It was inevitable that somebody would make them, so I am personally taking it upon myself to write them.
1. The secret to Brad Lidge's slider rests not with his grip or throwing mechanics, but rather he simply tells the balls that they are in fact, going to slide. They always listen.
2. When Brad Lidge joined the Phillies he wanted to be the best Pitcher on the team, no question, so he kicked Cole Hamels' nuts back into his body (resulting in his voice). It is, however, theorized that when Hamels' nuts re-descend, his fastball will reach 140 and his curveball will break 3 feet.
3. Brad Lidge doesn't vacuum, dirt just doesn't dare linger on his floor. (courtesy of scott)
4. Brad Lidge decided to be a closer because his batting would unusually disrupt hitting statistics as we know them.
5. Additionally, this would create pressure to make him an everyday player, and its just not fair to the other pitchers to have this man go 9 innings every game.
6. The only reason Gillick approved of sending Bourne to Houston for Lidge was because of Lidge's blinding speed. Coincidentally, Lidge is the emergency pinch runner/ fielder for both Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins.
7. Brad Lidge once struck out Jose Reyes without even throwing a pitch.
8. Brad Lidge gave up the Homer to Albert Pujols in the 2005 NLCS because he was bored and wanted to see if a baseball could go into outer space. Pujols gravely dissappointed Lidge.
9. Underneath Brad Lidges beard, there is not a chin, but rather a slider.
10. Pope Benny 16 is officially changing the church hymn to "Lidge takes mound, Lidge is pitching, Lidge will save again"
11. Bernie Parent recently revealed that when only the Lord saved more than he, he was actually talking about Brad Lidge.
12. Global Warming is actually caused by Lidge's slider, as the ball itself does not break, but rather he brings the earth incrementally closer to the sun (or moon for a night game). Al Gore recently proposed that the greatest cure to Global Warming would be to insure Lidge only pitches when the earth is not facing the sun.
13. Pat Burrel is incapable of hitting a breaking ball because once Lidge threw him a slider in batting practice, and he shit his pants.
14. Brad Lidges clocks set themselves. (scott)
15. Brad Lidge can fix the economy with a slider (scott)
16. The Army once inquired about the use of Lidge's slider as a deadly weapon.
17. Brad Lidge's slider doesn't negotiate with terrorists.
18. Brad Lidge has not supported any Presidential candidate because he knew he would immediately be asked to be the running mate.
19. Brad Lidge realized at an early age that his slider could be used to achieve world peace. However, he realized at an even earlier age that he hates hippies.
20. Brett Myers' wife decided not to press domestic assault charges on him because Brett was simply trying to show his wife how to throw Lidge's slider, but failed miserably.
21. One time, Brad lidge beat Babe Ruth in a Hot Dog eating contest.
22. Joe Carter's body was found dead on wednesday night. The cause of death was reportedly Brad Lidge's slider.
23. Brad Lidge orders whoppers at McDonalds, and gets them. (scott)
24. When Pedro Feliz was hurt, Charlie Manuel tried putting Brad Lidge at third. Ryan Howard needed a new glove each inning.
25. Brad Lidge's slider can smell fear.
10.29.2008
Portrait of a fallen man
While I hate playing the game, "What if?", here is a good piece on how McCain's campaign fell to pieces. It's really a shame too. I never thought a moderate/independent could/would shift so radically to one side in order to attempt to win a Presidency. McCain may ultimately go down in history as the Henry Clay of the late 20th, early 21st century.
On a side note, it's really interesting to see how the social conservatives hi-jacked the party so strongly in the past 10 years. Essentially they are responsible for McCain losing the 2000 primaries. Additionally, their stubbornness to adhere to such a stringent code of social conservatism has essentially driven out the rest of the members of the party. Their anti-intellectualist tendencies led to the state of current University teaching staffs being overwhelmingly Democrats, and the strict adherence to making social issues strongest eventually drove out the banking industry, now either made of libertarians or fiscally conservative democrats.
Nothing more on the World Series until its over. I may issue a death warrant on Bud Selig.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/29/mccain_2000/index.html?source=rss&aim=/news/feature
--Knuttel
On a side note, it's really interesting to see how the social conservatives hi-jacked the party so strongly in the past 10 years. Essentially they are responsible for McCain losing the 2000 primaries. Additionally, their stubbornness to adhere to such a stringent code of social conservatism has essentially driven out the rest of the members of the party. Their anti-intellectualist tendencies led to the state of current University teaching staffs being overwhelmingly Democrats, and the strict adherence to making social issues strongest eventually drove out the banking industry, now either made of libertarians or fiscally conservative democrats.
Nothing more on the World Series until its over. I may issue a death warrant on Bud Selig.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/29/mccain_2000/index.html?source=rss&aim=/news/feature
--Knuttel
10.24.2008
The First Two Games of the Series
So, my rundown of the first two games of the 2008 World Series.
Some starting notes -- Tropicana Field is ugly, should be burned to the ground, and afterwards, the soil should be sewn with salt so nothing productive can stand there ever. There's so many strange ground-rules. I never thought I'd be so disappointed just to see a normal bouncing over the wall ground rule double, but after all the (yawn, boring) explanations of the catwalks (which actually support the roof, so they're ugly and get in the way) I wanted one of those kind of ground rule doubles. What's with the slanted roof? Is it better for the rain to fall on just one side of the building or something? And please, no more Dick Vitale. I liked being able to ignore him until March, but it looks like ESPN just loves throwing crap like this guy at us whenever they can.
Game 1
Whole Camels threw another impressive game (impressive consistent too). The man has gone 7 innings exactly in each of his post-season starts this year and has not let up more than 2 runs. The batting was good when it had to be, and there weren't any grievious base running errors. I'm getting a free taco because of a TB stolen base in the fifth, and then Chase Utley stole one later in the game for good measure. The bullpen came out and shut the rays down, like they have to every team thus far. Most importantly, they win game 1, which is something 10 of the last 11 winning teams have done. They've also won an away game, something they will have to do at least once if they want to win the series (damn you, Bud Selig), and it's always better to win games sooner rather than later.
