Thursday, November 25, 2004

Gobble Gobble


Thanksgiving photos. You WILL see them all.

Potatoes. I microwaved them myself.

Vegetables from Agway.

Tim poured.

The Spread.

Table view of The Spread!

I was trying for the cat but it ran away, so quit looking at my mom's legs.

The Spread Part 3. We have plenty of leftovers if you want.

Yam Sauce. Sweet and nutty, just like yours truly.

Tim was ready for it.

Mmm.

MMM!

1 part cranberry, 1 part raspberry, 2 parts ginger ale.

Satisfied.

MARG liked it, so it must be good.

Monday, November 22, 2004

Tucson Citizen Vomits On Desk, Submits As "Journalism"

Corky learns to type

"Television grabs the first two or three people it can find who have ever been to a basketball game, clips a mini-microphone on their shirt collars and shoves them in front of a camera to analyze what happened and where we are going as a nation." It seems that newspapers do the same kind of thing. Extra points for using "hoi polloi", "Taj Mahal", "Tibet", "apocalyptic", and "malarkey" in a sports column.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

What a guy who doesn't watch basketball thought of the fight

Jeoffroi's "spontaneous poetics"

Firstly, I watched the Detroit/Indiana melee about 30 times on ESPN. Wasn't it ironic to hear sportscasters decry the sad state of this game, then remind their audience that after some beer commercials, they'd see it again? Sports fans will argue about how drunk or thoughtless the fans or players were, but that usually the only reason there are sports fans interested with these things in the first place. It's why I watched--for once--isn't it? However, that's a whole 'nother post. But quickly: what do you think was worse for that child in the audience, the threat of one minute of violence, or that everyone in their school will see them crying repeatedly on national television?

Despite my interest in riots I'm in no danger of getting injured during, there were serious things that took place at the end of the game. People did get hurt, and a lot of cheap but highly priced beer was wasted in the process. Still, my favorite part of the debacle was that everyone I saw get hit--I'm sorry if there were others--deserved it. That first fan that got clocked in the stands didn't throw the drink in question but he taunted the player just the same. One time when I was 6, my brother got in big trouble and my father started spanking him right then and there. I pointed at my brother and pretended to laugh at him. My father looked up, pointed at me and said "Now you're next". That taught me two things: kicking a man when he's down is bad karma, and when violence is going down, you'd preferrably just not get involved.

That brings me to my main point. Neither fans nor players did those two things. I disagree with anyone that says fans have the right to taunt athletes, or that athletes are so egotistic and make so much money that they deserve a couple drinks in the face. It's still a rude thing to do as a societal norm. Some would say it inspires their team and intimidates their team's opponents to scream obscenities and racial epithets. How many times has a stadium screamed its united heads off to support a team only to see that team lose time after time? So the Pistons were going to score 16 points in the last 45 seconds and win the game last night? Spectators took the score personally (is it because fans train so hard to root professionally?) and tried to exact revenge. Generally, what a fan does or says in the game has no impact and no importance in that game, and some people will never get that into their heads. I focus on the people in the stands here because they fail to realize that they paid $40 a ticket NOT to heckle somebody but TO MAKE MONEY FOR THE NBA. It's about profit, so buy an overpriced hat and tee shirt, pick up a $4 hot dog and enjoy the entertainment/ligher wallet. Paradoxically, if fans wanted to impact the game even more, they could simply NOT show up. Player salaries and ticket prices would decrease in heartbeat.

Similarly, players ought to know that going into the stands can incite a riot. It doesn't matter if it's a rival team member punching a local fan, or a home team's running back getting celebratory hugs after a touchdown. When the line is crossed it ceases to be a spectator sport and instigates the mob mentality. Consider the free-for-alls after a foul ball goes into the stands during a baseball game; something psychological happens when the competition comes in contact with the viewer. Just as any drunk fan wandering onto the court has every right to be pummeled, so too the player in the stands. And if you see a teammate jump into the stands, don't go in defending him; there's nothing defensible about his act. The renegade player now poses a threat, and the mob he began should quelch him justly through mob rule.

Finally, since I'm ranting and it's late, I should mention that none of this is the fault of security. "Security" is more importantly a state of mind than an actual title. When police and others are stationed throughout an arena, they are there to be a physical reminder as to why people shouldn't start mobs: they could be punished as a result. Police on the highways only stop a few speeders, and most everyone drives above the speed limit daily. When a cop is nearby, however, you slow down just in case, if only for a minute. It's the same idea. Together, the players and spectators in Detroit collectively chose to interact outside their true spheres of influence and impose hegemonic influence in others' personal space, forgeting the imaginary "security" line that promised their safety. Cops can't contain real mobs; think of the L.A. riots of 1992 as a prime example. To a point, they can only make sure that a problem doesn't get worse.

In summation, persons on both sides of the line encouraged both their peers and those on the other side of the line to subvert the symbiotic crowd/player relationship. Even though mobs are temporal alleviations of civilized discourse, rioting is not outside civilization. Even during an insurrection, you are responsible for your own actions.

Rainbow - Twangers Clip

This clip is absolutely astounding

I went to the Sam Roberts concert tonight and saw a life-affirming rock show. All is good with the world. There were about 300 people at the show, the jam session was a success, yadda yadda yadda. We also found the band hanging out behind the building with some random fans right before they went on. Cool guys, great music. Check out that link!

