Category: Uncategorized

The Big Papi Remedy

What better way to end a grumpy day?

For the first time this season, and the 10th as a Red Sox, Ortiz ended a game via a walkoff home run. This one came with Julio Lugo at first base, one out, Tampa Bay closer Al Reyes on the mound, and, perhaps most importantly, Delmon Young in right field. Ortiz, who supplied the Sox’ earlier offensive output with a three-run homer in the third inning, launched Reyes’ 3-1 fastball high into the Fenway night. As the ball started tailing away from the right field foul pole, Young remained drifting toward the line. By the time the rookie recovered, Ortiz’ blast landed in the first row of Section 86 for the Red Sox’ first walkoff home run since Carlos Pena lived his dream, one year and eight days before.

I touched the TV right after and I swear it made me feel better. So now the last Yankees v. Red Sox series of the season begins this Friday at Fenway. New York has, frankly, been on fire facing some weaker teams, including last night’s win over the collapsing Glaus-gate-ridden Jays. Taking 2/3 off of Tampa was good work for Boston as the Rays have been hot as well. Anyway, find a TV or a radio because come Monday Boston can be anywhere between two and eight games up.

The Back To School Sickies

Me first. Sick before anyone else. So I am grumpy.

  • Real men don’t fisk. If you can’t write your own full paragraph in response with an interesting argument, don’t bother. Fisking was interesting for a month in 2002.
  • Michael Demmons notes on Facebook that he “is removing friends who send him stupid shit on this site. Pokes. Questions. Everything. It is really annoying.” Exactly. Why do that have that junk? Was it built for children?
  • Do the Jays have to be so bad that they can’t even get one off the Yankees to help in the greater cause?
  • Why can’t you all just agree with me…for once.?
  • Update: Three words. Mid-week afternoon baseball. Sure looks sunny in Cleveland. I should have been taping all these for winter viewing.

Why?

Group Project: Now It’s Six Years On

A year has passed since I wrote this summarizing what I wrote over the previous years. While my point of view is pretty much the same, it’s less intense. Too many intervening events, I suppose: SARS, tsunami and Katrina, as well as fostering again and our own growing up. But I took part in an emergency planning exercise last week and it was interesting to note that through the day no one griped about it being for no purpose or badly organized. Things are taken seriously even if the militarization of Canada’s Arctic seems a side show. Those bound up in fear seem as odd as the anti-vigilant. Pre-9/11 thinking is just a silly phrase given how badly much of the post-9/11 thinking panned out.

So where are we now? Where are you? Argghhh, as usually, is a thoughtful place.

Norway Says Green Is Green

While there is a Ministry of Truth aspect to it, I like the idea of ensuring claims of environmentally sensibility are actually sensible for the environment:

No car can be “green,” “clean” or “environmentally friendly” according to some of the world’s strictest advertising guidelines set to enter into force in Norway next month. “Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others,” Bente Oeverli, a senior official at the office of the state-run Consumer Ombudsman, told Reuters on Thursday.

I wish someone would do the same thing for “blue” cheese.

Wow! SU’s 2007 Football Really Does Suck

Not that a university team is as similar to a pro team from one year to the next but last season the Syracuse Orange lost to Iowa in overtime. This year they lost 0-35. Yikes. That after being massacreed at home by Washington in last week’s season opener.

This makes the decision as to which game to take in tougher. What game won’t be a boring blow-out. To reiterate, then: which is the most likely home game to give the best experience?

Fri, Aug 31 – Washington: lost by blow-out.

Sat, Sep 15 – Illinois: No, a confusion of orange and Illinois is 1-1 with a shut-out win yesterday. Plus it may be on TV this early in the season. Chance of a win, sure, but I do not see it happening.
Sat, Oct 6 – West Virginia: yes, a hated rival but one that has scored 110 points in its first to wins. Blow-out by a bowl team.
Sat, Oct 13 – Rutgers. Ba-low out by a better bowl-bound team.
Sat, Oct 20 – Buffalo. They better win this one. This is the best chance. Blown out by Rutgers in game one, Buffalo smoked Temple who, it turns out, actually has a football program called the Owls.
Sat, Nov 10 – South Florida. If they have not won by now, why would I go? Maybe to check out the new coaching staff?
Sat, Nov 24 – Cincinnati. Ditto time ten.