Game 2
As indicated in the picture above, Brett Myers pitched his ass off (it's actually now concave). He had some bumps early on. One bump was entirely umpire induced, when the ump second guessed whether a pitch (which was a strike anyway) was a strike or ball, originally called it a strike, then went to ball, but the batter started swinging, so the ump appealed to the first base ump, who, though having a clear shot to see the bat went entirely over the plate and had pretty much a full swing, called him not swinging. Well the pitch count was 3-2, there were 2 outs I think. The man gets on base, when the inning should be over, I think someone was already on, so there's someone on first and second, and boom -- runs scored. The crisis should have been averted, but those asscunts of officiating decided to leave their brains and eyes at home. Fielding errors also cost the Phils some runs. Only 3 of Myers 4 runs allowed were earned. He went 7 innings, which usually is enough for a pitcher to get a win. The bullpen was again lights out, no runs whatsoever. The bats and baserunning left much to be desired. I would've thought Charlie Manuel, being an ex-AL manager (Indians), would know better how to deal with using the DH, but it seems otherwise. Two different DH's in two games (yeah, I know, one righty, one lefty) both play piss-poor. At least the next two games they don't have to deal with that, but the series will have to go back to Tampa eventually. Are they going to try someone new (Matt Stairs?)? Are they going to put one of the regular fielders at DH? -- Burrel, replaced by Bruntlet, Howard, replaced by Dobbs? Based on ability, the logical choice would appear to be Burrel, as Bruntlet scored the first run of the game, and is the defensive replacement for Burrel in late innings, but Burrel has always been awful as a DH, I think the batting average under the Mendoza line.
Whatever it is, the offense needs to get back on track. The offense is what won most of the games for the Phillies this season -- Cole Hamels can't pitch everyday and Lidge isn't worth pitching unless there's a lead to protect. The pitching has shown that it can keep games close, but they need run support.
Come on, I haven't seen a Philadelphia Championship in my lifetime, and I've already graduated College. 4 sports, no championships. Eagles - 1960, Flyers - 1976, Philles - 1980, Sixers - 1983. Don't be like the '93 Phillies, the '97 Flyers, the '01 Sixers, or the '04 Eagles. Just win the damn thing.
--Knuttel
10.20.2008
That beard who is beard
Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, recently posited his opinion that there should be a second effort to try and help the economy -- a stimulus package -- much like the one given around tax season as a reminder to re-elect everyone HOORAY.
The problem with that is, it simply won't work.
Though, to be fair, if the government were to give me a stimulus package, I'd be hard pressed to say no.
But the problem with this is it simply reinforces the base of American economics as a consumer market. Bad news bears.
There is a simple fact that gets in the way of this working for an entire nation.
--In order for one to make a profit, someone else must lose money.
A unit of currency is worth a certain value, and goods and services can be exchanged for certain amounts of said currency. Therefore certain people/groups own/control larger portions of wealth. If the number of currency in circulation does not change, then there is no chance of the nation as a whole gaining or losing money. If the amount of currency in circulation increases, then each unit of currency is devalued, and again, the nation as a whole sees no increase or decrease.
Adding in international markets only pushes the dilemma onto an international scale. The World as a whole will see no increase or decrease.
Economically, a new system must start, in order for these financial woes to fix themselves. De-regulated and regulated capitalism has shown its flaws. To go to systems resembling feudalism or things prior would be preposterous. Communism/socialism only made sense as a solution to the industrial world of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
What's next? Who's to say?
--Knuttel
The problem with that is, it simply won't work.
Though, to be fair, if the government were to give me a stimulus package, I'd be hard pressed to say no.
But the problem with this is it simply reinforces the base of American economics as a consumer market. Bad news bears.
There is a simple fact that gets in the way of this working for an entire nation.
--In order for one to make a profit, someone else must lose money.
A unit of currency is worth a certain value, and goods and services can be exchanged for certain amounts of said currency. Therefore certain people/groups own/control larger portions of wealth. If the number of currency in circulation does not change, then there is no chance of the nation as a whole gaining or losing money. If the amount of currency in circulation increases, then each unit of currency is devalued, and again, the nation as a whole sees no increase or decrease.
Adding in international markets only pushes the dilemma onto an international scale. The World as a whole will see no increase or decrease.
Economically, a new system must start, in order for these financial woes to fix themselves. De-regulated and regulated capitalism has shown its flaws. To go to systems resembling feudalism or things prior would be preposterous. Communism/socialism only made sense as a solution to the industrial world of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
What's next? Who's to say?
--Knuttel
10.16.2008
Phightins win pennant
yeah, boring title, I know.
too excited, definitely to biased to write anything about the actual win, so here's what I found to be the best article on the game -- the AP article sucked.
Phillies Finish Off Dodgers
--Knuttel
too excited, definitely to biased to write anything about the actual win, so here's what I found to be the best article on the game -- the AP article sucked.
Phillies Finish Off Dodgers
--Knuttel
10.14.2008
Jerry Jones, Lord of the Underworld
Jerry Jones; while may he may not be the most incompetent owner (that title is being fought for by Ford and Davis), he is certainly the most evil (yes, moreso than Jeffrie Lurie).Recap -- He bought the team in the late 80s. His first act of business - fire iconic head coach Tom Landry. While I do hate the man as a coach, he had a tendency to run the score up in strike seasons with scabs and also served as DC for the Giants before taking this post, he will go down in history as one of the great ones (if not already).
Secondly, he built his team up with known troublers and fire starters. Most notably he traded for Charles Haley and Deion Sanders, but he also drafted Michael "I can't get open without throwing the cornerback to the ground" Irving and Nate Newtown.
Jim Johnson handled them well enough that they weren't out of control for the first two super bowls. However, Jones' domineering personality forced Johnson out which left him to hire former OU coach Barry Switzer, who just didn't care. Coincidentally, these are the only two coaches in history to win both a college nationa championship and the super bowl as head coach, as if anyone cares.
