At last...

So it’s been a while, though, its weird, but I had the same kind of lull I've been experiencing last year, in almost the exact same time frame. Maybe it’s just a winter thing, I don't know.

I want to concentrate on some of the personal events of the last few weeks, then I'll write about some of the sports and political developments later this week. Really, my short break from work and life in New Hampshire, and the following week was defined by three events. First, the time I spent with my family beginning on the 23rd. It was good to see everyone, though it was a bit odd because we did a number of things we wouldn't usually do, like going to Jen's parent’s house Christmas Eve and then having them for dinner Christmas Day. We also had to make nice adjustment on the fly Christmas Day, as our power went out as we were preparing dinner. Luckily, with the new grill, we were able to boil the water for the crab-legs and also grill the filets, so were were able to salvage the meal.

The next day, we headed down to Euclid, a day that brought another turkey dinner, as well as one of the single worst movie experiences of my life- King Kong, which was a good movie, but featured several jackasses talking on phones and yelling loudly at the screen, like total jerks.

The second major event took place the next day, after we got back from Euclid. At that point I collected some things, then headed out to Albion for the Fellowship gathering. I met Amy at around 3:30 (at Haven House, the site of one of the most uncomfortable 90 minutes of my life) and together, and by together I mean I helped a little bit, then watched a movie, prepared for people showing up around 7 p.m. As good as it was to see Amy and talk to her before anyone got there, I have to say that I was also a bit nervous as to how many would be there. Then around 7, and continuing for the next hour we saw cars drive up behind Haven House, and I saw all those faces and saw all those people I hadn't seen in months, or years in some cases, made everything, the trip, the time, the effort in helping to put it together, worth it. Seeing Susan and Adam, Colleen, Andy and everyone, it was just a wonderful experience, one that I'll remember for a long time.

The third, and to me the most important thing, came literally the day after I got back. Since Thursday's are usually easy days, I came back early, after a few minutes, I went on AIM. Soon, I saw something I hadn't seen in a while. I saw Alison's screen-name. After some initial shock I spoke with her, then spoke with her about everything that's gone on the past few months. I don't feel right writing it here, but suffice it to say, it’s been n incredible journey. Part of me had felt guilty about "losing" Alison for so long. After seeing her in May of 04, then calling her a few weeks later, I hadn't heard from her at all, and ended up losing track of her. When Amy and myself got ready to put together our invite list, neither of us knew where to find her. Know we do. In many ways, it was the best Christmas present I've gotten in a long time, both because of the good news, and for peace of mind.

Let it snow, again, damn it

The last few weeks, and really, the last two Fridays, have been like a second introduction two New England. Today, and last Friday, well, I woke up and everything was white, and I don't mean just the people. Last week, we got about a foot of snow, and I had to dig my car out, twice- once getting it out of my space, the second, technically to dig myself a spot on the other side, which I suppose is technically digging myself in. Last week, though, it was just a lot of snow, this week, it was snow mixed with sleet, so while I cleaned my car of snow at several points during the day, all that resulted was me having to clear off ice from each of my windows later in the day, which really became weird when you consider I was really only doing that in order to move my car so the driveway could be plowed, ah the circular nature of life.

The other thing about last weekend, well, I locked myself out of my own apartment last Saturday. I was planning on heading to the gym, and had my water bottle and shoes with me, when I realized that my keys were still in the house. Unfortunately, I had also locked the door, and my second set of keys and my cell phone were in the apartment. Now this happened at two. My landlords weren't in, so I did what anyone would do. I went to the gym (realize, I'm wearing shorts, I was going to the gym and its been insanely cold here, I've left several meetings the last few weeks with negative temps on the car's thermometer), and so when I finished working out, I walked back, hoping the Eaton's had come back. Well, they hadn't. So I went to see if I could use someone's phone, and went to a small bookstore. Well, they let me call the locksmith, who wasn't in. Then I tried again, a couple of hours later, still nothing. I ended up staying at the bookstore for about four and a half hours waiting to see if the locksmith would call. Luckily I ended up staying at my friend Sarah's for the night, then calling the locksmith in the morning. Well, I connected, and it took him all of about three seconds to open the door. So, all in all, I felt like an ass.

I'll catch up on some sports and news stuff over the course, of the week, just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive.

Giving thanks, and a mea culpa

I realize that I have been severely deficient in the upkeep of this blog the last few weeks. Its been a situation it seems, most nights, that I'll come from work or the gym with the intention of writing something, then sitting down and having nothing flow out immediately, getting distracted, then finally not actually writing anything for whatever reason. I'm hoping that the Thanksgiving break might help recharge things, so here we go. As I've said, things have been busy and interesting up here the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, I had the kind of weird privilege of going down to Alton Central School and reading to kids as part of their "Celebrity reading day." Seriously. I was considered a celebrity. I think this probably says more about where I live than anything else. Anyway, I read through a couple of children's book's (I read to two third grade classes) as the two books I brought from my personal library, Moby Dick and Walden probably wouldn't have been too entertaining (though I did read part of Chapter one of Moby Dick to the first class, who kept asking me to keep going, though I assume that was because they didn't want to actually learn stuff in their other courses.

Thanksgiving as interesting, mainly because I had to make the long drive(s) myself. Even last year, I drove from Chicago to home, then to Euclid with the family (though I should say, the trip from Chicago, which usually took four and a half to five hours took eight because of snow and slow traffic). This year, I left Wednesday morning, then drove about 13 hours to Cleveland. The drive was actually quite simple, there were only about two or three turns the whole trip, as it was almost entirely on I-90, including the Mass. and New York thruways. The ride back took less time, but again, took the same route.

