Francisco Rodriguez rhp 3 years/$37M (2009-11), plus 2012 option
• signed by NY Mets as a free agent 12/9/08
• $2M signing bonus
• 09:$8.5M, 10:$11.5M, 11:$11.5M, 12:$17.5M option ($3.5M buyout)
2012 option becomes guaranteed with:
• 55 games finished in 2011, and
• 100 games finished in 2010-11, and
• doctors declare Rodriguez healthy after 2011
Rodriguez receives $3.5M termination buyout if 2012 option does not become guaranteed
That clause isn't even about saves.
Nope, it's not. Saves are still dumb, though, so I don't regret bringing that up.
I didn't mean to sound like I was being snappy with you, I meant it like, "it's even dumber than saves, if that's possible".
I didn't mean to sound like I was being snappy with you...
This.
I never thought you were, actually. No harm done.
Players and agents are even smart enough to figure out that wins and saves are too team dependent to evaluate a player. No contracts use wins or saves for incentives. It's always games finished or innings pitched. The games finished is used because it shows the reliever was the primary closer and was healthy.
Not sure if it's quite that. Hitters don't use any offensive stat but plate appearances or games played. I think it's to prevent gambling.
Unfortunately, there's no way in hell he gets there with Axford as the Brewers "established closer". My guess (hope?) is that he throws some sort of tantrum at not being the closer by year's end.
He just hired Boras, who is too savvy for that. F-Rod needs to show he's not a clubhouse cancer to get top dollar in the offseason.
I'm not an F-Rod guy, but how even more terrible does this make the Capps trade look?
I'm going to pretend instead that it just makes the Mets look incompetent. I don't want any more salt in that Capps wound.
If the Mets are incompetent, than how does that Santana trade look?
I still think the Twins came out ahead in that one. I could also be pretending to think that so I don't get mad that they might have gotten more from losing him to free agency.
If you ignore everything but the players, then yeah it makes the trade look bad. If you instead look at the real world it doesn't look horrible. Rodriguez has three months of control left, for about $6 million plus an extremely expensive option. Capps had 1.333 years of control and was signed at a more reasonable $5 million last year plus would receive ~$7 million in arbitration. Now, Rodriguez > Capps, but the Brewers didn't receive an elite closer in return. Plus, they sent two PTBNLs and they could actually be decent.
It's easy to say the Twins overpaid (which they did, don't get me wrong) but we don't know what the Brewers traded away.
It sounds like the PBTNLs are based on a "pool" that the Mets can pick from, and the quality of those prospects is dependent upon K-Rod's performance. The Mets are basically covering all of his salary for 2011, but the Brewers are on the hook for the option or the buyout.
Apparently the Mets called around offering this deal to a few teams. I guess if I'm Bill Smith I might've taken this deal. I hate the guy, but he's more effective than Alex Burnett. As long as they could keep him from finishing games (and thankfully Gardy loves his set closer), it might've been a reasonable gamble.
If they traded for K-Rod I have no doubt he'd have been closing.
there is a couple of bars in my area that submitted their license renewal in plenty of time, but the people at the office that handle that stuff didnt complete the work so they had to shut down because they didnt have a license
That's pretty hilarious. I hope I get a chance to see a liquor store with zero MC products on the shelf when I'm there next weekend.
Serves 'em right for what they're trying to pull here.
Agreed. I am starting a boycott of Miller products, myself. Fortunately, if I just go to Mallards games I can support the Great Dane very easily and gladly.
Same here. I'm more than happy to drink the local hooch when it's this good.
Speaking of which, sent you an email.
What's going on in Wisconsin with Miller?
They were big supporters of a bill that takes away some of the ability of smaller brewers to grow under the guise of "protecting the three tier system" and "keeping AB distributors out of Wisconsin" by not allowing a brewery to purchase a distribution license if they are above a certain size. In the short run, it won't change much from the consumer's perspective, but, if I understand it correctly, breweries that have the license will lose it, which means they will lose some assets and worth.
A few of the local bars/brewpubs around here have removed Miller products.
Well, in that case, I shall join you. My love of local craft brews far outweighs that I have for the High Life. I think I'll switch to Grain Belt or something for my everyday drinker.
Grain Belt is perfect in that role.
Yeah, I love Grain Belt and can get it here, so its my new tailgating beer.
I just found it hiding on the bottom shelf in the corner of my local Hy-Vee about a month ago.
Grain Belt is made by the second-oldest family-owned brewery still in existence. (If we could just take out Yuengling!) Brewed in my hometown by the same people that make Schell's Octoberfest and Maifest, two of my faves.
Good beer, and the only change in laws that I've seen them involved in was to support the Surly bill.
Exactly why I'm glad I was able to find Grain Belt around here. Anyone who supported the Surly bill is good people, in my eyes.
Ooooh, I didn't realize MC owned Leinie's. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. No more Summer Shandy. I'll go to Goose Island for their Summertime Kolsch I guess.
I hate to break it to you, but Goose Island is now owned by Budweiser/InBev.
Yeah, and Guinness is owned by Diageo. It's almost, but not entirely, impossible to avoid gigantic multinational breweries anymore. But I've not heard of InBev doing something this dickish lately (also, I've not paid that close attention seeing as how I just found out about the MC thing).
Yeah, personally I'm focusing on MC products, as I don't think Inbev or Diego has done anything specific to Wisconsin. (Although I'm sure they've had their hands in attempting to stifle craft brewer growth elsewhere.) Fortunately, with my homebrewing and living in Wisconsin, its very easy, at the moment, to avoid any of them.
If I end up with a decent, stable job inside the US after September, homebrewing is #1 on my list of things to do.
Goose Island is now owned by Budweiser/InBev.
That explains why I've seen it around more.
They had also signed a distributorship deal with AB a couple years ago, or so.
If you get any Potosi down there, they have an even better Shandy.
Unfortunately, I would appear there isn't any Potosi within 1.5 hours of me.
Might have to mix your own then. It should be easy enough to find the proper ratio of lemonade to beer.
UGH, sooooo much work. 😉
You could always just take a swig of beer and swig of lemonade at the same time, then.
Like how you make chocolate milk without a glass! That's brilliant.
When I say black and tans, I mean the kind that come in the cans. I 'aint got time to mix that sh!t together, I'm such a busy man, man.
MillerCoors was behind a provision in the new state budget (just passed & signed) which hamstrings craft breweries by banning them from self-distributing or owning a distributor, places a minimum of 25 retail customers for new wholesalers, forces the inclusion of the brewery itself in any sale of an existing retail or wholesale arm, and restructures the licensing to get rid of retail and wholesale licenses for breweries. Given that Spotted Cow (New Glarus's cream ale) is the #2 beer in the state by sales (behind Miller Lite), you can see why MillerCoors pushed it.
Given that Spotted Cow (New Glarus's cream ale) is the #2 beer in the state by sales (behind Miller Lite), you can see why MillerCoors pushed it.
Pushed it? I think it's fairly likely that they wrote it.
Looks like I picked a good time to start homebrewing.
I hope Budweiser takes this golden opportunity to introduce a vortex bottle to Minnesota drinkers, otherwise how will we get a beer's full taste?
I saw that and its a shame but with a potentially happy ending with a new bottling line at their facility. My wife also thinks there's something wrong with me because I want to step out right at the beginning of her baby shower next weekend to run over to the brewery and get a growler.
Might as well start teaching them young. I had my daughter with me at the liquor store the other day and she was singing "Farm Girl, Farm Girl, we're getting the Farm Girl!"
Nice. And I'm hoping to teach my young'ins respect for beer and stuff a bit earlier than American society typically thinks is ok.
Stupid society.
My wife thinks it's terrible that Miss SBG knows what the "beer fridge" is.