Well, he's at it again.
Recently he forced iconic coach Bill Parcells out of the job, which left him with Wade Phillips -- a coach of a much "weaker" personality.
Personel -- well after to left the eagles, he went to the cowboys, where he replaced Keyshawn Johnson -- a man, while troubled, looks like a saint as far as recent cowboys go.
He then personally fought the league for reinstatement of adam "Pacman" jones. No, he didn't think Pacman could be a normal, no trouble-causing human being. He just thought maybe he could have him avoid enough legal problems until he won a superbowl.
The altercation before last weeks game, it was a serious offense. Most teams would suspend their player for attempting to fight their own body guard. Not Jerry Jones. No, he needed a good cornerback while his secondary nursed some injuries.
Well, Roger Goodell looked into the matter(another man who doesn't really know what he's doing), finally decided -- hey, this is a serious matter. It is not consistent with what was required of Pacman to play in the NFL.
He is now out for four games, possibly more, possibly his whole career. Hey, there's always Canada.
Also, this kinda slipped under the radar at the trading deadline -- he traded for trouble maker receiver Roy Williams, who often whined about being the number two receiver, much more often than he whined about losing.
The fact of the matter is Jerry Jones cares not for the image of the National Football League. It's gotten to a point where I don't really care about what team it is. Yeah, I hate the Cowboys. But more importantly, i hate the image that they're giving the rest of the NFL and its players. Winning at all costs isn't winning at all. The worst part about it is he is the owner and GM. This means he is his own boss. He is responsible for removing himself from making these poor decisions, and I really don't see the man swallowing enough pride to do that.
Point is, he needs to be removed from his office.
--Knuttel
Phightin' on
The Phillies won in impressive fashion last night. The lead changed often, and with the help of another big inning, they won.
Mad, mad, crazy mad props to Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs.
Also props to Brad Lidge for going 1.1 for the save, sealing what would end up being a shaky 8th. good stuff.
Whole Camels pitches game 5, hopefully for the seal.
In other news, working on a conspiracy theory about McCain's campaign. Well, it's not really a conspiracy, moreso a really unconventional strategy.
Also, after Joe Buck announced to the world that Shane Victorino's favorite food is Spam Musubi, PETA became offended. To be fair, PETA becomes offended when people refuse to view an animal defecating as a beautiful act of nature, but I cannot be fair with PETA. They are a ridiculously radical organization for a cause that people may view with empathy, but not NEARLY to the extent they do. It would be like how we american's don't like how much gas we use, in cars etc.; well PETA's solution would be to entirely get rid of all modes of transportation requiring gasoline.
Alas, I digress. PETA took offense to Shane Victorino's food so much (personally, I find this a little offensive, as spam is pretty synonimous with post-America Hawaiian cuisine), that they personally wrote a letter to him describing how spam is made.
God forbid what happens when they find out his car may or may not have leather seating.
--Knuttel
Mad, mad, crazy mad props to Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs.
Also props to Brad Lidge for going 1.1 for the save, sealing what would end up being a shaky 8th. good stuff.
Whole Camels pitches game 5, hopefully for the seal.
In other news, working on a conspiracy theory about McCain's campaign. Well, it's not really a conspiracy, moreso a really unconventional strategy.
Also, after Joe Buck announced to the world that Shane Victorino's favorite food is Spam Musubi, PETA became offended. To be fair, PETA becomes offended when people refuse to view an animal defecating as a beautiful act of nature, but I cannot be fair with PETA. They are a ridiculously radical organization for a cause that people may view with empathy, but not NEARLY to the extent they do. It would be like how we american's don't like how much gas we use, in cars etc.; well PETA's solution would be to entirely get rid of all modes of transportation requiring gasoline.
Alas, I digress. PETA took offense to Shane Victorino's food so much (personally, I find this a little offensive, as spam is pretty synonimous with post-America Hawaiian cuisine), that they personally wrote a letter to him describing how spam is made.
God forbid what happens when they find out his car may or may not have leather seating.
--Knuttel
10.12.2008
Penn State is the greatest football team this year
Penn State University is the best college football team in the Nation this year.
If anyone has seen any of their games (I really mean any) than I should not have to qualify that statement.
In fact, out of defiance, I shall not qualify the statement. I demand you watch them play. The lines dominate and everyone else makes plays. It's really that pure and simple.
I am only torn whether to tout Derrick Williams or Daryll Clark as the clear front-runner for every single award made, ever. Consider it making up for past crimes against Penn State football (only one heisman, which I suppose is understandable on a team which emphasizes team, but only two national championships despite 5 undefeated seasons, and many many more one loss seasons).
Joe Paterno may even retire as the greatest coaching force in the history of the game, when he chooses to step down at the age of 120, counting the seven years he coaches from the grave. The man has either coached or played in essentially every era of football. Even his traditional two-running back offense (that's where both of the backs run the ball, not having one in a mostly blocking role) to the current spread-hd. He even mixed in the Nebraska I-option into his plan when he had Zack Mills and LJ. Defensively, it is Linebacker U. They have a defense that continues to produce player after player, specifically being known for creating the best all around linebackers everywhere (Sure, Shane Conlin wasn't as flashy as the Bos, but at least he didn't make any crappy movies), and has never managed to seem outdated.
Whatever, I'm rambling, and probably a little giddy from the post-victory glow, but that doesn't change anything I really said about Penn State.
--Knuttel
If anyone has seen any of their games (I really mean any) than I should not have to qualify that statement.
In fact, out of defiance, I shall not qualify the statement. I demand you watch them play. The lines dominate and everyone else makes plays. It's really that pure and simple.
I am only torn whether to tout Derrick Williams or Daryll Clark as the clear front-runner for every single award made, ever. Consider it making up for past crimes against Penn State football (only one heisman, which I suppose is understandable on a team which emphasizes team, but only two national championships despite 5 undefeated seasons, and many many more one loss seasons).