While I was down in Euclid, I saw two movies, about which I wanted to share some quick thoughts. First, Thanksgiving night, I saw Rent with Robert, Annie and Kenny and their kids, along with some of the drama students they know. I enjoyed it, though it wasn't as good as Chicago as an adaptation. I think more of my problems with it were related to the source material, the play itself. I've seen a lot of online reviews, especially from a lot of regular folks who hated, hated, the show, and pretty much hated the movie too. The thing I can see, even having never seen it onstage, is that Rent is, if anything, a product of two time periods- the AIDS epidemic years of the late 80's, where indeed, it cut a wide swath through whole communities, and then the mid-90's as a theatre piece. It is, more than anything, totally different from anything by Andrew Lloyd Webber or Les Mis, less biting and cynical than Sondheim, and more accessible for many because of the style of music. It will always have a home at colleges once it leaves Broadway, but I don't know if it will ultimately be remembered as one of those musicals that fundamentally changes things. It will probably be thought of, along with Hair, as it's own category.

The second one I saw was GoF, which I found, more than anything, to be incredibly dark. Having not read the books, I track the progress of the kids through the movies, and I was surprised just how dark and intense the movie was. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but I was just a little surprised. I have to say, too, that its great to see the development of each of the actors grow up before our eyes.

Viva La Raza, RIP

There are a lot of things that I like to talk about, other things not. One of those things is that I, a college educated male, who holds a post-graduate degree, watches professional wrestling.

The way I reconcile this is that I don't watch it the way most other people do. I watch to see certain guys who are incredibly good, the guys who are incredibly good at what they do, in all respects. I watch because I want to see how a 60-year old man can make people in a live crowd believe he can defeat a man a 20 or 30 years younger, to watch how brilliantly an Olympic champion amateur has become an all-time great in a totally different endeavor. The great ones are just as much performers as any great theatre practitioner, because anyone watching knows that everything is just as scripted but makes you want to watch anyway.

Eddie Guerrero was one of those who made you want to watch him perform, because of the joy he obviously brought to his profession. Its a profession he was born into, one he was raised in, one his brothers and his nephew, who's actually only three years younger, were born into. He wrestled in Mexico and in Japan, he wrestled in the Bingo Hall known as the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, and then the dysfunctional enterprise called WCW. He became the first luchadore to hold a major American world title.

But what made Eddie Guerrero a great story, and what makes his death all the more tragic, is the personal demons he overcame. Guerrero wasn't a big man; he was 5'8", 220, according to coroner’s reports. He wasn't a steroid user. He was a recovering alcoholic, and like many wrestlers he fought battles against painkillers. Its that addiction that's felled an increasing number of wrestlers, from Bobby Duncum Jr., Davey Boy Smith and Curt Hennig, along with many others in recent years. It’s also a reality that despite the fact that it isn't a sport, no athletes perform the same daily travel schedule as wrestlers. No athletes are on the road more, and there's no off-season for wrestlers. It’s that addiction that Eddie Guerrero fought, and survived. He'd been sober for years, but as any recovering addict will tell you, you fight four-year's worth of one-day battles to stay sober.

What makes King Lear so tragic, the reason the real version wasn't performed for 300 years and replaced by the Tate version, is that for all of the mistakes he makes, the wrongs he commits, there seems to be a future. Goneril and Regan are gone, Albany, Edgar and Kent are triumphant, and all seems right. What seems most unfair is that its then that the hammer falls, that Lear is stripped of first that which he values and loves most, and then his life. Its we as the audience, and through the remaining characters onstage, that are left with the hole in the world. That's ultimately what makes Eddie Guerrero's death so tragic: He conquered his demons, only to be taken in the prime of his life, leaving a wife and two children. Now it’s his friends and family, and his fans, that go on wondering why.

Eddie Guerrero triumphed in an industry stacked against him. In a business that favors big, hulking monsters that are great on the mic, he was short and average sized, and spoke with an accent. Champions, the men who carried the business were supposed to be white and clean cut. Eddie was proudly Mexican-American, growing up in El Paso and just across the border, had a thin moustache and wore a mullet for a large portion of his career. At one point he, and a few other wrestlers like him, would have been shunted to the side, either labeled "vanilla midgets" (Kevin Nash's phrase for him, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko) or given license to only play a stereotype, which he often had to do. Still, he rose to the top of his profession, he was as adaptable as anyone was, and he could play the good guy and the bad guy with equal brilliance. He made anyone who watched him appreciate that they were watching the consummate performer and professional. He was substance in a business almost all about style. What's sad is that people like him often have to leave so soon.

Wahoo Country

I wanted to briefly talk about the elections yesterday, especially in Virginia. Earlier this fall, I heard on Kornheiser about one of the ads run by the Republican nominee, Jerry Kilgore. It showed the father of a murder victim, who talked about how upset he was that Tim Kaine opposed the death penalty. Tony mentioned how powerful the ad was, and I'm sure it was. Personal testimony like that is always effective, and of course, we're talking about the South, where there is a history of support for the death penalty.

What really makes this interesting for me, though, is that Kaine is Catholic, and essentially makes the same argument that every Catholic politician has made since Roe, the "I'm personally opposed to abortion but I will uphold the law," argument. Kaine also extended that to the death penalty, saying that while he objected to it morally, he would still carry out the laws of Virginia. While I find the last part somewhat disturbing, because I also don't believe in the death penalty, but I understand the sentiment. In response to the Kilgore ad, Kaine made his position clear. What's amazing, here, and I say this as a Democratic voter who's seen such attempts derail a Cuomo presidential run and repeatedly fail at nearly every other attempt. I guess, that in Virginia, people are wising up. That and the fact that George Bush can't deliver a state quite literally in his own backyard (and if you consider the land that used to belong to the District and was ceded to Va. it quite literally is).

I wasn't surprised about Jon Corzine winning, though that race got really dirty. It was gratifying to see the Dover, PA school board voted out, though that was counterbalanced by Kansas changing the definition of science and taking reason out of science classes, replacing it with faith. Nice work. Rock, Chalk, You Stink.