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Friday, November 19, 2004

Morans

Google Search: morans

Which Nigerian spammer are You?

RoboDump 1.0

It is what it sounds like.

What do you I do when I can't get to sleep? I find sites like this, and shame on me.

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Bad Dream

Jesus-is-Lord.com

Last night I dreamt that I went to my parked car and it had been broken into. My CD player was missing as well as the seats. Well, not the seats per se, but the cushions in the seats. I freaked. I almost dialed 911, but that's for real emergencies, so I was going to run home and find the police station's number. But seeing how I was downtown, I finally and stupidly figured out that I could just go into the police station ACROSS THE STREET. I spent the rest of the dream filling out forms. No clue.

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Mozilla vs. Microsoft

The Internet has feelings, too

I usually view this blog using Mozilla Firefox, recently released in Alpha and highly recommended. I've found that when viewed in IE things fall out of place or don't show up correctly, such as my C-SPAN3 feed. So anyway, go get a better browser if this page doesn't look right. And while we're at it, here's what I think about Microsoft touting product integrity:

The Official Website of Sleater-Kinney

11/11/2004

"11/11 We are in the woods of western New York working on the new record. We spend most of the day indoors, eating sugar products. When we do venture outdoors, we're required to wear orange vests, to protect us from stray hunting bullets. And then there is the wild dog issue. Each band member has her own strategy to stay safe: Corin carries a large walking staff, Janet tries the tough love approach, and Carrie dresses up like a mountain lion. Thus far no one has been harmed. At night we watch copious episodes of Freaks and Geeks and are dreading the day when we exhaust all the extras on the DVD."

YOU'RE NEAR FREDONIA?? Can I come watch you record? Do you need a bass player? C'mon, I'll bring snacks!

Also, happy Remembrance Day. American politicians should start a tradition of wearing pins like everyone else.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Open Letter To The Democratic Party

How You Could Have Had My Vote

The most important vote of all

My-Opinion-Counts.org

Tonight I saw Green Day in Rochester. Good times, great oldies.

I'm too lazy to write a real review, so here's a summary: Flames. Explosions. Crowdsurfing. Catwalks. Audience participation. Confetti. Saxophones. F*** Bush. "Shout". "We Are The Champions". Kids. 120 minutes. Rawk.

Traffic jam. Cold. Tahoe's. Garbage Plate. Giant sodas. Easy. Wind. Steering fluid. Wipers. DJ Dave. Joe sleeps. Akron.

Friday, November 05, 2004

The Village Voice

Nation: It's Mourning in America by Rick Perlstein

Let the whining begin!

I voted for Kerry. I can't stand Bush. But the only person as close to the mentality of a jihad terrorist in American politics is the Whiner. By default, this year it's the Liberal Whiner, and though they could have made a case for themselves in 2000--an extremely annoying, repetitive, four-year-long case that blamed everyone but Al Gore for losing-- this year it has to stop. Assuming Kerry could have found 75% Kerry votes in those Ohio provisional ballots, he still would have one the election with twice as few popular votes as Bush trailed the last election. The Liberal Whiner would have been the Hypocritical Celebrant instead. And I know that this article was written as the results were still (kind of) coming in, but let's look at two important things about it: one, if it's written without any idea of how the ballot counting will play out, it shouldn't be posted; and two, it fills space with a rambling red herring about how people have preached the homosexual wedge issue in Christian churches by doing nothing but WHINE.

Democrats, if you're listening: I see you in the cities putting cheesy bumper stickers on your cars (or illegally on road signs), plagarizing Michael Moore in college newspapers, laughing sycophantically at Jon Stewart's backhanded asides and talking about how anyone who doesn't agree that Bush is an idiot are themselves unfit for citizenship. Did you ever try to implement solutions for your problems? Did you ever try to find out who those Bush supporters are? How intellectually superior are you when a C student convinces more people than the captain of the debate squad? You can't just hold a voter drive in the Student Union; go to the factories and farms of America and make your case. The article mentions gay marriage. Instead of reasoning with churchgoers, which is entirely possible for many of them, you hypocritically damned them. Why should they even tolerate your ideological views you when you call them intolerant ideologues right at the start? If "their" leader is consistently chastized for "stealing" an election, aren't you automatically judging them guilty by association?

Democratic leaders are doing the right thing right now. They're acting like losers because they are, not blaming the Naders or the Roves of the world. Finally, they will pick themselves up and look at who really lives in America, trying to represent the needs of those people. Not Hollywood America or Northeastern America or Urban Coastal America, but the America that knows a $4 cup of coffee supports repression and terrorism just as much the gas in their SUV. You can't even govern New York or California without Republican help. Maybe they know something you haven't learned.

One more thing. A second President Bush was a bad idea; just as bad as a second President Clinton. Find some new recruits!

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Prediction

Guerrilla News Network

I get to vote in a few hours. My guess (posted here for all posterity so it can be proven wrong later) is that Kerry's got it. I've had a good feeling all summer that Bush has had his back to the wall and have felt pretty good about him since the first debate. The fact that voter enrollment is way up and many of them are Democrats, and the fact that Gore had a million more votes than Bush in 2000, makes me thing it will be a more decisive election than pollsters make it look. I'll find out for sure in less than 24 hours.