Joe Paterno may even retire as the greatest coaching force in the history of the game, when he chooses to step down at the age of 120, counting the seven years he coaches from the grave. The man has either coached or played in essentially every era of football. Even his traditional two-running back offense (that's where both of the backs run the ball, not having one in a mostly blocking role) to the current spread-hd. He even mixed in the Nebraska I-option into his plan when he had Zack Mills and LJ. Defensively, it is Linebacker U. They have a defense that continues to produce player after player, specifically being known for creating the best all around linebackers everywhere (Sure, Shane Conlin wasn't as flashy as the Bos, but at least he didn't make any crappy movies), and has never managed to seem outdated.
Whatever, I'm rambling, and probably a little giddy from the post-victory glow, but that doesn't change anything I really said about Penn State.
--Knuttel
10.11.2008
The worm has turned
Politics as usual?
This is one of the first things I approve of in the John McCain Campaign since he won the primaries.
He is noticing what he is doing. His quest to become the maverick President has become his quest to become the Republican President. I suppose it's sad that he only realizes this now, but better late than never, I suppose. Still not going to vote for him.
The country needs unity right now, and such a harsh criticism of a man based on absurd things can only wreak havoc.
The wheels are coming off. While I don't really believe he has had control of his campaign since probably January, I really don't believe he has control of it now. Yeah, I know McCain can be a bit aggressive, and a bit of a curmudgeon, but he never stooped to such a low blow. The enemy was never domestic, and it never should be. That isn't to say there aren't domestic enemies, it's just to say that perhaps we shouldn't create them.
Honestly, the respectful thing for him to do is for both him and Palin to drop out. I don't see it happening.
Thank God I lost all my idealism in 2004, otherwise I'd feel real let down about now, regardless of the November victor.
Perhaps I should continue to foment my Absurdist political views.
--The purest form of Democracy is revolution.
I'll just leave it at that for now.
--Knuttel
This is one of the first things I approve of in the John McCain Campaign since he won the primaries.
He is noticing what he is doing. His quest to become the maverick President has become his quest to become the Republican President. I suppose it's sad that he only realizes this now, but better late than never, I suppose. Still not going to vote for him.
The country needs unity right now, and such a harsh criticism of a man based on absurd things can only wreak havoc.
The wheels are coming off. While I don't really believe he has had control of his campaign since probably January, I really don't believe he has control of it now. Yeah, I know McCain can be a bit aggressive, and a bit of a curmudgeon, but he never stooped to such a low blow. The enemy was never domestic, and it never should be. That isn't to say there aren't domestic enemies, it's just to say that perhaps we shouldn't create them.
Honestly, the respectful thing for him to do is for both him and Palin to drop out. I don't see it happening.
Thank God I lost all my idealism in 2004, otherwise I'd feel real let down about now, regardless of the November victor.
Perhaps I should continue to foment my Absurdist political views.
--The purest form of Democracy is revolution.
I'll just leave it at that for now.
--Knuttel
10.10.2008
Degrassi season 8 begins!!!!
First, start off with some business that must be taken care of.
Phils won, big time. Manny's home run bugs me, not really because it was 3 runs and brought the game within reach for them or anything. It bugs me because he hardly got his bat on it. How? Also puzzling is Brett Meyer's all of a sudden getting good with the wood. He almost matched his season total for hits in this one game, and if you count the whole post-season, has already tied his season long hit total. His month in the minor leagues doesn't seem to affect that total either.
Now onto Degrassi --
Season 8 began tonight. 90210 comparisons end now. Degrassi is vastly superior. More importantly, it handles cast changes so fluidly. I think that has alot to do with how the show is serialized. It's the natural course of life. People come and people go. As much as I enjoy the original cast members, a part of me needs to see them move on. The show, after all, is Degrassi, not people who went to Degrassi, or Degrassi alum, though I do like they handled frosh year at college so far.
Plotlines which began are the Mia modeling plotline, the Manny-Liberty-Emma college beginning plotline (including a unique twist on the roommate situations), and the Clare plotline. Clare, while not entirely a new character, is going through her first year as a Degrassi student, so I guess this is her first time being a full cast member. This is what makes her plotline the most vague at the moment, and with the possibility to expand the most. It appears as if they are trying to establish Clare's group of friends/acquaintances as the new core.
What sucks about the new season?
First and foremost the new song. While I like that they are again showing the opening sequence in a setting, as opposed to the moving pictures of seasons 6-7, the song itself falls short. While there are fans of either the original song, which was used until season 5, or the instrumental version used for the setting-less 6-7, I question the judgement of anyone who likes this new song. It's all Hannah-Montana-ie, but it's in Canada, so i guess Roberta Alberta?
Also, the new principal is a douche-nozzle, ass-fag, cunt-nugget -- whatever you want to call him. But the antagonistic Principal was something the show did lack during the Ms. Hotsauce years. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. It is also interesting to note that a pretty large fraction of the current cast has some sort of Lakehurst connection. Even more interesting is the school was made up in season 6. Not even Paige's raper, Dean, was a Lakehurst alum.
All-in-all, the season should turn out well. They've done a good job of phasing out old characters and bringing in new ones (whatever happenned to Hazel?). The new plotlines seem at least in their worst to be interesting. A lowered Darcy presence might not be beneficial, mostly because I don't think the show was entirely done with the character, but at least she's still there physically.
--Knuttel
Phils won, big time. Manny's home run bugs me, not really because it was 3 runs and brought the game within reach for them or anything. It bugs me because he hardly got his bat on it. How? Also puzzling is Brett Meyer's all of a sudden getting good with the wood. He almost matched his season total for hits in this one game, and if you count the whole post-season, has already tied his season long hit total. His month in the minor leagues doesn't seem to affect that total either.
Now onto Degrassi --
Season 8 began tonight. 90210 comparisons end now. Degrassi is vastly superior. More importantly, it handles cast changes so fluidly. I think that has alot to do with how the show is serialized. It's the natural course of life. People come and people go. As much as I enjoy the original cast members, a part of me needs to see them move on. The show, after all, is Degrassi, not people who went to Degrassi, or Degrassi alum, though I do like they handled frosh year at college so far.