I will reflect strategery's comment: Stupid society.
Once when Sour Cream knew she was going to be in trouble for something she'd done, she brought me a beer to make me happy with her before telling me.
I once made my dad a peanut butter & horseradish sandwich because he loved horseradish and I loved peanut butter. It's almost the same thing. Except terrible instead of awesome.
In my experience, it's the kids that have been sheltered from alcohol their whole lives who get to college and chug handles of vodka. My dad always let us taste his beer if we asked and allowed us to have a beer on special occaisions once we'd reached a certain age. Seems awfully reasonable in retrospect.
Every study I've read on the subject suggests that a moderate approach like that is the best way to deter adulthood addictions.
Too much strictness leads to kids needing to rebel the second they're out of the house, and too much leeway makes them think there are no consequences. I would think this doesn't surprise anyone here.
That's really not a whole lot different from the moderation that I was referring to, although the last time I read anything on it, it was suggested that the occasional drink with a minor wasn't a real bad thing.
But, miss a few months of scientific findings, and there's bound to be something new out there. Oh well.
I think that article was missing a significant amount of information as to the study. It didn't say how much the parents were drinking around the kids on a regular basis or differentiate between a parent letting their kid drink at a party or have a beer/wine with dinner.
That's pretty much my exact line of thinking. Beer is such an important part of my life that I can't shield them from it even if I wanted to, anyway, but its also something that should be respected, of which I admit to having not done a few times. My hope is to reduce the number of alcohol disrepections from my kids.
You'r wife expects you to stay for the baby shower? I was always under the impression that showers were a guy's excuse to have a few hours to hang out/drink with all the other poor souls/husbands who got roped in.
Well, I'll be outside hanging out/drinking with the other poor souls/husbands who got roped in.
My wife has had three showers in the past couple of weeks (family, friends, co-workers)* and I've not been to any of them. Unfortunately, I haven't had the free time to hang out/drink with all the other poor souls/husbands who got roped in.
*don't ask...I just chalk it up to poor logistics.
Two instances of apostrophe abuse in a single paragraph article. Ouch.
flights from Omaha->Chicago->St. Louis, so I missed did not see the game last night. oh well. My continued apologies for St. Louis' own Joe Buck.
Those of us watching on tv really didn't see it either, as Buck gave perhaps the single more boring broadcast in the history of broadcasting.
What? I thought he called a great game; a classy guy with a classy voice.
I probably should hold back my criticism. He is a sensitive guy, after all.
I posted one thing to criticize Buck elsewhere on the 'net last night, and though most everyone agreed, one guy piped in saying we were all jealous, and he used the old "If he has the job, he deserves it" defense. The best part is that I made a comment about Buck's general apathy toward the game before the broadcast started, and even after he barely noticed the Bautista catch, this dillweed didn't give an inch. Gotta hold tight to that indefensible opinion.
I know better than to post anything about baseball in places other than here. I know better.
Hell, I am jealous. I wish I could (openly!) show that much contempt and that little concern for my job and remain gainfully employed.
Huh. I guess I can't disagree there.
Don't forget - USA vs. France at on ESPN & ESPN3.com. It looks like coverage starts at 10:30 Central, kick-off at 11.
If only I could actually get ESPN3 to work here. It annoys the crap out of me that it won't.
Any idea why? That seems like an awfully specific computer malady. Are you missing the plugin for whatever video they use?
that could be it, or the two main culprits would be the site's blocked (or just streaming in general), or the ISP doesn't subscribe to 4ltr3. i'm assuming the ISPs have to kick some coin over to get it for their customers, and not every one does.
My ISP is with ESPN3 and its a plug-in issue that I can't correct because I don't have administrator privileges. I'm still blaming ESPN and my ISP, though, just for fun.
We're underway.
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!
When I was working in the sports departments at newspapers, this was commonly referred to as the most boring (and easiest if you planned it right) sports day of the year. No baseball games, NBA and NHL are over, NFL hasn't started yet, golf and tennis tournaments usually don't start until at least Thursday. You preview the second-half of baseball and use a lot of features you had been saving for a while.
I'm hoping the World Cup renders that theory incorrect, though definitely, this day tends to be pretty brutal for me most years.
Correct, every once in a while you have something unusual that happens to be on this day, but it's pretty rare. This will mean much more play for the World Cup in U.S. newspapers than any other day.
Uhh, dudes, the ESPYS are on.
Today's a great day for soccer.
You got the two Women's World Cup games, two Copa America games tonight which is available to everyone here, and you got an exhibition between the New England Revolution and Manchester United on ESPN2 tonight.
If you don't like soccer though, you're boned.
TJ archives:
-last year: "It wasn't long ago that we gathered at baseball's All-Star game to ask which was growing faster -- Barry Bonds' hat size or slugging percentage."
-in 2008: "While it's true Favre has been listed by Homeland Security as an Emotional Terrorist, and it's true that the guy is a serial texter, cries more often than Dick Vermeil and has become a bigger pain in the butt than Roger Clemens' favorite syringe, there is also this: The Packers are nuts not to want him back."
Oh, and "Spurning Favre in favor of Aaron Rodgers is like selling your NFL franchise to buy a newspaper chain. One is a guaranteed success. The other might not be around in three years."
"If you look at this emotionally, you have to be rooting for Favre to stay retired, so we won't have to go through all of this again next year. And the next. And so on."
-This cracks me up from 2007: "What did [Michael] Cuddyer do over the All-Star break? Head home to Virginia with his wife and buy patio furniture."
-talking about Liriano's first half of 2006: "[He] threw one slider that struck out Jim Thome, causing Thome to look into the Twins' dugout and mouth the word, 'Wow!'"
Three years after that article, I'd say Rodgers is doing just fine for the Packers.
I get what Shecky was getting at, but why make such a strong comparison in favor of a guy at the end of his career? The Packers had to try out Rodgers sometime, and even if he was a failure, it would have been the right move at the time.
I'll admit, at first I was critical of the move; the Packers were just in the NFC Championship, I would have liked to have seen Rodgers & Favre compete for the job in training camp, and I wasn't in love with Ted Thompson. Once Favre started talking and pressing the Packers to trade him within the division I suddenly became more in favor of just rolling with Rodgers.
In hind sight, Favre's performance in the NFC Championship game that year should have sealed it for me. He looked like he didn't want to be there (it was terribly cold so I don't really blame him). He wasn't the same guy. He still had some good football left in him after this, obviously, but he still tried to play like he was 26, and his margin for error got slimmer.
I think ultimately, going with Rodgers was a huge gamble by the front office, but the Packers were rewarded for their faith in Rodgers.
And the Vikings were ultimately destroyed, so you got that going for you too. The good part of it all for me is that I don't give two sh*ts if the season happens this year or not, and actually would prefer it didn't.
It actually really bums me out what happened to the Vikes. My pops has been a fan for 40 years, and I'd really like them to win a Super Bowl before he dies. I hate the Bears far more than the Vikes, but I do despise having to hear about the Vikings on sports radio year round. I assume the same would apply for any team that was on my local radio stations, honestly. I just think it's a football fan thing. Luckily there aren't a ton of Packers fans around here, so there's not a ton of insufferable folks coloring my view of the team.
Hell, I'd despise hearing about the Vikings on sports radio year round myself, even before the falling-out we had. I will also fully admit that I will jump on a bandwagon if they have a good year, ready to spring off as soon as things turn sour again since the organization has severed my loyalty. (of course, I won't act like a douche about it like a certain national sportswriter and a certain east coast hockey team.) I'll be rooting for them to win one for your pops, too.
You are where you need to be, my man.
Indeed. Much better for my stress levels and blood pressure. (and sobriety, for that matter.)
I don't think that the Favre deal destroyed the Vikings. Remember, the other option was T-Jack.