New York State of Mind, or Currency of Love

So, as a treat to myself, and to see Beth perform her cabaret act that she does with Audra White, I visited New York this weekend. Really, the treat for me, ultimately is going to the city. The weird thing was, the last time I went to the city was the same afternoon that Mary called and offered me the job , so, leaving work from that job early to take the same route was interesting. The ride had gone very well, I'd called John Sellers the day before, part of a sort of quick and haphazard attempt to put together the trip during what had been a pretty busy week. When I got to the city, well, things slowed down, a lot. Consider , that it was still very light out by the time I got into New York and around 6:30, about two-and a-half hours later, that I got to John's apartment, suddenly worrying that I wouldn't arrive in time. Beth said to be at the theatre at 8:30, I needed to shower and change, and I had been figuring on about an hour for the trip from Park Slope to the Upper West Side.
Luckily, however, I walked up the subway steps on to Central Park West and 72nd at around 8:20, then looked around for the Triad. I asked several doormen, the doormen of the buildings who's average rent is about 50 times my yearly salary, for directions. I ended up just sorting feeling around for it, then, bang, before Amsterdam, I find the building. There was a show going on, so I still had a while, then I saw Beth and Audra before they went in and wished them luck, but it still was about a half-hour, as the show in the space before their show ran long and they needed to do sound check.

The show itself...well, its best to say that Beth and Audra were fabulous. The other acts...well, in place like New York, you get a lot of really talented people doing a lot of really good stuff, really innovative. Then you have some marginally or completely untalented people who have convinced themselves, or been convinced by other people, that they are in fact talented. There were some really talented people, aside from Beth and Audra, one guy who did a comedy/musical act playing the bass, an a couple of very funny comics, but there were some others, like the host (who was on Square Pegs, that's his claim to fame. A show that was on the air for about two years and then vanished is his claim to fame. He actually did a "So anyone here from out of town," reset for God's sake) and the ventriloquist (its one thing to move your lips slightly, after all how are you supposed to create a sound, but seriously, there has to be some sort of attempt at minimizing their movement. And try to spend more than five minutes on the dummy next time). Still the worst, the absolute worst was this woman who performed last. She was a singer, who performed what had to be the most amateurish (she didn't have live backup, it was on a tape) written songs ever (one was about how great life would be if love were how we measured wealth, the other I heard was written during a breakthrough in therapy, there was no way I was staying for the last song). Obviously, she had to have performed some sort of coital favor for someone to get on the bill, because, wow, she was awful. If they had brought up a homeless person from the street, at least the chances are 50/50 they might well be better.

After the show, I grabbed some food with Audra, Beth and some of their friends and talked, then I headed back to Park Slope. Unfortunately, I went to the wrong stop, and ended up having to go North to go South. I ended up getting back at 3, tired and ready for sleep.

My favorite thing about New York is the fact that even when alone, you feel a part of the city, because its that vibrant. I spent a good part of Saturday just walking around the city, which I always enjoy. Still, because it was Marathon weekend, I needed to get out on Saturday, as I'd still be in New York otherwise. Still, it was wonderful to talk to Sellers and Beth and just be in my favorite city, no matter how many untalented people there are there. After all, they're still living the dream.

Moving on

Finally, after several weeks and seemingly all sorts of twists and turns, the Miers nomination is officially dead. Obviously, given the increasing conservative disgust with the nomination, chances are that some sort of move was going to be made. Now will likely come the hardcore conservative, probably one rougher than Roberts, and one conservatives who want to jump Scalia and Thomas' bones will love. That's scary, because, until April or May, when the decisions from the court's term come out, we have no sense of the judicial philosophy of Roberts as chief, we don't know how the make-up of the court will change, especially with regards to social issues. Miers will forever be the one people think about when they think of disastrous nominations, as she never even got to the hearings, torpedoed not by her own insane ideas (as Robert Bork was) but by the base of her president's party and her own supreme underqualification.

Fitzgerald also came down with the first of his indictments. This time, it was Scooter Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, who resigned as soon as the indictment came down. Hopefully, more will be on the way soon, specifically, one for Karl Rove. While Libby wasn't indicted for outing Plame, there are so many issues here in the indictments, so many questions that need to be answered about what Dick Cheney's role was, and, ultimately, what kind of coverup there was. This isn't over.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the death of the midwife of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks. More than anyone else, Rosa Parks represented the beginning of the movement, with her one act of defiance. Its been said by many that she was simply tired when she refused to give up her seat. She said on many occasions, however that while it had been a long day of work, what she was actually tired of was her second class treatment by the government of Montgomery, Alabama and the United States. By standing up, by commiting even a small act of defiance, we saw the avalanche of history begin to run down the hill, and change the nation, for the better, forever.

Well then, Steve Perry's happy

Obviously I want to talk about the World Series. I was surprised, I guess, by how subdued the celebrations seemed to be, both by the White Sox and then the shots in Chicago. I guess, though it was to be expected. As many have said, White Sox fans, unlike their North-Side rivals, and well, New England Red Sox fans, tend to be very low-key about the fact that they've lost. You don't hear about the misery they've suffered the past 88 years. This is in part, I think, because very few Sox fans really buy into anything readily. What makes Cubs fans hurt so much about '69, '84 and '03, and Red Sox so very neurotic about Buckner, Boone and Bucky Dent, is that they bought into their team winning. Thus last year, when the Red Sox won, it was winning for an entire region, for generations of New Englanders and displaced New Englanders around the country. Its why Cubs fans walked around in a daze for weeks after the Bartman game. White Sox fans, I think, rather than being disappointed sort of just take this in and say "F--- you Cubs," it seems more of a pleasant surprise than anything.

Nationally, I think, because there isn't the romance tied to the White Sox and their futility, people have been underwhelmed. They only went to two World Series since 1917, and one, well, they threw. Maybe now Shoeless Joe, Buck Weaver and the rest of the Black Sox can rest easy, and Charlie Comiskey can continue to burn in miser hell. It should be said though, that this was one of the great runs ever, in terms of how they just rant through everyone, even though all of the World Series games were close.