Plotlines which began are the Mia modeling plotline, the Manny-Liberty-Emma college beginning plotline (including a unique twist on the roommate situations), and the Clare plotline. Clare, while not entirely a new character, is going through her first year as a Degrassi student, so I guess this is her first time being a full cast member. This is what makes her plotline the most vague at the moment, and with the possibility to expand the most. It appears as if they are trying to establish Clare's group of friends/acquaintances as the new core.
What sucks about the new season?
First and foremost the new song. While I like that they are again showing the opening sequence in a setting, as opposed to the moving pictures of seasons 6-7, the song itself falls short. While there are fans of either the original song, which was used until season 5, or the instrumental version used for the setting-less 6-7, I question the judgement of anyone who likes this new song. It's all Hannah-Montana-ie, but it's in Canada, so i guess Roberta Alberta?
Also, the new principal is a douche-nozzle, ass-fag, cunt-nugget -- whatever you want to call him. But the antagonistic Principal was something the show did lack during the Ms. Hotsauce years. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. It is also interesting to note that a pretty large fraction of the current cast has some sort of Lakehurst connection. Even more interesting is the school was made up in season 6. Not even Paige's raper, Dean, was a Lakehurst alum.
All-in-all, the season should turn out well. They've done a good job of phasing out old characters and bringing in new ones (whatever happenned to Hazel?). The new plotlines seem at least in their worst to be interesting. A lowered Darcy presence might not be beneficial, mostly because I don't think the show was entirely done with the character, but at least she's still there physically.
--Knuttel
For the Phightin's
As anyone who follows things which matter would already know -- the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the LA Dodgers in game 1 of the NLCS. Normally, because this is baseball, it might not matter too much. But, as we all know, because it involves the Phillies in particular, it carries a weighted importance.
Good things
As they did throughout the whole Brewers series, The phils won through solid pitching and one explosive inning. I like to compare this to the winning strategy of the Ravens team that won the Super Bowl in the early part of the decade, winning each playoff game with solid defense and one breakout offensive play. When the pitching is on, the pitching is on. Cole Hamels will emerge from this playoffs, regardless of how the team does the rest of the way, as one of the elite pitchers in MLB, if he isn't on some of these lists already. Lidge still has yet to blow a save, and was quite impressive today, only having a one run lead to hold (=no margin for error). And for the offense, well, they capitalize on mistakes. They were dynamic in their totality during the course of the season, but as long as they're scoring more runs than the opposition now, I really can't complain with how it gets done.
Bad things
Manny, while being pitched to well, I thought at least, still went 2-4, an RBI double (which was only a few feet from being a 2RBI homer) being one of the hits. The idiot announcers made a big stink about pitching to him from the full windup (with no runners on base) as opposed to the short stretch. Statistically, they were wrong. Manny went 1-2 in both cases. While that one double was ultimately more devastating with the runner on 2 than the bases empty single doesn't change the fact that he batted .500, regardless of a baserunning presence. I tried to find Kalas on the radio (if you are unfamiliar with the Phillies, you may recognize his voice from various sports highlight reels, specifically NFL Films, or the Puppy Bowl). While I mentioned the runs scored as a positive earlier. Now I shall list them as a downside. The Phillies have had only a handful of scoring innings thus far in the postseason. I want to say the number is 5 from 4 games with the Brewers, and now 1 more from the game with the Dodgers. I think it's a great credit to the baserunning ability of the team that they can explode on an inning like that (even Hamels has a run) they need more consistent bats. Ryan Howard, while impressive so far as long as the pitcher facing him has showed fear, has hardly hit the ball. He has a lot of walks, but he also has a really low batting average. This needs to change. Oddly, one of the most conistent bats I've seen this post-season has been that of defensive cather Carlos Ruiz.
Now to switch gears to politics
I hate spin, especially when it is pushed through in campaigns by the committees of those running themselves.
There is no evidence that Barrack Obama is a terrorist, and to say his middle name (Hussein) has a terrorist tie to it, is simply racist. The man people say is his "terrorist" connection is Bill Ayers. He was part of the radical 60s/70s group "the weathermen." They were a military group, and had arms. However, since then, Ayers has become a supporter of the Chicago community, specifically with education, rather than trying to tear down the government and get after the man. While he would have certainly classified as a terrorist, it is not the Middle Eastern type of terrorist that they are clearly trying to draw ties with by calling Obama's middle name. He would have been more like the Tim McVey/Ted Kasinsky type of terrorist, except in a manner much more like that of the Black Panthers.
This all goes in addition to saying that his association with this man is weak at best. As far as I can tell, they have been honored in the same breath by the mayor of Chicago, little more than that.
Which brings me to another point. If you want to attack him in that sort of manner, attack his political origins. Chicago is the final remaining political machine in America (the Cook County Democratic Party). While it is getting weaker, this machine has been an extremely potent force up until the 70s/80s. It still has an extremely strong presence in Cook County. If you want to be elected to anything needing votes in Chicago, you still have to go through the machine. Why doesn't anyone bring that up.
John McCain has had numerous shady liasons throughout his professional carreer since leaving the military. One of which being Keating, I haven't really heard much about that, but that was also 20 years ago. He also used to be a part of several groups dedicated to aggresively arming people against Communism, regardless of the alternative. With how big of an enemy the Soviet Union was at the time, that in and of itself isn't that alarming, but he seems willing to tackle the enemies of "freedom", most likely "terrorists" with the same fervor he did the Commies. The liason itself here isn't extremely troubling, its the reason he had them that troubles me. Yes, he has foreign policy experience, but there's good experience and bad experience, and I don't think he has enough of the former.