Well, it wasn't the main driving force or cause, but it was a part of it, at the very least.
I would totally not care, but the idea of losing my money fantasy football league bums me out.
I wish Top Jimmy would try doing stand-up comedy. I would go to enjoy the dead silent audience response to his "jokes' and to heckle. Louis CK has nothing to fear.
cc to the hitman:
awesomeness. pure awesomeness.
Hey! Cool! My little dude has the same one. It will be a while before he can wear it but man, it sure is going to look cool when he does.
i have absolutely no doubts about that.
frightwig linked to this on fb. Your swell pic of 'famished pete' is right in their wheelhouse.
heh, i saw that article actually. i thought, "hey, that's the same blanket we had, and that i mysteriously found about 5 of in my apartment!" when i saw that. i hadn't realized those were the norm.
Me neither. I thought you were just tying the ensemble together...
No mystery, sir. They fell off a truck.
I've got one, too!
Wow! he's already on to solids?
Are you kidding me? He was about 6 hours old there. His old man really likes to push him.
Are there any Citizens who are bike riders in the Twin Cities and interested in participating in the Urban Assault Race with me?
It's a fun treasure hunt/race on July 31st. I've done it the last 2 years and had a blast but my partner is bagging out last minute. Registration deadline is this sunday so I need to know soon if interested. Below is a link with more information. Registration is $45 but you get some free beer and a bunch of swag. It's not super hard and probably 30 miles total, but it is a challenge too.
Yeah, I awoke to an email about that. I think I understand why they have to do it, but it also means I'll not be getting streaming movies anymore.
Seems like they've been changing up their plans an awful lot lately.
I'd be okay with it if they offered the same content through both services, but I can't get some things via streaming which they offer on DVD. That makes me feel like they're just shaking me down for more money to keep the same level of access. They're just charging more without doing anything to improve their service.
From what I understand, the studios are going to start charging a lot more for Netflix to have the rights to stream their movies, which is the reason behind the price increase. of course, if I'm wrong and Netflix just wants to get more money, I'll probably cancel my membership altogether.
The amount they've been asking for the product offered - particularly for a cinemaphile like myself who feels regret if he's going to bed without having seen one new movie that day - has been extremely generous to this point.
I'll probably continue on with what I have, despite a $5 monthly increase, because movies are just what I do.
Agreed.
I've had NetFlix for almost a year now and I've only gotten one disc through the mail. There's just so much on streaming that I want to watch I just haven't bothered. So I have a decision to make.
I would guess that NetFlix has many users like you, and many users who don't stream at all, and that is part of the reason for this decision, in addition to studios increasing the fees.
It sounds like Netflix is getting shaken down by the studios for the cost of rights. I think their current contract is up soon and the studios want way, way more money.
I think the best case is Netflix fees go up significantly, and the worst case is there's a bunch of different services ran by the studios, all offering different content. The studios only see dollar signs, I think, and will be looking to do their own streaming service to maximize the money they receive. The great thing about Netflix is that it has so much content, but I think the studios don't have the foresight to see that.
This is one of the many reasons I don't trust an all digital distribution future.
Oh, I'm sure the studios see that. They're not stupid, despite the films they tend to throw at the American public; they're just greedy. They'll throw up every roadblock possible in the hopes of stealing the dollars that Netflix has been making.
They might flutter a bit if there are any leaks. Sorta like how you put ribbons on a fan to show it's working.
Wouldn't the breeze from the fans that keep the roof inflated cause them to flutter slightly anyway?
I guess so. I was just thinking out loud.
Placeholders for championship banners, obviously.
NFL Champions, 1969!
My summer job has me working on the 22nd floor just three blocks west of the Dome. It has been entertaining peaking out the windows every 20 minutes this morning.
Four workers in harness rode the roof as it ascended, keeping close watch for any complications.
Makes sense. I haven't had a 1B for my fantasy team go on the DL yet, so it's due.
US ladies up 1-0 after 9 minutes!!!!
Aargh. If it hadn't taken 10 minutes to find the right browser/link combination, I might have seen that goal.
The Ladies really helped me out at work today. I've had a bit of a backlog lately. So today I promised myself I couldn't watch unless I put a good dent in the pile. I did about 2/3-3/4 of what I had backed up.
Nothing can force a man to work like the nagging of relentless women.
I was thinking that this might happen the other day. I'm not for it, mind you, but I think it may be the best option at this point (as long as David Kahn is in charge).
Why are you anti-Nelson? I'm not pro-Nelson; I just have no read on most coaches.
I'm not anti-Nelson, but I think his time has come and gone.
That seems about right. Ten years ago it looked like coaching had aged him to the point that he might want to calm down and retire.
Halftime. US 1 - 0 France. Gotta run to the cafeteria real quick and get back in time for the second half.
Perfect timing. Back at 45:20.
2-1 now for the US. Abby Wambach off a corner. Rapinoe has been a good sub into the midfield. But this isn't over by a long shot.
Beauty from Alex Morgan! 3-1 to the US
That was pretty sweet.
That was a pretty corner
3-1 Final. Not their best game, but they found a way.
I listened to the game while writing, but sound just doesn't get soccer across like it can for other sports, at least for me.
One problem I've noticed, esp. in internationals at neutral venues, is that the crowd is rarely an indication of what is going on - it's just constant noise. This problem is less noticeable in domestic league matches, when the crowd at, say, Old Trafford will go nuts if ManU score. There is a wider range of crowd volumes when both sets of supporters aren't fairly evenly sized.
Yeah, exactly. The upside is that the constant crowd noise acted as droning background sound, so I didn't get distracted from the writing.
O.k. Good gals up 1-0 at half. Here are my observations (watching with no sound, so maybe announcers are saying same or contradictory):
France has a good attacking offense. They will score a goal in the game.
France goalie is reckless, can be exploited, especially on set plays.
France is really going at a fast pace. I don't know if this is their style or a strategy since US played a long game only 2 days ago. US women did seem tired at the end of the half. However if France isn't used to this pace either that strategy can backfire.
My prediction for the 2nd half is that we will see more goals, if the US runs out of gas, they could lose.
Mo chailín and I started season 3 of "Breaking Bad" last night. We watched the first two episodes. I don't think it's giving too much away to say the twins are creepy as f**k and I'm afraid of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed season 3 and can't wait for season 4 to start.
I haven't started that season yet. If it was on streaming, I assume I'd be done with it already.
I had some free Amazon streaming credit from purchasing a qualifying MP3 album, so I bought it that way. Essentially, it was free and it streams directly to my TV.
My DVR is set for Sunday. I'm really, really glad that Curb Your Enthusiasm is back when it is. It'll be a perfect palate cleanser for True Blood & Breaking BAa.
After the ridiculously great ending to Season 2, I was amazed that Season 3 was even better. Especially the ending.
The ending to season two didn't move me at all, to be honest.
Nobody I was invested in had died, and the season had clearly led me to believe that they had. I mean, I get that what happened was directly Walt's fault, but I wasn't connected to any of the dead. It was a good ending, in and of itself, but given the buildup I was hugely let down. That moment doesn't stick with me nearly as much as, say, the girl's death and Walt's complex reaction to his actions (or lack thereof) in the scene.
I was just amazed at how they foreshadowed the ending yet it was still a complete surprise until about 2 minutes before it happened. Plus, it was shot so vividly with the pool and the hazmat suits. Oh, and the fact that the four different episodes that began with the scene of the eyeball in the pool were titled "747," "Down," "Over," and "ABQ." In each case, the title also referenced something within the plot of each specific episode without giving away the surprise ending. But hey, YMMV.
I know about all those things (I read a Vince Gilligan interview later) and it's all great, and I don't hold it against them for what they were doing. It's what didn't happen that bothered me. Intellectually it was very satisfying, but viscerally - emotionally - for me it had no power at all.