Just a couple of observations about the series: Tim McCarver talked about how Brad Lidge had the taste of the Pujols homerun out of his mouth. The second he did, Scott Podsednik hits it out, someone who had exactly 0 home runs during the regular reason (though he had one in the playoffs) wow.

I stayed up, as long as I could Tuesday night, after all its my busy night. I stayed up to see the White Sox score, then I just sort of surrendered. Frankly, it was a very ugly game, even though it was close and long. The walks, the inability of either team to hit, especially the Astros, actually got embarrassing at one point. Still, it doesn't excuse Phil Garner throwing his team under the bus Terry Murray-style after the game.

The guy I'm happiest for is Jermaine Dye, the MVP. Besides now being a great bit of trivia (the highest World Series Batting Average), he's come full circle. In Oakland, he seemed to underachieve, dating back to the time he broke a leg via a foul ball in a division Series.

Well, I'll get back to other things later this week, see you then.

Game 1

I haven't talked a lot about the baseball playoffs, suffice it to say that I think a lot of it speaks for itself. The fact that the White Sox are there, for me, is surprising. When I got to Chicago, the Cubs made their run. I thought, along with much of Chicago that if 2003 wasn't the Cubs year then they certainly would make it soon. The White Sox weren't even a factor. Even after the Cubs blew it in Game 6 and Game 7, the odds, because of Prior, Wood and Zambrano seemed to be in their favor. Last year, both teams faded late (the Cubs still have never, in their history been to the playoffs in consecutive years). I was still there when they sent Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Podsednik, when everyone expressed some shock, because here you were essentially giving away a big RBI man, after they'd lost Magglio Ordonez, for a guy who stole a lot of bases but didn't have the best On Base percentage for a lead-off man. Obviously its worked out (it worked well for the Brewers too). Still, I'm interested in knowing how Chicago on the whole, is embracing this, given that it is essentially a Cubs town. That being said, here are some observations from Game 1:

The way the White Sox started was a great indication that they had a game plan against Clemens. The at-bat Jermaine Dye had, working Clemens until he got the ball he could drive to the opposite field, was a thing of beauty. The way they attacked in the second inning, even before Clemens was hurt, showed they weren't going to be intimidated, despite the fact that their coaches and GM had twice as many at bats against him as the roster does.

Every playoffs seems to produce an AJ Pierzynski, someone who just happens to get rolling and ends up in the middle of everything. (By the way, my take on the umpires missing the two calls, first the Josh Paul third strike, then the catchers interference is this: get over it. The umpire made the call, that's it. He should have been more decisive, as decisive is sometimes preferable to correct on a close play, but he made his call and stuck, and then his colleague did the same.) Personally, I felt bad for him the way he got pushed out of San Francisco, but you can see how he could grate on people. He's the type of guy, like Claude Lemieux, Bill Laimbeer or Bill Romanowski that you just want on your side, because otherwise, you hate their living guts.

More than any other player these last two rounds, including Paul Konerko, the White Sox have been carried by Joe Crede, who's becoming a star before our eyes. My only concerns- the fact that he has a large zit near his mouth, or at least, he did during the Angels series, and his weird facial hair. He looks like, well, the brother of William Ligue, or just like someone who took the drive in from Calumet City or Chesterton (sort of white trashy). Still his isn't as bad as Aaron Rowand, who's pencil thin goatee makes him look like he's in the adult entertainment industry.

If these two teams will do anything, they will put on a great display of how to best play the game. Take Carl Everett's baserunning. He made sure to see where Lamb was going before breaking for home, and then he went, a lot of other players might not have taken the base on a ball hit that weakly.

Cotts and Jenks were incredible. It shows you, really, that for all the talk of control, of beating the hitter with great stuff, the great equalizer always will be a fastball no one can catch up to. Jenks may have served notice to the American League during the Bagwell at-bat, and in the ninth, that he's not a man to be messed with in the coming years.

One other observation from Saturday- the opening sketch of SNL (which was good, but they used the fact that Catherine Zeta-Jones can sing just a bit too much) featured Darrell Hammond doing the most dead on Brit Hume I have ever seen. I was amazed. Just when I thought he couldn't top Matthews, but he did.

Oh yeah, one other thing. It's great to win two in a row, finally. This Michigan team, say what you will about it, has guts. To win the way they did last week, and then to go into the Jim Shilander House of Horrors known as Kinnick Stadium and beat a good Iowa team, that takes a lot of heart and determination. Hopefully the trip to Evanston this week will go well too.

And for you State fans, try and remove the purple tire tracks from your back, its kind of embarassing.

The Vikings...Definitely not purifying themselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka

The big story in football the last two weeks has been the Vikings ill-fated trip on Al and Alma's cruises on Lake Minnetonka. To me, the issue isn't them having a sex cruise, its the trying to force the horrified waitstaff and barstaff of "the bad boat," into, well, some compromising situations. The Cowboys used to have "The White House" a kind of safe house where they could do any number of drugs or have any number of women, and be in a relatively controlled situation. Maybe the Vikings thought they had a a controlled situation, what with the strippers and prostitutes brought in from other states, which by the way, violates the Mann Act. Obviously they didn't, and now the whole Vikings organization has an issue. The year has been disappointing enough (the defense, which was supposed to come around, has not, and the offense's struggles without Randy Moss has truly been surprising), now this. Mike Tice had better be looking for a better price on his Super Bowl tickets this year, he'll likely need it. By the way, what does this say about Minnesota's strippers and prostitutes, that the Vikings would have to risk violating federal law to bring them in? For Shame.

And I'm spent...

It's rare, frankly to have a day like today, where every game you see is great. Early today I was able to see most of both the Axe game and BC and Wake. Now for those of you who don't know, meaning, you don't go to BC, Wake had beaten BC the last two years, in dramatic fashion. This time, they got up big early, and BC clawed back, only to see Wake go up again. BC then came back to win late. Meanwhile, in the axe game, Laurence Maroney performed brilliantly, but so did Bryan Calhoun and Wisconsin, and they won on the blocked kick late. My only question about that play, for the punter, is this. Way not punt the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety? Minnesota would still lead, but it also puts the pressure on the Badger offense and kicker to make a late field goal.