Palin probably has the most dubious of all these connections. In addition to her Priest being probably more radical than Obama's Rev. Wright (he doesn't really like witches, and he still calls himself christian), her family used to be a big player in Alaskan Independence Party. Her husband was an official member for almost a decade, and her speach was characterized by some to echoe the party's founder. The founder, should be noted, was never seen without his magnum pistol, and actually was gunned down by the Feds for treasonous activities. With all of this talk about what is "American" and who is "un-American", I can't help but think there is nothing more un-American than treason. I think it's actually part of the definition.
I'm still unsure about who to vote for in this election, but I can't bring myself to vote for this Republican ticket.
--Knuttel
Good things
As they did throughout the whole Brewers series, The phils won through solid pitching and one explosive inning. I like to compare this to the winning strategy of the Ravens team that won the Super Bowl in the early part of the decade, winning each playoff game with solid defense and one breakout offensive play. When the pitching is on, the pitching is on. Cole Hamels will emerge from this playoffs, regardless of how the team does the rest of the way, as one of the elite pitchers in MLB, if he isn't on some of these lists already. Lidge still has yet to blow a save, and was quite impressive today, only having a one run lead to hold (=no margin for error). And for the offense, well, they capitalize on mistakes. They were dynamic in their totality during the course of the season, but as long as they're scoring more runs than the opposition now, I really can't complain with how it gets done.
Bad things
Manny, while being pitched to well, I thought at least, still went 2-4, an RBI double (which was only a few feet from being a 2RBI homer) being one of the hits. The idiot announcers made a big stink about pitching to him from the full windup (with no runners on base) as opposed to the short stretch. Statistically, they were wrong. Manny went 1-2 in both cases. While that one double was ultimately more devastating with the runner on 2 than the bases empty single doesn't change the fact that he batted .500, regardless of a baserunning presence. I tried to find Kalas on the radio (if you are unfamiliar with the Phillies, you may recognize his voice from various sports highlight reels, specifically NFL Films, or the Puppy Bowl). While I mentioned the runs scored as a positive earlier. Now I shall list them as a downside. The Phillies have had only a handful of scoring innings thus far in the postseason. I want to say the number is 5 from 4 games with the Brewers, and now 1 more from the game with the Dodgers. I think it's a great credit to the baserunning ability of the team that they can explode on an inning like that (even Hamels has a run) they need more consistent bats. Ryan Howard, while impressive so far as long as the pitcher facing him has showed fear, has hardly hit the ball. He has a lot of walks, but he also has a really low batting average. This needs to change. Oddly, one of the most conistent bats I've seen this post-season has been that of defensive cather Carlos Ruiz.
Now to switch gears to politics
I hate spin, especially when it is pushed through in campaigns by the committees of those running themselves.
There is no evidence that Barrack Obama is a terrorist, and to say his middle name (Hussein) has a terrorist tie to it, is simply racist. The man people say is his "terrorist" connection is Bill Ayers. He was part of the radical 60s/70s group "the weathermen." They were a military group, and had arms. However, since then, Ayers has become a supporter of the Chicago community, specifically with education, rather than trying to tear down the government and get after the man. While he would have certainly classified as a terrorist, it is not the Middle Eastern type of terrorist that they are clearly trying to draw ties with by calling Obama's middle name. He would have been more like the Tim McVey/Ted Kasinsky type of terrorist, except in a manner much more like that of the Black Panthers.
This all goes in addition to saying that his association with this man is weak at best. As far as I can tell, they have been honored in the same breath by the mayor of Chicago, little more than that.
Which brings me to another point. If you want to attack him in that sort of manner, attack his political origins. Chicago is the final remaining political machine in America (the Cook County Democratic Party). While it is getting weaker, this machine has been an extremely potent force up until the 70s/80s. It still has an extremely strong presence in Cook County. If you want to be elected to anything needing votes in Chicago, you still have to go through the machine. Why doesn't anyone bring that up.
John McCain has had numerous shady liasons throughout his professional carreer since leaving the military. One of which being Keating, I haven't really heard much about that, but that was also 20 years ago. He also used to be a part of several groups dedicated to aggresively arming people against Communism, regardless of the alternative. With how big of an enemy the Soviet Union was at the time, that in and of itself isn't that alarming, but he seems willing to tackle the enemies of "freedom", most likely "terrorists" with the same fervor he did the Commies. The liason itself here isn't extremely troubling, its the reason he had them that troubles me. Yes, he has foreign policy experience, but there's good experience and bad experience, and I don't think he has enough of the former.
Palin probably has the most dubious of all these connections. In addition to her Priest being probably more radical than Obama's Rev. Wright (he doesn't really like witches, and he still calls himself christian), her family used to be a big player in Alaskan Independence Party. Her husband was an official member for almost a decade, and her speach was characterized by some to echoe the party's founder. The founder, should be noted, was never seen without his magnum pistol, and actually was gunned down by the Feds for treasonous activities. With all of this talk about what is "American" and who is "un-American", I can't help but think there is nothing more un-American than treason. I think it's actually part of the definition.
I'm still unsure about who to vote for in this election, but I can't bring myself to vote for this Republican ticket.
--Knuttel
10.07.2008
The looming war and crisis
There is a threat that is facing the whole world. It has the possibility of erasing many, many lives. It also has the possibility of forcing many more into hunger.
I am talking, of course of the upcoming Hummus War.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-10-07-lebanon-israel_N.htm?csp=34
This should not be taken lightly, and we should all try and resolve this before military action is taken, and no one has any hummus.
The horror, the horror (mumbled in dieing breaths)
--Knuttel
I am talking, of course of the upcoming Hummus War.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-10-07-lebanon-israel_N.htm?csp=34
This should not be taken lightly, and we should all try and resolve this before military action is taken, and no one has any hummus.
The horror, the horror (mumbled in dieing breaths)
--Knuttel
the tuesday after monday
I could only stomach about five minutes of the Presidential debate that went down tonight. Do they not know the illegality of the question "Who would you name as Treasury Secretary?" You cannot name that title, or any title besides VP until after the election. You'd think a seasoned journalist such as Tom Brokaw would recognize this, but even he gave a large introduction to the question. Fuggital.