The fact that all those pool teasers were so well-shot and the fact that they unraveled so slowly and carefully set me up for a payoff that never came.
It may have a little something to do with the fact that I write. As a writer, I can take a plane down to further a storyline without any trouble at all. But if I put just one single character that I spent a lot of time creating on that plane, taking the plane down becomes the most emotionally draining job in the world. Even when I know I'm going to kill off a character that I'm writing, it still burns me to think that they're not going to succeed with their dreams and that their death is somehow my "fault."
Well hurry up and finish season 3 and let me know how you feel about its ending!
Now that's an order I can get behind, although a couple of Netflix discs have been set aside for the Milkmaid and the girls before I get there.
For the hell of it, some of my favorite season-enders:
A relatively new inmate smuggles in a bomb, causing a major panic wherein all inmates and hacks hide out while Padraig holds the bomb and waits.
In one of the season's most shocking moments, after scores of major characters have died throughout the year (perhaps the only borderline-great season in the series, for my money) the bomb is a dud. Padraig is cuffed, and life goes on.
Artsy jerks like me love this ending. Tony dies, but I understand why a lot of people will never look all that deeply into it. Just a couple of interviews with the show's creator make it clear that it happened, too, though he tries not to explicitly say anything.
A complex ending to a complex show, the montage, played out under the music from season one, left me totally satisfied. Life in Baltimore hadn't really changed, but each single life in Baltimore had changed dramatically.
This season was the show's worst, I thought, as it spent about the first half of the season running in place before really getting to the meat of the drama. Again, the montage pulled me in, somehow using scenes featuring the deaths of all the lead characters to illustrate something the show rarely illustrated: hope.
I could go on forever, I'm sure.
The season 7 finale for The Shield is the finest TV finale I've ever seen. It was incredible. Season 5's ending was also very, very good and set up the endgame for the final two seasons.
I second that emotion. And the ending to the penultimate episode of season 3 literally sent chills up my spine.
You are in for a great ride as you watch the rest of Season 3. Television just doesn't get any better written, acted, and produced. I may have mentioned it before, but the recaps for BB (and other series) by Alan Sepinwall are essential reading.
His most recent post is a lighthearted attempt to create a sabermetric measurement for TV theme songs.
I do love Sepinwall, but I forget to read him most of the time because I don't live in the now as far as TV goes.
I have to make more of an effort to get over there.
His archives come in handy when watching a season of something that's already aired. I got into Justified late in the game but as I viewed eps I would return to Sepinwall to see what he'd written.
I once read an article that stated According to Jim was going to be "The Next Gilligan's Island," because everyone was watching it, but 20 years down the road nobody would admit to having watched it.
He created some real cheese, but I'm guessing that cheese made him a very rich man.
Plus, he set the stage for one of the eternal questions: Ginger or Mary Ann?
With that one posed question, he earned every dollar he ever made.
And: Jan or Marsha?
No love for Dusty's Trail??? The obit doesn't even mention it. That's just wrong.
Phoenix continues to be no fun. It's sweltering by about 9:30am, so by the time noon rolls around, you're so exhausted you could swear the day was almost over. Then you check the clock: nope, seven more hours of oppressive heat.
I'm not sure how people do this without blasting the AC up past affordable levels. meat, any insight?
We don't get as hot here in SoCal (Inland Empire) as Phoenix, but it still gets plenty warm (100+ not uncommon July through September). We keep the AC on, but keep it at moderate temps, which is 75 degrees. I refuse to go any hotter since my income is derived from computers, so I don't want to overheat them. Take advantage of whenever the sun is down for outdoor activities. Go to the movies or the mall on really hot days. Always, always have a water bottle or at least a nonalcoholic, noncaffeinated drink with you. You can't hydrate enough. Does your car have AC? That's really important. You have to special order new cars in this part of the country if you don't want to pay for AC. Don't worry about L.A., though. If it gets above 90, they're complaining about a heat wave.
Thankfully, the car has AC. It was broken up until two weeks ago, when we decided if we were heading to Phoenix, it was a solid investment.
I have a lot of friends in LA already and they joke a lot about Los Angeleans complaining about summers that would make Minnesotans shrug their shoulders.
I've lived in The Valley, and in the south bay; The Valley is always a few degrees hotter, but your film work may take you up there, I suppose *wink* No, wait, the other Kelly is probably there.
If you stay in the hot areas, you will adjust. When I first moved here, I wore T-shirts and shorts 24/7 outside. Now, if it drops below 65, I'm in sweaters and sweatshirts and a jacket.
I applied to a TESOL school in Prague this afternoon. My friend from undergrad went through this program in Cambodia and now teaches English in Thailand. She gave them a very high recommendation. Hopefully I'm accepted and by November I'm teaching English in the Czech Republic.
much better beer in the Czech Republic than in Cambodia....
Here is a fascinating look at what has happened to recorded music industry sales since 1973. Wow.
I have to say that a good album is much more appealing to me than 1 great song (not that the two are mutually exclusive).
apparently, a lot of people either disagree, or don't see very many "good albums" out there.
You know what they say, there's no accounting for taste. Case in point, there are surely lots of people lamenting the previously discussed loss of MC products!
Yes, this. In general, unless it's here at the World's Greatest, I won't ever listen to a song outside of its album. I won't even turn an album on unless I know I have time to hear it all without pausing most of the time.
I agree with you in concept, but I won't (rarely) get to an album unless a song first piques my interest. And THEN I'll like to check out the album.
btw, do you know people as well that pronounce it "alblum"? where did that come from?
I have a lot of customers that pronounce it that way. I always wanted to ask where it came from, but I just assumed I'd get a blank stare.
Now that you put it into words, a single song is usually how I get wind of an album too (unless someone points it to me here; my most recent example comes from you: your raving about Another Green World made me check it out, and I've been spinning it since.
Notice how LP disappeared and is not starting to be visible again. I've been considering buying a turntable...
I look at that graph and see the music industry completely missing the digital download boat in the mid-90s. Sure, it's easy for me to say this in retrospect, but back in 1995 had the RIAA had put money into developing iTunes-like software which allowed labels/artists to sell music online at $1/song or $10/album (or whatever), then they could have taken a good bite out of piracy.
Also, I think they could probably increase digital album sales if they were willing to modify the price structure somewhat. For instance, they could let the purchase of singles count towards the cost of an album. Then someone could buy a couple singles for $2 total, enjoy the singles, and pay $8 for the rest of the album for a total of $10 rather than $12. There's not a whole lot of justification for charging someone twice for the same song and they ought to rather have $8 instead of $0, given that the marginal cost of production is so low.
Even if that particular strategy isn't the way to go, they could look at even just lowering the price of albums relative to singles to entice people to spend a bit more.
One step closer to the opening day roster...again. Thankfully, a much quicker recovery than Mountie's.
Spantastic news!
I will be mighty pleased with an OF with both Span and Revere in it, and I think our starters will be as well.
The Milkmaid got the job here in Phoenix that she wanted. Our situation just went from between dire and unclear to excellent. I haven't publicized it much (intentionally, anyway, though I think it shined through with my surliness), but I've been on pins and needles for a while now.
Awesome day at Casa de Leche.
Congratulations to the whole milk family.
dido. Ice cream for everyone!!!
+1 lemonade and +1 beer.
congrats
Congrats to the Milkmaid.
Brian Williams mentioned on the news tonight that the 4ltr's play of the week was from the women's World Cup action, and not Jeter-related. Hard to believe, but good for them.
MLB Network's #1 play of the first half continued the Jeterbration though.
From the I Did Not Know That! department: former big-leaguer Pete LaCock is the son of Hollywood Squares' Peter Marshall?!