The next batch of games...well, was some of the best football I've ever seen. Michigan/Penn State probably ended the way it should have. Penn State had been living dangerously all year (witness the last second win over Northwestern) and Michigan had lost late (Wisconsin, Minnesota). Mario Manningham, frankly, deserves the #1 jersey now, though I'm sure it won't be given til after the season. He's stepped into the role Breaston was supposed to fill, which also seems to be helping Steve Breaston play better, now that he's in a more familiar and comfortable role. Henne played better in the second half than he had in previous games, and it showed in the final drive, though he nearly killed me by not going into the end zone.

Notre Dame-USC? Well, its hard to say a lot about a game that basically speaks for itself. You had two great, and I do mean great, coaches matching wits, and their charges going at it in one of the great games I've ever seen. The cliche of the heavyweight fight is about the only thing I can come up with to describe it, with that final, desperate quarterback sneak, USC hit that last powerful jab for the knockout with 10 seconds left in the 12th. The two people made by this game, though, are Brady Quinn, who actually looked better than Matt Leinart until the final drive, and Reggie Bush, who, frankly, should by all rights have clinched the Heisman.

Like a dessert after a big main course, I watched a lot of Virginia-FSU. Now UVa was having what was essentially a big anniversary party of their win over FSU in Charlottesville 10 years ago, which gave the Noles their first ACC loss. Well, they hadn't beaten them since. Still the effort by their defense, and the effort of their pixie QB Marques Haggans, surprised me, and they led big at the half, only to see FSU rally, then finally to put the Noles down. All and all, one of the great sports days ever.

I'm tired, I'm footballed out, I'll blog more next week.

Yeah, Yeah...

So I think I owe everyone an explanation as to why I haven't been blogging a lot lately. Mainly, its just been a matter of being busy, and point of fact, being out of the state for the last two weekends. Last week, I had another crazy plane adventure, to go home for my friend Keith's wedding. I woke up at 9, when my flight was at 10:30. My alarm, which had been set for 7 a.m. had not gone off. I literally raced out, stopping just to throw things in an overnight bag and grab an apple. I made it fairly quickly to the airport, but still late. I then made arrangements for another flight, to leave at five, but I'd have to be put on standby. I took a shuttle to a movie theatre, only to find that no movie was playing for another 4 or 5 hours, and then went to a nearby Barnes and Noble. After a few hours, I headed back to the airport, where I actually ended up with a ticket to Chicago at 5. After wasting a few hours, I was headed to Midway, not sure of how long I'd be there, as the flight back to Metro was oversold, not just full. Well, I got to Midway just as the White Sox were knocking Mike Timlin around, then about 15 minutes later, I heard cheers going around the airport from a bunch of crazy Southsiders. Anyway, I waited until 9, already with a contingency plan in hand (stay at John's and leave in the morning), but I guess that the offer of $200, a flight in the morning and lodging for the night tempted enough people that I got on.

Saturday was disappointing (not the wedding). Obviously the Michigan game sort of ruined my day. The wedding started really late, it turns out that the bridal party didn't get picked up until after the wedding was supposed to start, and so the reception was also late (we got dinner after 10) and we ended up leaving early, as my parents and myself needed to head out to New Hampshire in the morning. We did, and the trip was really quite long, and once we got closer to NH, kind of harrowing, driving in the dark in Vermont, when its raining, isn't something I'd recommend. But we had a lot of fun during the week, highlighted by a trip up Mount Washington Thursday. It was great to see my parents, but its also been a busy week, and so I am still tired, and feel the need to catchup on everything, not just blogging. With that, I leave you til tomorrow...

Two Ladies...

So obviously, the big news of the week has to be the appointment of Harriet Meiers to the Supreme Court, and the surprising conservative response to it. I had no problem with the nomination of Roberts on an intellectual standpoint. He obviously has more then met the qualifications, intellectually, to sit on the bench and to be chief. But here, we have someone who is stunningly underqualified. Not only has she no experience as a judge, but no experience as a constitutional scholar either. That's scary, especially for someone who will likely face all kinds of questions from Conservative groups wanting to take us back to pre-Griswold v. Connecticut days. It seems fairly clear that George Bush picked her because he knew her, that was it.

Usually, in situations like this, you would have conservative groups rallying to the flag, trying to protect Miers from questions about her competence, trying to deflect criticism. Well, we obviously haven't seen much of that. What we've seen is an incredibly palpable sense of betrayal, the sense that Conservatives have waited decades for this nomination, one that could swing the court, and potentially bring back illegal abortion, overturn Miranda, Griswold and affirmative action. Conservatives have spent billions in treasure and decades of work in getting producing legal scholars beholden to their point of view, now, rather than going for one of those, Bush grabs someone out of Texas, someone he personally knows, which seems to be her only qualification (and spare me the comparisons to William O. Douglas, who played cards with FDR before he got nominated. Douglas was beyond brilliant, he was one of the foremost legal minds of this century, and one of the last great liberal voices on the court.). I guess if I had waited all that time, I too, might feel betrayed.