In other television news I tried watching 90210 to bridge the time before I have Degrassi. The show just doesn't do it. I turned it on a few minutes in, and I still figured out that one person was undercover only seconds into watching it. Poor poor production, on a show with high production no less. I was switching around, because it bored me, but it does look like they're addressing suicide, or at least attempts thereof, which is something Degrassi hasn't done since the original series -- Claude shooting himself in the bathroom (I guess the first Degrassi shooting).
Sometimes I wonder if I know more about Degrassi than Linda Schuyler herself.
--Knuttel
In other television news I tried watching 90210 to bridge the time before I have Degrassi. The show just doesn't do it. I turned it on a few minutes in, and I still figured out that one person was undercover only seconds into watching it. Poor poor production, on a show with high production no less. I was switching around, because it bored me, but it does look like they're addressing suicide, or at least attempts thereof, which is something Degrassi hasn't done since the original series -- Claude shooting himself in the bathroom (I guess the first Degrassi shooting).
Sometimes I wonder if I know more about Degrassi than Linda Schuyler herself.
--Knuttel
10.06.2008
friday is near
Friday is near.
This friday Degrassi will begin its 8th season.
That makes friday the most important day of the year since season 7 ended in America in the summer.
Perhaps more on Degrassi later.
This friday Degrassi will begin its 8th season.
That makes friday the most important day of the year since season 7 ended in America in the summer.
Perhaps more on Degrassi later.
10.05.2008
Jeffrey Lurie is evil and must be stopped
As some of you may or may not know, Jeffrey Lurie is the current owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and has owned them since 1995. As fewer of you may know, I have reason to believe the man is satan (or some variant of either devil or general miscreant) in human pajamas.True there have been playoff teams under his tenure, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
The man cares for nothing about the actual team itself.
The man is from Boston. This means he can never relate to Philadelphia sports. ever. Simple fact, but I don't wish to harp on it. I'll add this though before continuing on, in addition to being from boston, he was a hollywood producer of crappy movies before that. I'll just leave this suggestion about him. He bought the team as a status symbol, much in the same way Mark Cuban bought the Mavs, and Abrahimovich (or whatever the hell that guys name is) bought Chelsea FC. Point -- He doesn't really care about the team, it's his play thing.
But onto serious matters.
His first act as owner was changing the team's colors. Heresy. The team has had those colors since its second year of existence, shedding the colors it kept from the previous Philly team, the Frankford Yellow Jackets (colors inspired by the flag of the city itself). That's roughly 60 years of one set of colors. And what does he do? He "modernizes" it. He makes it "more intimidating and aggressive". What did he really do? He changed it from Kelly Green and Silver to Black and Midnight Green. What was wrong with kelly green and silver? Frankly, what is more intimidating and aggressive than a drunken irishman looking for a fight? A pine forest?
He also changed the logo. Before being a whole eagle soaring high, holding a football. Now, a decapitated eagle's head. "Oh but the look in its eyes is fierce!" Oh, but it doesn't have a body and is dead!
Next step of business -- Hire a head coach that is legally Batshit crazy in Ray Rhodes. Don't get me wrong, that first year or two wasn't too bad. But can you honestly expect a man to keep playing 120% for a man who threatens to kill your (noun) and after two years see no harm come to (noun), even after being a little lazy? Yeah. That's what I thought.
Next mode of business -- make a tv movie centered around the team about Tony Danza somehow becoming your kicker (vaguely, kinda sorta bastardized from the real story of Vince Papale). In addition, have an acting role in said movie.
Current mode of business -- settle for mediocrity.
The eagles made the NFC championship game 4 times in a row, winning the last one. Never in any of these years has there been a superbowl victory. But that's ok, look what they did. What?
Donovan McNabb, while being a gutsy QB who would scrap out wins early on, lost his stomach around the same time he started losing his thirst for running. Someone should have sat down a while ago and got him using his mobility to scrap out more wins, instead of sitting in the pocket and taking what is given, or gotten him to sit on the bench. While he is good, he's no longer a winner. If the team is down, they cannot rely upon him to take them upon his shoulders and over to victory. That is what winning qbs do.
Jeffrey Lurie must be done away with, possibly Andy Reid too. Maybe everything needs to get scrapped and start over.
I'm just slightly thankful we don't have THE worst owner. Currently that would either be the Ford family (Lions) or Al Davis (Raiders).
10.02.2008
CONSPIRACY ALERT
There is a conspiracy in our midsts, more serious than one can imagine.
John McCain is a powerless pawn of the Republican party. His election would be not a victory for himself, but rather the party.
backstory: John McCain is a maverick. He is an individual in the senate. He often votes his own mind, regardless of where his party goes. While he is a republican, he is himself.
He runs in the republican primary in 2000, and loses to George Bush. His career is not over, but it appears that he needs party support to do anything requiring republican votes outside the state of Arizona.
The conspiracy:
-A war is about to begin in Iraq. It hasn't started yet, the republicans are trying to conjure support. John McCain is the perfect man to champion the war. He, after all, is not only a military man, but he was a POW. Regardless of circumstances, that makes him a hero. Who better to be the mouth of support. It doesn't matter what he would have done, this is his place to be part of national attention again, not involving savings and or loans.
So Dick Cheney approaches him, black devil that he is, and a deal is struck.
McCain will have support in 08 (it would be improper to run against an incumbent), if the administration has support now.
I do not believe this check has been fully cashed. Sadly, if McCain is elected, I fear neo-Conservatism will not die. I have a rational fear for 4 more similar years.
Some may say, so what, it'll just be foreign policy. Foreign policy was the heart of neo-Conservatism. It is also the scariest. Uni-lateralism is the worst strategy one could use when going into the world and creating enemies. If you're going to do something like that, at least get like a France or Germany on your side instead of Bulgaria and Latvia. And is supporting a Georgian dictator who likes America really worth it if it may cause problems with Russia?
I'm starting to ramble, but you get the idea. This shit's real.