Willie "Original Groundskeeper" Eyre coming in to the ninth inning of the AAA All-Star Game.
The AAA All-Star game is going to be in Buffalo next year. Tickets were made available today! I suppose that I had better get tickets.
Did you get my email reply?
Sorry, I got distracted over the past couple of days. Response sent!
did this make Willie a "proven closer"???
Didn't start the inning, just finished (i.e. got the last out) of the top of the ninth, but down three runs.
Off to fight through rush hour traffic on the Beltline to go to a dentist appointment. Yay.
That's why I've been at work for half an hour already. Avoiding that traffic has improved the start to my day considerably.
Mets trade Francisco Rodriguez to the Brew Crew
Well this seals my decision to actively root against the Brewers.
I've been digging the Brewers in recent years, but this is quite the test.
To be honest, I hadn't thought of F-Rod in ages. Is he still relevant, other than his violent tendencies?
I had been, but every time I go to Miller Park I question why.
You should actively root for K-Rod to finish 21 games in the second half, so the Crew is on the hook for his laughable $17.5 million option.
His what now? Sweet Lord, saves are stupid.
From Cot's:
That clause isn't even about saves.
Nope, it's not. Saves are still dumb, though, so I don't regret bringing that up.
I didn't mean to sound like I was being snappy with you, I meant it like, "it's even dumber than saves, if that's possible".
I didn't mean to sound like I was being snappy with you...
This.
I never thought you were, actually. No harm done.
Players and agents are even smart enough to figure out that wins and saves are too team dependent to evaluate a player. No contracts use wins or saves for incentives. It's always games finished or innings pitched. The games finished is used because it shows the reliever was the primary closer and was healthy.
Not sure if it's quite that. Hitters don't use any offensive stat but plate appearances or games played. I think it's to prevent gambling.
Unfortunately, there's no way in hell he gets there with Axford as the Brewers "established closer". My guess (hope?) is that he throws some sort of tantrum at not being the closer by year's end.
He just hired Boras, who is too savvy for that. F-Rod needs to show he's not a clubhouse cancer to get top dollar in the offseason.
I'm not an F-Rod guy, but how even more terrible does this make the Capps trade look?
I'm going to pretend instead that it just makes the Mets look incompetent. I don't want any more salt in that Capps wound.
If the Mets are incompetent, than how does that Santana trade look?
I still think the Twins came out ahead in that one. I could also be pretending to think that so I don't get mad that they might have gotten more from losing him to free agency.
If you ignore everything but the players, then yeah it makes the trade look bad. If you instead look at the real world it doesn't look horrible. Rodriguez has three months of control left, for about $6 million plus an extremely expensive option. Capps had 1.333 years of control and was signed at a more reasonable $5 million last year plus would receive ~$7 million in arbitration. Now, Rodriguez > Capps, but the Brewers didn't receive an elite closer in return. Plus, they sent two PTBNLs and they could actually be decent.
It's easy to say the Twins overpaid (which they did, don't get me wrong) but we don't know what the Brewers traded away.
It sounds like the PBTNLs are based on a "pool" that the Mets can pick from, and the quality of those prospects is dependent upon K-Rod's performance. The Mets are basically covering all of his salary for 2011, but the Brewers are on the hook for the option or the buyout.
Apparently the Mets called around offering this deal to a few teams. I guess if I'm Bill Smith I might've taken this deal. I hate the guy, but he's more effective than Alex Burnett. As long as they could keep him from finishing games (and thankfully Gardy loves his set closer), it might've been a reasonable gamble.
If they traded for K-Rod I have no doubt he'd have been closing.
the State of Minnesota is running out of beer
there is a couple of bars in my area that submitted their license renewal in plenty of time, but the people at the office that handle that stuff didnt complete the work so they had to shut down because they didnt have a license
That's pretty hilarious. I hope I get a chance to see a liquor store with zero MC products on the shelf when I'm there next weekend.
Serves 'em right for what they're trying to pull here.
Agreed. I am starting a boycott of Miller products, myself. Fortunately, if I just go to Mallards games I can support the Great Dane very easily and gladly.
Same here. I'm more than happy to drink the local hooch when it's this good.
Speaking of which, sent you an email.
What's going on in Wisconsin with Miller?
They were big supporters of a bill that takes away some of the ability of smaller brewers to grow under the guise of "protecting the three tier system" and "keeping AB distributors out of Wisconsin" by not allowing a brewery to purchase a distribution license if they are above a certain size. In the short run, it won't change much from the consumer's perspective, but, if I understand it correctly, breweries that have the license will lose it, which means they will lose some assets and worth.
A few of the local bars/brewpubs around here have removed Miller products.
Well, in that case, I shall join you. My love of local craft brews far outweighs that I have for the High Life. I think I'll switch to Grain Belt or something for my everyday drinker.
Grain Belt is perfect in that role.
Yeah, I love Grain Belt and can get it here, so its my new tailgating beer.
I just found it hiding on the bottom shelf in the corner of my local Hy-Vee about a month ago.
Grain Belt is made by the second-oldest family-owned brewery still in existence. (If we could just take out Yuengling!) Brewed in my hometown by the same people that make Schell's Octoberfest and Maifest, two of my faves.
Good beer, and the only change in laws that I've seen them involved in was to support the Surly bill.
Exactly why I'm glad I was able to find Grain Belt around here. Anyone who supported the Surly bill is good people, in my eyes.
Ooooh, I didn't realize MC owned Leinie's. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. No more Summer Shandy. I'll go to Goose Island for their Summertime Kolsch I guess.
I hate to break it to you, but Goose Island is now owned by Budweiser/InBev.
Yeah, and Guinness is owned by Diageo. It's almost, but not entirely, impossible to avoid gigantic multinational breweries anymore. But I've not heard of InBev doing something this dickish lately (also, I've not paid that close attention seeing as how I just found out about the MC thing).
Yeah, personally I'm focusing on MC products, as I don't think Inbev or Diego has done anything specific to Wisconsin. (Although I'm sure they've had their hands in attempting to stifle craft brewer growth elsewhere.) Fortunately, with my homebrewing and living in Wisconsin, its very easy, at the moment, to avoid any of them.
If I end up with a decent, stable job inside the US after September, homebrewing is #1 on my list of things to do.
Goose Island is now owned by Budweiser/InBev.
That explains why I've seen it around more.
They had also signed a distributorship deal with AB a couple years ago, or so.
If you get any Potosi down there, they have an even better Shandy.
Unfortunately, I would appear there isn't any Potosi within 1.5 hours of me.
Might have to mix your own then. It should be easy enough to find the proper ratio of lemonade to beer.
UGH, sooooo much work. 😉
You could always just take a swig of beer and swig of lemonade at the same time, then.
Like how you make chocolate milk without a glass! That's brilliant.
When I say black and tans, I mean the kind that come in the cans. I 'aint got time to mix that sh!t together, I'm such a busy man, man.
MillerCoors was behind a provision in the new state budget (just passed & signed) which hamstrings craft breweries by banning them from self-distributing or owning a distributor, places a minimum of 25 retail customers for new wholesalers, forces the inclusion of the brewery itself in any sale of an existing retail or wholesale arm, and restructures the licensing to get rid of retail and wholesale licenses for breweries. Given that Spotted Cow (New Glarus's cream ale) is the #2 beer in the state by sales (behind Miller Lite), you can see why MillerCoors pushed it.
Given that Spotted Cow (New Glarus's cream ale) is the #2 beer in the state by sales (behind Miller Lite), you can see why MillerCoors pushed it.
Pushed it? I think it's fairly likely that they wrote it.
Looks like I picked a good time to start homebrewing.
I hope Budweiser takes this golden opportunity to introduce a vortex bottle to Minnesota drinkers, otherwise how will we get a beer's full taste?