So there you have it. I forecast at best three wins and a good chance of one with zero wins not being out of the question. Will I go? Will I go see a Division II game instead? Stay tuned.

More angst in more detail at Orange 44.

I Forgot Why Mulroney Was So Fun

Remember when Canadian politics involved people against whom you could actually have a reaction?

“Look, out of 11 million citizens of this country, there were a million people — young men from British Columbia to Newfoundland — who rose to fight the Nazis. The most evil machine ever known to man, trying to exterminate the Jews, everybody knew that, and all these young Canadians rose and went overseas to fight them. Pierre Trudeau was not among them. That’s a decision he made. He’s entitled to make that kind of decision. But it doesn’t qualify him for any position of moral leadership in our society.”

That is the sort of good clean fun we haven’t seen in Ottawa for 20 years. Too bad.

Bye Pav

This is the sort of pop culture news to which one has a weird closeness and, yet, dislocation. It is sort of a touchstone as to the disutility of pop culture, as the obit in the Times tells in perhaps a bit too honestly than need be:

And in the early 1990s he began staging Pavarotti and Friends charity concerts, performing side by side with rock stars like Elton John, Sting and Bono and making recordings from these shows. Throughout these years, despite his busy and vocally demanding schedule, his voice remained in unusually good condition well into middle age. Even so, as his stadium concerts and pop collaborations brought him fame well beyond what contemporary opera stars have come to expect, Mr. Pavarotti seemed increasingly willing to accept pedestrian musical standards. By the 1980s he found it difficult to learn new opera roles or even new song repertory for his recitals. And although he planned to spend his final years, in the operatic tradition, performing in a grand worldwide farewell tour, he completed only about half the tour, which began in 2004. Physical ailments, many occasioned by his weight and girth, limited his movement on stage and regularly forced him to cancel performances.

How to celebrate Pavarotti? You will have to decide for yourselves. In the interests of ensuring the word “girth” does not appear in my obit, I will do a sit up in his memory. Maybe the fourth one. And maybe I can avoid having past unfortunate collaborations with Sting and Bono referenced in my obituary, too.

Ralph’s Rib’s Sauce Is Back!

Despite being a man who does sit ups – have I mentioned that? – I have to make sure I do not forget those who made me a man who does sit ups including those fine purveyors of BBQ. One of the saddest days in my family was the day back in 2006 that we learned that Ralph’s Ribs of Ithaca had shut. Well, we can relive the past in the comfort of your own home now according to an email I got today:

Ralphs’ BBQ sauce is back!!! This is a one time email so don’t worry, I just wanted to let everyone know that they’re making sauce again. It’s going under the name of Ralph’s Mammas BBQ. it’s still the same award winning recipe!! The sauce is only available at 3 locations:

  • Habitat of Ithaca, located in Center Ithaca on the Commons.
  • Krafted Keepsakes, located at 288 Hayts Rd.
  • Hosmer Winery: 22 miles from Ithaca. Look for our sign at the corner of County Road 138 and NY Route 89. Continue on NY Route 89 and the winery is immediately on your left.

OK. So I get emails from former BBQ restaurateurs. What of it? Ralph’s was a North Carolina rib joint with a vinegar sauce as well as very hammy meat. Tangy. Good. I have a hat from the restaurant. I heart Ralph.

An Election In Ontario

Ontario suffers from a funny sort of guilt – sorry it is so large and populous and diverse and economically strong and sets the national agenda. It could spin off Toronto, you know…that might work. And, because someone had a whacky idea a few years back, Ontario has fixed provincial elections and I guess one is coming up. The problem with fixed elections without primaries and stuff is that they sort of creep up on you so here we are about five weeks off and no one is listening that much. Well they will today:

There was a real holiday flavour to the unofficial kickoff of the Ontario election campaign yesterday. The Liberal party promised a new statutory holiday in February if it is re-elected on Oct. 10, something that would give Ontarians a long-called-for winter break.

I say the Conservatives go one better and promise to mirror the, what, 37 or so statutory holidays of Newfoundland. Until we get Regatta Day off – are we really free?