One quick word on the Britney Spears news this week. Its incredible to me the fall Britney has taken in the public eye. I recall that after her third album was released, Britney appeared at a Michael Jackson concert on CBS, taking over the role of the object of MJ's affection in "The Way You Make Me Feel." CBS promoted the appearance as that of "the hottest female star in the world," and they were probably right, at the time. But then came the breakup with Justin, and it all fell apart. No one, I think has ever won a breakup in Hollywood the way Justin Timberlake did. Not only did he get sympathy from people, but he got the ultimate revenge in the "Cry Me a River" video, one that's stuck with Spears ever since. Justin went from the "boyfriend of..." to the main attraction, Spears went from America's Sweetheart to Little Girl Lost. Justin recovered from the Superbowl incident, and dates Cameron Diaz. Britney got married, got that annulled, dated (or slept with) Colin Farrell, Fred Durst (maybe) and other not so fabulous characters. The kiss with Madonna, if it did anything, lowered her in the eyes of people, they didn't expect her to do it, and they felt that she shouldn't have, which I think turned so many people on her. Now, she's married to probably the scuzziest man on the planet, one who not only seems a significant step down from her level, but from the level of the guy she married first. K-Fed just seems to be the least well thought of guy on the planet, and the way the two of them dress when they go out, as if they'd just gotten up from a nap in the double-wide, doesn't help things either...neither does K-Fed walking around with that "undeserved sense of accomplishment" (thank you Family Guy).

The weekend from crazy

So last thursday, I prepared myself to head out to Manchester Airport. I had everything , in terms of my luggage, and most everything else was prepared. Then I had to find my wallet. This took a while. By about quarter after two, I was fairly frantic, and it began raining hard outside. I sprinted back and forth between my apartment and my car, getting totally soaked in the process. Then, half an hour, and about 3 panic attacks later, I found it, sitting under a small phonebook. I rushed out, only to get stuck behind a trailer for much of my time on 28. Luckily I had been told of a new way to the airport, one that had me using more of the freeway, and less of the two lane highway. I made it in time.

On the way to Chicago, I was kind of surprised how, the closer the plane got, the more real anticipation I felt. As it was still light out, I saw many of the sights of my time in Chicago, the Borman, the Skyway, the Dan Ryan, and the skyline. I was ready to go out and enjoy them, except that it seems that Southwest misplaced one of my pieces of luggage. I filed a report, then headed to John's, where I got to ride the El again and met up with Chelsey. We ended up going back to her apartment, so she could get clothes for work the next day. We also found time to stop at Chili-Mac's 5 way, which was as good as I remembered it being. Chelsey and I also were able to talk about her new situation (new job, new apartment, now living in the same town as John) and how she was dealing with it. We headed back to John's, but everyone seemed exhausted and we pretty much went right to sleep.

The next morning, I headed out rather early to go and visit Chicago magazine. I was able to briefly see Cassie, my former supervisor, but she had an inteview to do and only could speak briefly. Still, it was good to see her, and good to see that little had changed there. I then caught the South Shore Line into Indiana, where Robert picked me up.

After we got home, I headed back to Albion, obstensively to see the play and to take Audrey and Karen to dinner. I have to say, I felt such a sense of relief, such a sense of joy, to see the both of them. I nearly lost them, at least in my mind, on July 7, and then I saw them at the KC, they seemed a lot more real. I went with them, along with Amy and Jordan, out to Olive Garden. We were there a little longer than I thought, so we missed the play, but I ended up having a lot of fun hanging out with everyone that night.

Saturday, well, was probably the best day. Why? Because Michigan won, and I got to see it. The other two Michigan games on TV this year, they lost, and I felt crushed, this time, I felt raised up on high somehow. It was probably the most excited I'd been in a while about a Michigan game, especially given all of the people saying Michigan was going to lose 5 games, or even a losing record, after the Wisconsin game. Oh yeah, I also went out to Albion, and I actually got to see the show, which I thought was fabulous, as well as eat at Lopez with Heather Schweitzer and her mom, which also gave me a brief visit with my nephew, Mr. Nick Mourning. After the show, myself, John and Chelsey, and Kopec and Sadler headed to Relli's, where there were still a lot of alumni there, including Pat Hopple and Dory Lerew.

Sunday I had lunch with my family, and then my grandmother took me to the airport. Then I got my boarding pass, and waited, and waited. Then we got word of storms in Chicago that forced a delay. Then we waited, and waited some more. Finally I got word that I missed my connection in the waiting and then had some confusion about what I'd do. The earliest flight from Metro wouldn't get me here until about 6 p.m. So I ended up flying to Chicago, without knowing when I'd be leaving in the morning. I did, however, get to stay with Miss Stephanie Mann on my return trip to the Second City, and had a great time talking with her. I ended up with an early morning flight, and got here in time to accomplish things yesterday.

Thanks for listening, I'll blog some thoughts about the playoffs and some other odds and ends tomorrow.

Power...

So today has been all about the DeLay indictment. Many commentators are questioning the quality of this particular indictment, and perhaps they'll be proven correct. Maybe they won't be, that's the importance of having this in the open. The more important thing, to me, is this palpable sense of corruption of the Republican power class in Washington. When the Republicans took power after the 1994 elections, after literally decades of what they saw as corrupt Democratic control (and point of fact, some of it was, Dan Rostenkowski went to prison because of some of his actions), they talked about having a South African style "Truth Commission" to expose the problems of the rule of one party. Now, it seems, in some sort of great Orwellian irony, that the pigs are now indistinguishable from the people. The Republicans themselves are using the same tricks that Democrats used on them. Except, it only took ten years for that corruption, that huge pork-barrel spending to sink in, rather than 40. There are indictments for Repulican officials and affiliated operatives across the country (including the governor of Ohio). Its funny, but one of the things Democrats are often accused of, fairly often times, is being far softer than Republicans in terms of the way they play the game of politics. Maybe they might be playing a bit too rough.

The pennant races have been the main focus here in New England this week, obviously, but I did want to touch on Michigan for a minute. Obviously, this is not the same team without Mike Hart, and Chad Heene and Steve Breaston have not performed so far this year. What will be important, when Michigan plays State on Saturday, wil be controlling the ball, to keep Stanton off the field. I do think Michigan will end up winning, and even if they don't I still believe they can right the ship, and salvage the season. Still, I would say things will change either during this season, or after it, if only because they may have to.