Actual sad beer news: Lift Bridge Brewing Suspends 6-Pack Bottle Sales
I saw that and its a shame but with a potentially happy ending with a new bottling line at their facility. My wife also thinks there's something wrong with me because I want to step out right at the beginning of her baby shower next weekend to run over to the brewery and get a growler.
Might as well start teaching them young. I had my daughter with me at the liquor store the other day and she was singing "Farm Girl, Farm Girl, we're getting the Farm Girl!"
Nice. And I'm hoping to teach my young'ins respect for beer and stuff a bit earlier than American society typically thinks is ok.
Stupid society.
My wife thinks it's terrible that Miss SBG knows what the "beer fridge" is.
I will reflect strategery's comment: Stupid society.
Once when Sour Cream knew she was going to be in trouble for something she'd done, she brought me a beer to make me happy with her before telling me.
I once made my dad a peanut butter & horseradish sandwich because he loved horseradish and I loved peanut butter. It's almost the same thing. Except terrible instead of awesome.
In my experience, it's the kids that have been sheltered from alcohol their whole lives who get to college and chug handles of vodka. My dad always let us taste his beer if we asked and allowed us to have a beer on special occaisions once we'd reached a certain age. Seems awfully reasonable in retrospect.
Every study I've read on the subject suggests that a moderate approach like that is the best way to deter adulthood addictions.
Too much strictness leads to kids needing to rebel the second they're out of the house, and too much leeway makes them think there are no consequences. I would think this doesn't surprise anyone here.
Some researchers at the U of M disagree with you.
That's really not a whole lot different from the moderation that I was referring to, although the last time I read anything on it, it was suggested that the occasional drink with a minor wasn't a real bad thing.
But, miss a few months of scientific findings, and there's bound to be something new out there. Oh well.
I think that article was missing a significant amount of information as to the study. It didn't say how much the parents were drinking around the kids on a regular basis or differentiate between a parent letting their kid drink at a party or have a beer/wine with dinner.
That's pretty much my exact line of thinking. Beer is such an important part of my life that I can't shield them from it even if I wanted to, anyway, but its also something that should be respected, of which I admit to having not done a few times. My hope is to reduce the number of alcohol disrepections from my kids.
You'r wife expects you to stay for the baby shower? I was always under the impression that showers were a guy's excuse to have a few hours to hang out/drink with all the other poor souls/husbands who got roped in.
Well, I'll be outside hanging out/drinking with the other poor souls/husbands who got roped in.
My wife has had three showers in the past couple of weeks (family, friends, co-workers)* and I've not been to any of them. Unfortunately, I haven't had the free time to hang out/drink with all the other poor souls/husbands who got roped in.
*don't ask...I just chalk it up to poor logistics.
Two instances of apostrophe abuse in a single paragraph article. Ouch.
flights from Omaha->Chicago->St. Louis, so I
misseddid not see the game last night. oh well. My continued apologies for St. Louis' own Joe Buck.Those of us watching on tv really didn't see it either, as Buck gave perhaps the single more boring broadcast in the history of broadcasting.
What? I thought he called a great game; a classy guy with a classy voice.
I probably should hold back my criticism. He is a sensitive guy, after all.
I posted one thing to criticize Buck elsewhere on the 'net last night, and though most everyone agreed, one guy piped in saying we were all jealous, and he used the old "If he has the job, he deserves it" defense. The best part is that I made a comment about Buck's general apathy toward the game before the broadcast started, and even after he barely noticed the Bautista catch, this dillweed didn't give an inch. Gotta hold tight to that indefensible opinion.
I know better than to post anything about baseball in places other than here. I know better.
Hell, I am jealous. I wish I could (openly!) show that much contempt and that little concern for my job and remain gainfully employed.
Huh. I guess I can't disagree there.
Don't forget - USA vs. France at on ESPN & ESPN3.com. It looks like coverage starts at 10:30 Central, kick-off at 11.
If only I could actually get ESPN3 to work here. It annoys the crap out of me that it won't.
Any idea why? That seems like an awfully specific computer malady. Are you missing the plugin for whatever video they use?
that could be it, or the two main culprits would be the site's blocked (or just streaming in general), or the ISP doesn't subscribe to 4ltr3. i'm assuming the ISPs have to kick some coin over to get it for their customers, and not every one does.
My ISP is with ESPN3 and its a plug-in issue that I can't correct because I don't have administrator privileges. I'm still blaming ESPN and my ISP, though, just for fun.
We're underway.
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!
When I was working in the sports departments at newspapers, this was commonly referred to as the most boring (and easiest if you planned it right) sports day of the year. No baseball games, NBA and NHL are over, NFL hasn't started yet, golf and tennis tournaments usually don't start until at least Thursday. You preview the second-half of baseball and use a lot of features you had been saving for a while.
I'm hoping the World Cup renders that theory incorrect, though definitely, this day tends to be pretty brutal for me most years.
Correct, every once in a while you have something unusual that happens to be on this day, but it's pretty rare. This will mean much more play for the World Cup in U.S. newspapers than any other day.
Uhh, dudes, the ESPYS are on.
Today's a great day for soccer.
You got the two Women's World Cup games, two Copa America games tonight which is available to everyone here, and you got an exhibition between the New England Revolution and Manchester United on ESPN2 tonight.
If you don't like soccer though, you're boned.
TJ archives:
-last year: "It wasn't long ago that we gathered at baseball's All-Star game to ask which was growing faster -- Barry Bonds' hat size or slugging percentage."
-in 2008: "While it's true Favre has been listed by Homeland Security as an Emotional Terrorist, and it's true that the guy is a serial texter, cries more often than Dick Vermeil and has become a bigger pain in the butt than Roger Clemens' favorite syringe, there is also this: The Packers are nuts not to want him back."
Oh, and "Spurning Favre in favor of Aaron Rodgers is like selling your NFL franchise to buy a newspaper chain. One is a guaranteed success. The other might not be around in three years."
"If you look at this emotionally, you have to be rooting for Favre to stay retired, so we won't have to go through all of this again next year. And the next. And so on."
-This cracks me up from 2007: "What did [Michael] Cuddyer do over the All-Star break? Head home to Virginia with his wife and buy patio furniture."
-talking about Liriano's first half of 2006: "[He] threw one slider that struck out Jim Thome, causing Thome to look into the Twins' dugout and mouth the word, 'Wow!'"
Three years after that article, I'd say Rodgers is doing just fine for the Packers.
I get what Shecky was getting at, but why make such a strong comparison in favor of a guy at the end of his career? The Packers had to try out Rodgers sometime, and even if he was a failure, it would have been the right move at the time.
I'll admit, at first I was critical of the move; the Packers were just in the NFC Championship, I would have liked to have seen Rodgers & Favre compete for the job in training camp, and I wasn't in love with Ted Thompson. Once Favre started talking and pressing the Packers to trade him within the division I suddenly became more in favor of just rolling with Rodgers.
In hind sight, Favre's performance in the NFC Championship game that year should have sealed it for me. He looked like he didn't want to be there (it was terribly cold so I don't really blame him). He wasn't the same guy. He still had some good football left in him after this, obviously, but he still tried to play like he was 26, and his margin for error got slimmer.
I think ultimately, going with Rodgers was a huge gamble by the front office, but the Packers were rewarded for their faith in Rodgers.
And the Vikings were ultimately destroyed, so you got that going for you too. The good part of it all for me is that I don't give two sh*ts if the season happens this year or not, and actually would prefer it didn't.
It actually really bums me out what happened to the Vikes. My pops has been a fan for 40 years, and I'd really like them to win a Super Bowl before he dies. I hate the Bears far more than the Vikes, but I do despise having to hear about the Vikings on sports radio year round. I assume the same would apply for any team that was on my local radio stations, honestly. I just think it's a football fan thing. Luckily there aren't a ton of Packers fans around here, so there's not a ton of insufferable folks coloring my view of the team.
