them. The "first pit" is the largest, and that is where the first three photos are from. The "second" pit is smaller and did not allow photography. The "third" pit was the smallest and the fourth photo is from that site. There was one area where soldiers were removed from the pit areas and put on display. The final photos are all close ups of those soldiers.

This entire site is pretty wonderous, from the garden outside to the large airplane hangar-like structures that house the soldiers. In the parking lot, it's pretty sad, as there are many peasants trying to sell you trinkets, and these peasants will swarm around you the moment they realize you're from out of town.

An amazing site, and a highlight of my trip. Enjoy the photos.

Switch Pitcher

The other night two baseball observations of mine came together to form one great dream.

The first, which was actually made by my brother, was that no modern player will ever be able to be called, "The Greatest Yankee Ever." Why not? Because Babe Ruth has that title. Not only was Ruth one of the best Yankees ever, he's one of the greatest figures in professional sports ever. This means, even if a player is truly great, and a Yankee, he would still probably have to share the title of "Greatest Yankee" with Ruth.

So how could a player become the "Greatest Yankee" beyond Babe Ruth? Well, they'd probably have to change the game so dramatically that there would be no option but to call him so. A player like Barry Bonds or A-Rod won't make it. Sure, they are great players, perhaps some of the greatest in their time, but they aren't on the level of Babe Ruth. When Ruth hit 59 HR in 1921, the second most HR were hit by Ken Williams. Williams only had 24 HR. Ruth was a pitcher before that as well!

In order to be considered "the best" you then would have to be so innovative and yet also play the game at a high level, much like Ruth. What would be the next innovation that could strike baseball this well? Of course, it would be the switch-pitcher. I dream of teaching my kids to throw with both hands so that they can one day be major league switch pitchers. Think of all the possibilities! If you were in a jam against a batter you could just "change your look" by throwing with the other arm. You could alternate R/L depending on the batter. Even better still, you could pitch game 1 as a right-hander and game 2 as a left-hander. After all, you'd be using all the muscles on the other side of the body. You could be your own relief pitcher. The next innovation in the game will be the switch-pitcher. How great would it be if you could pound someone with your left-handed fastballs and cutters, and then suddenly throw right-handed knuckleballs to the next batter? You would be valuable as two players in one. If you were on the Yankees and you were good, you might just be able to take that title from Babe Ruth.

Spoilers

What is the statute of limitations on spoilers?

(Warning, may contain some spoilers, depending on how they are defined)

When is it okay to discuss the ending of a book, movie or TV show? One might argue, you can never discuss it with someone if they haven't seen it, otherwise you've spoiled it. That's a good point, but what about media that is well-known? Can I discuss Darth Vader's relationship with Luke Skywalker and not worry about spoilers? What about the endings of "The Wizard of Oz" or "Rocky?" At what point do these pieces go from unknown to common knowledge? Certainly I can't talk about the ending to the newest Harry Potter book, but what about the ending to the first book?

With books, I feel that one indication that the book can be discussed freely is if the book has been turned into a movie. But still, is it okay to question the fate of Frodo and Sam in the "Lord of the Rings" or is that a spoiler?

A good friend of mine once spoiled "The Usual Suspects" but it was okay because I saw the Academy Awards before I saw the film, and the awards indirectly spoiled the movie anyways.

So what are good milestones to look for when trying to determine if something is spoiled?

The inspiration for this post is the third Harry Potter movie, which I saw last night. There's something about it that really bothers me, but I can't discuss it here because it really spoils the movie.