Back to the pennant race- I find it surprising that so many people seem to be discounting the Angels, and the Angels already clinching the AL West, in the rush to cover the Wild Card, AL East and AL Central. They now, unlike the other teams, have the chance to set their rotation, and, hello, they probably have the best pitching (if you include the bullpen) of anyone in the AL, along with the Indians. The Angels will be in the ALCS, that's my bet. The Indians just lost, but they still have a great shot. The series in Boston this weekend will certainly be something to see, unless the Red Sox can't figure out a way to beat the Jays, who certainly seem to have their number.

I'm heading out to Chicago tomorrow, where I'll be staying the night at John's, then heading home (and Albion). I'll probably try and blog tomorrow some the old 773.

And we're back

So after some computer issues have kept me away from blogging, I am now back. It was really very weird to be without my computer, for much of the time since I got the virus infection, it was either sitting in my car or was at the computer repair shop next door to the Granite. I guess I hadn't realized how much the droning of the machine had become a part of the white noise of my daily life, so it was very weird to be without it. I have also come to use IM as my main form of communication with friends, so it was odd to be slightly out of the loop again. Now everything is back to normal, which is quite nice.

I've noticed, the last few weeks, that I've been undergoing a kind of mid-year crisis. This coming week will the 26th issue of the Baysider, meaning that I will have been up here just shy of 6 months (I believe it'll be the first week of October). Things are less busy around town, now that the summer people are mostly gone, and I think I've been so looking forward to going back to Albion, to see the play and the London ladies (Ms. Green and Ms. Coleman)that part of me checked out. I think this will come back when winter comes, as things are starting to get interesting around the towns again. But I may also start to at least look at what other places are hiring, more to get an idea of what kinds of areas are looking or might be good fits than actually looking for a new job. But after all that, I still enjoy it up here, and I'm looking forward to the challenges of the next few months.

I think there are a lot of Republicans now who have to be questioning exactly what their party stands for. No Democratic president probably could ever have spent more money than this President has, and any semblance of fiscal conservatism has gone the way of Nelson Rockefeller. The Republican Party now seems to be the party of William Jennings Bryan - free-spending and personally intrusive in all forms in terms of individual rights. You saw the other day where Bush said the cost of rebuilding the Gulf Coast would be "whatever it costs" and then said he wouldn't raise txes. With the additional damage Rita will bring, and the toll it will likely take on gas prices, its going to bring more damage to the economy. Its as if the very loose connection to reality has now been fully severed. We are now paying for a war in Iraq, a Marshall program for the Gulf Coast, and literally hundreds of pork barrell programs across the country, like $200 million bridges in Alaska to uninhabited islands. It will be interesting to see, as we move closer to 2008, and especially if the President's political fortunes continue to fall, whether we see candidates running away from him, or whether we see George Allen, Bill Frist or Sam Brownback try to go after the Bush mantle, whatever that will come to mean

Hey...

One of my former bosses at the Prospect, the one who gave me the assignment to write my web piece, Chris Mooney, was just on the Daily Show, promoting his book. He wasn't great, but seriously, how cool is it to have someone you know on TV's coolest show?

Most of this weekend was about football. Obviously, I was extraordinarily disappointed by what happened in Ann Arbor Saturday. Usually, I am not one to lay losses at the feet of one guy, especially in college. I got in many arguments with my dad about John Navarre and whether he deserved any blame for Michigan losses when he was Quarterback. Well, I'm breaking from that this week. Three times in the red zone, Chad Henne made big mistakes that cost Michigan points. First, he missed an open Jason Avant in the end zone in the third quarter, throwing a pick to Tom Zbikowski at the one, trying to go to Tyler Ecker. Next, in the fourth, he didn't give his receiver, again Avant, an opportunity to catch the ball on a fouth and goal play. Third, he fumbled the exchange on the goal line, when he literally could have fallen forward and scored. Hopefully, with Eastern coming up, the confidence will return in time for the trip to Camp Randall. The defense was better than I thought it would be against ND, and the game plan itself wasn't particularly conservative. It has to go on Henne, and he realizes this, because he failed to execute.

The Texas-Ohio State game was great, but I really feel like Senator Tressel cost his team the game with how he used his two quarterbacks. I've never seen a two-qb system work, I've only seen it needlessly force some people into confidence problems. To me, the only way to make such a system work would be to run two completely different offensive systems, to change total offensive packages for each guy, like have one run the triple option and the other a spread. But the way Tressel used his guys was particularly odd, as there seemed to be no rhyme or reason why one came in at one point and then why the other came in.

The fantasy team did not have its best week. We had a lot of disappointing performances, either because the team played poorly- Nate Burleson, or were coached by a guy who might well be the most stubbornly stupid coach in the NFL- Stephen Jackson. We also had some weird things, like the Bills throwing to a tackle on the goal line rather than giving to McGahee, or Chad Johnson going out for two series with leg cramps. We have a few guys on thin ice, like Matt Stover, but we'll see if next week will be better.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Lions, and surprised at how poorly the Packers played. I think John will write about how bad Ahmad Carroll is, but he was not really, you know, good. When he wasn't getting beat, he was commiting a penalty. The Packers also beat themselves in other areas, as they don't get the lowest scoring output of the Favre era without screwing up. I don't know exactly how they are going to survive without Walker and the problems on the offensive line, who were dominated inside by Wilkinson and Rogers, but this could be a long year for Brett Favre. The defense was a pleasant surprise for the Packers, but then Jim Bates is a great coordinator. The Lions played conservativley, too much so in certain spots, but still played well. They need a win against the Bears now to set the tone going into the bye in week 3.

One quick Monday observation. When Hubie Brown came into the booth to talk wih Michaels and Madden, it got me thinking that Hubie, assuming he knows anything about football, would probably do well in Madden's job. But what if you switched others? Who wouldn't want to hear Madden talk about David Eckstein's hustle for forty-five minutes in a playoff game, or Tim McCarver getting needlessly self-righteous while doing an NBA game? Sounds like a plan.