Hell, I'd despise hearing about the Vikings on sports radio year round myself, even before the falling-out we had. I will also fully admit that I will jump on a bandwagon if they have a good year, ready to spring off as soon as things turn sour again since the organization has severed my loyalty. (of course, I won't act like a douche about it like a certain national sportswriter and a certain east coast hockey team.) I'll be rooting for them to win one for your pops, too.
You are where you need to be, my man.
Indeed. Much better for my stress levels and blood pressure. (and sobriety, for that matter.)
I don't think that the Favre deal destroyed the Vikings. Remember, the other option was T-Jack.
Well, it wasn't the main driving force or cause, but it was a part of it, at the very least.
I would totally not care, but the idea of losing my money fantasy football league bums me out.
I wish Top Jimmy would try doing stand-up comedy. I would go to enjoy the dead silent audience response to his "jokes' and to heckle. Louis CK has nothing to fear.
cc to the hitman:
awesomeness. pure awesomeness.
Hey! Cool! My little dude has the same one. It will be a while before he can wear it but man, it sure is going to look cool when he does.
i have absolutely no doubts about that.
frightwig linked to this on fb. Your swell pic of 'famished pete' is right in their wheelhouse.
heh, i saw that article actually. i thought, "hey, that's the same blanket we had, and that i mysteriously found about 5 of in my apartment!" when i saw that. i hadn't realized those were the norm.
Me neither. I thought you were just tying the ensemble together...
No mystery, sir. They fell off a truck.
I've got one, too!
Wow! he's already on to solids?
Are you kidding me? He was about 6 hours old there. His old man really likes to push him.
Are there any Citizens who are bike riders in the Twin Cities and interested in participating in the Urban Assault Race with me?
It's a fun treasure hunt/race on July 31st. I've done it the last 2 years and had a blast but my partner is bagging out last minute. Registration deadline is this sunday so I need to know soon if interested. Below is a link with more information. Registration is $45 but you get some free beer and a bunch of swag. It's not super hard and probably 30 miles total, but it is a challenge too.
http://www.urbanassaultride.com/minneapolis
If interested let me know at freealonzo [at] comcast dot net
Another connection to yesterday's CoC. Do you still need a partner 'cause I can do a race in Sept.
Edit: wait, this is yesterday's CoC...
Dunno if this has been covered elsewhere.
Netflix to separate streaming and DVD options into different plans.
Yeah, I awoke to an email about that. I think I understand why they have to do it, but it also means I'll not be getting streaming movies anymore.
Seems like they've been changing up their plans an awful lot lately.
I'd be okay with it if they offered the same content through both services, but I can't get some things via streaming which they offer on DVD. That makes me feel like they're just shaking me down for more money to keep the same level of access. They're just charging more without doing anything to improve their service.
From what I understand, the studios are going to start charging a lot more for Netflix to have the rights to stream their movies, which is the reason behind the price increase. of course, if I'm wrong and Netflix just wants to get more money, I'll probably cancel my membership altogether.
The amount they've been asking for the product offered - particularly for a cinemaphile like myself who feels regret if he's going to bed without having seen one new movie that day - has been extremely generous to this point.
I'll probably continue on with what I have, despite a $5 monthly increase, because movies are just what I do.
Agreed.
I've had NetFlix for almost a year now and I've only gotten one disc through the mail. There's just so much on streaming that I want to watch I just haven't bothered. So I have a decision to make.
I would guess that NetFlix has many users like you, and many users who don't stream at all, and that is part of the reason for this decision, in addition to studios increasing the fees.
It sounds like Netflix is getting shaken down by the studios for the cost of rights. I think their current contract is up soon and the studios want way, way more money.
I think the best case is Netflix fees go up significantly, and the worst case is there's a bunch of different services ran by the studios, all offering different content. The studios only see dollar signs, I think, and will be looking to do their own streaming service to maximize the money they receive. The great thing about Netflix is that it has so much content, but I think the studios don't have the foresight to see that.
This is one of the many reasons I don't trust an all digital distribution future.
Oh, I'm sure the studios see that. They're not stupid, despite the films they tend to throw at the American public; they're just greedy. They'll throw up every roadblock possible in the hopes of stealing the dollars that Netflix has been making.
Like new, as if she never sprung a leak.
It looks like the swastika is gone, too.
Yeah, but what's with the hanging chads?
I was wondering that myself.
Acoustics?
They might flutter a bit if there are any leaks. Sorta like how you put ribbons on a fan to show it's working.
Wouldn't the breeze from the fans that keep the roof inflated cause them to flutter slightly anyway?
I guess so. I was just thinking out loud.
Placeholders for championship banners, obviously.
NFL Champions, 1969!
My summer job has me working on the 22nd floor just three blocks west of the Dome. It has been entertaining peaking out the windows every 20 minutes this morning.
That would have been fun.
Darn. Miguel Cabrera has oblique strain.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110712/SPORTS02/110713001
Redemption, thy name is oblique strain.
+163
Makes sense. I haven't had a 1B for my fantasy team go on the DL yet, so it's due.
US ladies up 1-0 after 9 minutes!!!!
Aargh. If it hadn't taken 10 minutes to find the right browser/link combination, I might have seen that goal.
The Ladies really helped me out at work today. I've had a bit of a backlog lately. So today I promised myself I couldn't watch unless I put a good dent in the pile. I did about 2/3-3/4 of what I had backed up.
Nothing can force a man to work like the nagging of relentless women.
I was thinking that this might happen the other day. I'm not for it, mind you, but I think it may be the best option at this point (as long as David Kahn is in charge).
Why are you anti-Nelson? I'm not pro-Nelson; I just have no read on most coaches.
I'm not anti-Nelson, but I think his time has come and gone.
That seems about right. Ten years ago it looked like coaching had aged him to the point that he might want to calm down and retire.
Halftime. US 1 - 0 France. Gotta run to the cafeteria real quick and get back in time for the second half.
Perfect timing. Back at 45:20.
2-1 now for the US. Abby Wambach off a corner. Rapinoe has been a good sub into the midfield. But this isn't over by a long shot.
Beauty from Alex Morgan! 3-1 to the US
That was pretty sweet.
That was a pretty corner
3-1 Final. Not their best game, but they found a way.
I listened to the game while writing, but sound just doesn't get soccer across like it can for other sports, at least for me.
One problem I've noticed, esp. in internationals at neutral venues, is that the crowd is rarely an indication of what is going on - it's just constant noise. This problem is less noticeable in domestic league matches, when the crowd at, say, Old Trafford will go nuts if ManU score. There is a wider range of crowd volumes when both sets of supporters aren't fairly evenly sized.
Yeah, exactly. The upside is that the constant crowd noise acted as droning background sound, so I didn't get distracted from the writing.
O.k. Good gals up 1-0 at half. Here are my observations (watching with no sound, so maybe announcers are saying same or contradictory):
France has a good attacking offense. They will score a goal in the game.
France goalie is reckless, can be exploited, especially on set plays.
France is really going at a fast pace. I don't know if this is their style or a strategy since US played a long game only 2 days ago. US women did seem tired at the end of the half. However if France isn't used to this pace either that strategy can backfire.
My prediction for the 2nd half is that we will see more goals, if the US runs out of gas, they could lose.
Mo chailín and I started season 3 of "Breaking Bad" last night. We watched the first two episodes. I don't think it's giving too much away to say the twins are creepy as f**k and I'm afraid of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed season 3 and can't wait for season 4 to start.
I haven't started that season yet. If it was on streaming, I assume I'd be done with it already.