--Knuttel
John McCain is a powerless pawn of the Republican party. His election would be not a victory for himself, but rather the party.
backstory: John McCain is a maverick. He is an individual in the senate. He often votes his own mind, regardless of where his party goes. While he is a republican, he is himself.
He runs in the republican primary in 2000, and loses to George Bush. His career is not over, but it appears that he needs party support to do anything requiring republican votes outside the state of Arizona.
The conspiracy:
-A war is about to begin in Iraq. It hasn't started yet, the republicans are trying to conjure support. John McCain is the perfect man to champion the war. He, after all, is not only a military man, but he was a POW. Regardless of circumstances, that makes him a hero. Who better to be the mouth of support. It doesn't matter what he would have done, this is his place to be part of national attention again, not involving savings and or loans.
So Dick Cheney approaches him, black devil that he is, and a deal is struck.
McCain will have support in 08 (it would be improper to run against an incumbent), if the administration has support now.
I do not believe this check has been fully cashed. Sadly, if McCain is elected, I fear neo-Conservatism will not die. I have a rational fear for 4 more similar years.
Some may say, so what, it'll just be foreign policy. Foreign policy was the heart of neo-Conservatism. It is also the scariest. Uni-lateralism is the worst strategy one could use when going into the world and creating enemies. If you're going to do something like that, at least get like a France or Germany on your side instead of Bulgaria and Latvia. And is supporting a Georgian dictator who likes America really worth it if it may cause problems with Russia?
I'm starting to ramble, but you get the idea. This shit's real.
--Knuttel
2 items
Two things of importance will happen today.
1. The vice-presidential debate.
This particular debate is more important than past VP debates. The reason for this is I have a belief that the VP will have to serve time in office without the V before the term is up. Obama is too large a target for hate groups, and McCain is walking death.
Biden can win if does not talk at all. If he chooses to speak, he should speak minimally. He has a tendency to throw words out of his mouth that either he doesn't mean to, whether he didn't mean to physically, or he was just playing around and took it too far, well, there's no way to know. Point is, there are fewer instances than today where he can dig himself into a mineshaft.
Palin has a similar problem. Whereas Biden's gaff issue comes with trying to be friendly ( I bet he actually is), Palin gets gaff-itis when she tries sounding like she knows what she's talking about. The woman has virtually no experience, and it shows when she has to answer any government related questions. I don't know how long the border with Russia is going to hold for foreign policy experience. It's one of the few borders that two countries can share without caring at all about. A lot of politicians get around an issue like this by using rhetoric, however she's also not very versed in that either. It will be interesting to see how she swims, or if she rapidly tumbles to the ocean floor in her homemade cement shoes.
2. Phillies playoff run continues.
I was actually in attendance at yesterday's game. There's really only one thing you can pull from game 1 of the playoffs though. That is how the starting pitcher does. It bodes well for Cole Hamels, as he was amazing. 8 innings, the win, and no earned (or unearned) runs. No one even got on base until I think the fifth (forget exactly, feel free to correct).
Every other player is an everyday player. This means any given game can be thrown out. Any one can have an off day. Even then, most of the play was at least what was to be expected. They didn't get alot of hits, but they got alot of walks, including one intentional. In fact, because of the walks, Ryan Howard only had one at bat in four plate appearances.
The only causes for concern would be Jason Werth, who went 0-4 with 3 K's, and Brad Lidge. The man was lights out all year. He never (ever) blew a save all year, went 41-41. No one does that, even the best blow at least one or two. He got himself into a pretty tight jam, and I just hope this doesn't translate into his reversion into the Brad Lidge who pitched in his last playoff appearance, with the astros.
Regardless, game two is really the only one I think the phillies have a chance of losing. The only reason for this is Sabbathia. He is the only threat at starting pitcher, and he cannot pitch every day forever. The man's arm is going to fall of soon.
--Knuttel
1. The vice-presidential debate.
This particular debate is more important than past VP debates. The reason for this is I have a belief that the VP will have to serve time in office without the V before the term is up. Obama is too large a target for hate groups, and McCain is walking death.
Biden can win if does not talk at all. If he chooses to speak, he should speak minimally. He has a tendency to throw words out of his mouth that either he doesn't mean to, whether he didn't mean to physically, or he was just playing around and took it too far, well, there's no way to know. Point is, there are fewer instances than today where he can dig himself into a mineshaft.
Palin has a similar problem. Whereas Biden's gaff issue comes with trying to be friendly ( I bet he actually is), Palin gets gaff-itis when she tries sounding like she knows what she's talking about. The woman has virtually no experience, and it shows when she has to answer any government related questions. I don't know how long the border with Russia is going to hold for foreign policy experience. It's one of the few borders that two countries can share without caring at all about. A lot of politicians get around an issue like this by using rhetoric, however she's also not very versed in that either. It will be interesting to see how she swims, or if she rapidly tumbles to the ocean floor in her homemade cement shoes.
2. Phillies playoff run continues.
I was actually in attendance at yesterday's game. There's really only one thing you can pull from game 1 of the playoffs though. That is how the starting pitcher does. It bodes well for Cole Hamels, as he was amazing. 8 innings, the win, and no earned (or unearned) runs. No one even got on base until I think the fifth (forget exactly, feel free to correct).
Every other player is an everyday player. This means any given game can be thrown out. Any one can have an off day. Even then, most of the play was at least what was to be expected. They didn't get alot of hits, but they got alot of walks, including one intentional. In fact, because of the walks, Ryan Howard only had one at bat in four plate appearances.
The only causes for concern would be Jason Werth, who went 0-4 with 3 K's, and Brad Lidge. The man was lights out all year. He never (ever) blew a save all year, went 41-41. No one does that, even the best blow at least one or two. He got himself into a pretty tight jam, and I just hope this doesn't translate into his reversion into the Brad Lidge who pitched in his last playoff appearance, with the astros.
Regardless, game two is really the only one I think the phillies have a chance of losing. The only reason for this is Sabbathia. He is the only threat at starting pitcher, and he cannot pitch every day forever. The man's arm is going to fall of soon.
--Knuttel
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