Qualifiction

So today, Michael Brown, the former commissioner of an Arabian Horse Association and who worked in disaster relief efforts for about two minutes, has been relieved of his duties heading up the Katrina relief efforts. As much as conservatives are telling everyone to "not play the blame game (while of course doing all they can to lay blame on the feet of the local and state government)," its also obvious that Brown has been made the scapegoat. It's also obvious, at least at this point, that there are certain jobs in the federal government that really should not be political appointments. Brown was essentially given the job by his former college roommate, who was also Bush's first campaign manager. This is me putiing this out there: If Adam Plunk, Dontz, Roman Rezhnikov, Julian Ignaczak or either of the guys from DC ever get some important job in government, I'm also expecting some job I am ridiculously under-qualified for, especially one that might well put me in charge of an agency where people's lives are on the line and I'm not adequately prepared to handle it.

The Roberts nomination surprised me. When I learned that Rehnquist had died, I figured, with some horror, that Antonin Scalia would have been made chief justice. Instead, its John Roberts. Its not totally unbelievable that someone who wasn't on the court be named chief. Earl Warren, I think, did a pretty good job when he became chief. Rehnquist's legacy, well I don't know what it is. I think most people will see him as the man who ushered in a conservative majority, but I think that had a lot more to do with politics then Rehnquist's own brilliance. He was never Scalia, who, while hateable, is also brilliant. I think though, that the Rehnquist court never had a "Brown v. Board of Education" or "Roe v. Wade," a society changing decision. We had "Bush v. Gore," and "Lawrence v. Texas," but I think the former will be seen as a political decision, and Rehnquist was in the minority on the latter. he funny thing is, this week, the episode of the West Wing where Bartlett nominates both a brilliant liberal and a brilliant conservative to the court to have it out, came on. It made me think how important the court is in articulating different philosophies, and how difficult it is to believe that we aren't going to be getting more of those brilliant people on the court. I don't think Roberts will be one of those people, and I don't expect the next one, the one who will now replace O'Connor, to be one either.

Pitt's only touchdown came on the opening kickoff. They lost to Ohio. I'm just saying.

About Last Night

I wanted to comment on the absolutely fabulous tennis match I saw last night. There were so many fabulous storylines in the Blake/Agassi match, but the tennis, for the first time in what seemed like years, actually matched the hype in a big match. That Agassi could come back from 2 sets down, and then that Blake could rally in the fifth, and then Agassi coming back, it was amazing.The crowd was so into it (even at 1 a.m.), and it was wonderful to see the crowd go back and forth (you obviously heard that both had big cheering sections at Arthur Ashe). My only complaint was that there was too much play from the baseline, neither guy really came to the net very often. But that's me being very picky.

I've been very surprised, with the increase in the popularity of golf, we haven't seen the same sort of surge in popularity in tennis. Obviously, the women's game is healthy, but that's primarily because of the personalities, and well, the attractiveness of the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova. But the men's game, in many ways, hasn't been as exciting in many years. I realize the problem, that the dominant player, perhaps the best player of all time, Roger Federer, isn't American and relatively unknown. By relatively, I mean that he could walk into most sports bars wth a shirt reading "I'm Roger Federer, the tennis player" and people still wouldn't know who he was. But tennis is far, and I mean, worlds more athletic than golf, and it allows you to express yourself more athletically. You see more of a tennis players personality on the court than a golfer on the course. Its also far less expensive to play (all it really takes is a racket, which still won't cost you as much as a driver), and tennis courts can be more easily found in cities than golf courses. Maybe its just the yuppie-ization of America that leads people to embrace golf over its country club sibling.

I'll post more about Katrina and Rehnquist/Roberts later today or tomorrow (headed to Adam's tonight to watch the Patriots game and *shrug* the OC).

Week one thoughts

And mercifully, it ends. This weekend, I've spent much of my time watching the first weekend of college football. I can honestly say that the worst game I saw all weekend was the one that was just on, Florida State/Miami. After what I just saw from Florida State's QB's, though mostly Drew Weatherford, I am even more firm in my belief that they will lose to BC on the 17th, mainly because BC will oline up and hit them in th emouth more than Miami did, and I have no bloody clue how FSU will move the ball against Toal and Kiwanuka.

Obviously two big stories emerged over the weekend. One was the loss of Oklahoma. Now I'm always skeptical about teams "reloading" especially when they lose a lot at one position at one time. Its not just Jason White, the biggest choking dog in NCAA history (he essentially stunk in the three biggest games of his career: two national championship games and one Big XII title game), I thought the loss of three of their top receivers at once would hurt more than anyone realized. Obviously it did, as they couldn't move the ball at all. Even Adrian Peterson can only do so much against a nine man front.

Notre Dame was incredibly impressive. They didn't just beat Pitt, they essentially dissected them. Weis will always put them in the right position to win offensively. I think the trick is going to be finding the right defensive personnel. He doesn't need all world recruits on offense, all he needs are people who fit into the system he runs and a smart quarterback.

Michigan did not look great, or the best I can tell, they didn't look great. It was one of the weirdest experiences ever not being able to listen to or watch the Michigan game for really the first time ever. I had "Watch the game" on one of the gamecasts which tells you what the last play was. Thankfully I'll get the next game for sure. The defense looked not terribly good, but I also believe that they can improve as the competition gets better and the intensity gets hyped up. The offense looked incredibly good, as they did in 2000. Hopefully the defense is better than that though. My heart couldn't take going through that again.

I'd like to put in a word about the greatness of Jerry Rice. No one, and I mean no one has ever been a better receiver, and no one ever kept themselves in such phenomenal condition (just ask any teammate who ever joined him on "the hill," a horrific torture device of a workout where Rice led the poor unsuspecting soul up and town a torturous climb. I don't have a problem with him wanting to hang on either. Even if his skills were diminished, only he has the right to make the decision to leave. He never was an embarrassment, he played in incredibly well in Oakland, as he neared an age where his peers might have been retired for years. Most of the time, whenever I saw him on TV, you could really only say "wow," becasue he did everything so absolutely perfectly, with such precise execution.