I had some free Amazon streaming credit from purchasing a qualifying MP3 album, so I bought it that way. Essentially, it was free and it streams directly to my TV.
My DVR is set for Sunday. I'm really, really glad that Curb Your Enthusiasm is back when it is. It'll be a perfect palate cleanser for True Blood & Breaking BAa.
After the ridiculously great ending to Season 2, I was amazed that Season 3 was even better. Especially the ending.
The ending to season two didn't move me at all, to be honest.
Well hurry up and finish season 3 and let me know how you feel about its ending!
Now that's an order I can get behind, although a couple of Netflix discs have been set aside for the Milkmaid and the girls before I get there.
For the hell of it, some of my favorite season-enders:
Oz, Season 4
The Sopranos, Season 6
The Wire, Season 5
Six Feet Under, Season 5
I could go on forever, I'm sure.
The season 7 finale for The Shield is the finest TV finale I've ever seen. It was incredible. Season 5's ending was also very, very good and set up the endgame for the final two seasons.
I second that emotion. And the ending to the penultimate episode of season 3 literally sent chills up my spine.
You are in for a great ride as you watch the rest of Season 3. Television just doesn't get any better written, acted, and produced. I may have mentioned it before, but the recaps for BB (and other series) by Alan Sepinwall are essential reading.
His most recent post is a lighthearted attempt to create a sabermetric measurement for TV theme songs.
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/introducing-tsoris-or-when-great-theme-songs-happen-to-not-so-great-shows
I do love Sepinwall, but I forget to read him most of the time because I don't live in the now as far as TV goes.
I have to make more of an effort to get over there.
His archives come in handy when watching a season of something that's already aired. I got into Justified late in the game but as I viewed eps I would return to Sepinwall to see what he'd written.
Sherwood Schwartz is dead.
I once read an article that stated According to Jim was going to be "The Next Gilligan's Island," because everyone was watching it, but 20 years down the road nobody would admit to having watched it.
He created some real cheese, but I'm guessing that cheese made him a very rich man.
Plus, he set the stage for one of the eternal questions: Ginger or Mary Ann?
With that one posed question, he earned every dollar he ever made.
And: Jan or Marsha?
No love for Dusty's Trail??? The obit doesn't even mention it. That's just wrong.
Phoenix continues to be no fun. It's sweltering by about 9:30am, so by the time noon rolls around, you're so exhausted you could swear the day was almost over. Then you check the clock: nope, seven more hours of oppressive heat.
I'm not sure how people do this without blasting the AC up past affordable levels. meat, any insight?
We don't get as hot here in SoCal (Inland Empire) as Phoenix, but it still gets plenty warm (100+ not uncommon July through September). We keep the AC on, but keep it at moderate temps, which is 75 degrees. I refuse to go any hotter since my income is derived from computers, so I don't want to overheat them. Take advantage of whenever the sun is down for outdoor activities. Go to the movies or the mall on really hot days. Always, always have a water bottle or at least a nonalcoholic, noncaffeinated drink with you. You can't hydrate enough. Does your car have AC? That's really important. You have to special order new cars in this part of the country if you don't want to pay for AC. Don't worry about L.A., though. If it gets above 90, they're complaining about a heat wave.
Thankfully, the car has AC. It was broken up until two weeks ago, when we decided if we were heading to Phoenix, it was a solid investment.
I have a lot of friends in LA already and they joke a lot about Los Angeleans complaining about summers that would make Minnesotans shrug their shoulders.
I've lived in The Valley, and in the south bay; The Valley is always a few degrees hotter, but your film work may take you up there, I suppose *wink* No, wait, the other Kelly is probably there.
If you stay in the hot areas, you will adjust. When I first moved here, I wore T-shirts and shorts 24/7 outside. Now, if it drops below 65, I'm in sweaters and sweatshirts and a jacket.
I applied to a TESOL school in Prague this afternoon. My friend from undergrad went through this program in Cambodia and now teaches English in Thailand. She gave them a very high recommendation. Hopefully I'm accepted and by November I'm teaching English in the Czech Republic.
much better beer in the Czech Republic than in Cambodia....
Here is a fascinating look at what has happened to recorded music industry sales since 1973. Wow.
I have to say that a good album is much more appealing to me than 1 great song (not that the two are mutually exclusive).
apparently, a lot of people either disagree, or don't see very many "good albums" out there.
You know what they say, there's no accounting for taste. Case in point, there are surely lots of people lamenting the previously discussed loss of MC products!
Yes, this. In general, unless it's here at the World's Greatest, I won't ever listen to a song outside of its album. I won't even turn an album on unless I know I have time to hear it all without pausing most of the time.
I agree with you in concept, but I won't (rarely) get to an album unless a song first piques my interest. And THEN I'll like to check out the album.
btw, do you know people as well that pronounce it "alblum"? where did that come from?
I have a lot of customers that pronounce it that way. I always wanted to ask where it came from, but I just assumed I'd get a blank stare.
Now that you put it into words, a single song is usually how I get wind of an album too (unless someone points it to me here; my most recent example comes from you: your raving about Another Green World made me check it out, and I've been spinning it since.
Notice how LP disappeared and is not starting to be visible again. I've been considering buying a turntable...
I look at that graph and see the music industry completely missing the digital download boat in the mid-90s. Sure, it's easy for me to say this in retrospect, but back in 1995 had the RIAA had put money into developing iTunes-like software which allowed labels/artists to sell music online at $1/song or $10/album (or whatever), then they could have taken a good bite out of piracy.
Also, I think they could probably increase digital album sales if they were willing to modify the price structure somewhat. For instance, they could let the purchase of singles count towards the cost of an album. Then someone could buy a couple singles for $2 total, enjoy the singles, and pay $8 for the rest of the album for a total of $10 rather than $12. There's not a whole lot of justification for charging someone twice for the same song and they ought to rather have $8 instead of $0, given that the marginal cost of production is so low.
Even if that particular strategy isn't the way to go, they could look at even just lowering the price of albums relative to singles to entice people to spend a bit more.
One step closer to the opening day roster...again. Thankfully, a much quicker recovery than Mountie's.
Spantastic news!
I will be mighty pleased with an OF with both Span and Revere in it, and I think our starters will be as well.
An Audience with Authors.
For people who wished that The Grey Album was a little more underground minded, or fans of Hip-Hop and Rock in general, I give you: Wugazi.
Wu + Fu + Free download = excellence!1!!one!1111!1
Ive seen this link bouncing around on twitter today: Fielders trade nine players, release 14 others . Jose Canseco pitching, Joey Gathright catching, Kevin Costner is involved...insane!
The Milkmaid got the job here in Phoenix that she wanted. Our situation just went from between dire and unclear to excellent. I haven't publicized it much (intentionally, anyway, though I think it shined through with my surliness), but I've been on pins and needles for a while now.
Awesome day at Casa de Leche.
Congratulations to the whole milk family.
dido. Ice cream for everyone!!!
+1 lemonade and +1 beer.
congrats
Congrats to the Milkmaid.
Brian Williams mentioned on the news tonight that the 4ltr's play of the week was from the women's World Cup action, and not Jeter-related. Hard to believe, but good for them.
MLB Network's #1 play of the first half continued the Jeterbration though.
From the I Did Not Know That! department: former big-leaguer Pete LaCock is the son of Hollywood Squares' Peter Marshall?!
Willie "Original Groundskeeper" Eyre coming in to the ninth inning of the AAA All-Star Game.
The AAA All-Star game is going to be in Buffalo next year. Tickets were made available today! I suppose that I had better get tickets.
Did you get my email reply?
Sorry, I got distracted over the past couple of days. Response sent!
did this make Willie a "proven closer"???
Didn't start the inning, just finished (i.e. got the last out) of the top of the ninth, but down three runs.