DLD 1/26: Joe Torre is problematic
by 74mk on Jan 26, 2009 10:19 AM PST
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1. Holliday's defense: Fans hate it, stats love it, and scouts think it will improve as he gets older and slower wiser.
Added the scout: "But Holliday was never as bad as Byrnes in terms of making those aggressive mistakes in judgment. And personally, I can live with some of those kinds of mistakes because I like a guy who'll lay out for you.
"Plus, as Holliday gets older, he'll learn to pick his spots better."
2. Funny.
3. Intermittently amusing.
4. The Yankee Years
Let us venerate the exemplar of homespun wisdom and know-how that is Joe Torre. Master communicator. Expert tactician. Leader of men. Attention whore. Gossipy sniping adolescent.
[W]hat stands out the most about the book are the frank, and often critical, statements that Torre makes about Alex Rodriguez, who won two Most Valuable Player awards during the four years that Torre was his manager in the Bronx. At 33, Rodriguez has hit 553 career home runs. He is widely regarded as the game’s best all-around player. He is also its highest paid.
Intriguing! This is a brand new narrative!
Very difficult to predict where such a nuanced lede might take us, but I'll give it a try: Stats tell us Alex Rodriguez is a great player, but he chokes and Jeter doesn't like him and he's a weird guy to boot, so says Joe Torre, who of course enjoys unimpeachable credibility and could never in a million years harbor any ulterior motives. Also, even though we have no evidence whatsoever, he probably did steroids. Also, other people don't like him. Also, he's a narcissist.
In "Vindicated," José Canseco’s second book about steroids in baseball, Rodriguez ended up as the centerpiece. In the book, which was released a year ago, Canseco tried to link Rodriguez — who has denied he ever used performance-enhancing drugs — to banned substances. Then there is Kirk Radomski, the convicted steroids dealer whose book, "Bases Loaded," goes on sale this week. He could not stay away from Rodriguez, either, first stating he had no first-hand knowledge that Rodriguez had used banned substances, then speculating that he probably had.
Who needs facts when you've got accusation and speculation? He's a roided-up no good cheating piece of crap. Good enough for me.
But I'm kind of itching for a few anecdotes and/or sage observations concerning further failings of personality and character. Don't disappoint me, Joe Torre.
"Alex monopolized all the attention," Torre said.
"We never really had anybody who craved the attention," Torre added. "I think when Alex came over he certainly changed just the feel of the club."
Excellent. I knew you'd come through.
And Torre clearly had concerns about Rodriguez’s well-chronicled failures in key moments, particularly in recent postseasons. Torre said that when everything was on the line, and when Rodriguez was at the plate, Rodriguez was too often unable to "concern himself with getting the job done" and instead became distracted with "how it looks."
Absolutely. You gotta focus. Eliminate distractions. Raise your game. For Christ's sake, Alex, you can't look in the mirror and hit at the same time!
(Incidentally, I think this was Jeter's problem in the 98 ALDS, 98 ALCS, 00 ALDS, 01 ALCS, 01 WS, 03 ALCS, 04 ALCS, and 07 ALDS, where he hit .111, .200, .211, .118, .148, .233, .200, and .176, respectively.
But that's neither here nor there. No one is implicitely contrasting Jeter's magical clutch and clubhouse powers with A-Rod's preening-at-precisely-the-wrong-time proclivities.)
And it is not just Torre who makes critical assessments of Rodriguez in the book. The book quotes Mike Borzello, a former Yankees bullpen catcher who is described as a "close friend" of Rodriguez’s, and says that Borzello continuously had to boost Rodriguez’s ego because he felt that he was competing with Derek Jeter for attention.
"It doesn’t help," Borzello said, referring to Rodriguez’s relationship with Jeter. "You would rather that the stars are in the same place, pulling together, but I don’t think it affected the other players. It just affected the feel in the clubhouse."
Oh.
Without directly attributing the information to Torre, the book states that teammates and clubhouse attendants referred to Rodriguez as A-Fraud and seemed particularly put off by the fact that Rodriguez seemed to demand so much attention from the attendants.
"Without directly attributing the information to Torre"? Didn't he write the book?
This isn't me saying this, but I heard from a friend that some people he knows overheard water cooler whispers to the effect that Joe Torre is a petty, vindictive old man who is not above a little character assassination so long as it helps sell a book or two.
"One time, in Detroit, where his personal attendant was not available, Rodriguez was jogging off the field after batting practice, saw a Comerica Park visiting clubhouse attendant, a young kid in his first months on the job, and simply barked, ‘Peanut butter and jelly,’" the book said.
Huh? What does that even mean? Was he calling the kid "peanut butter and jelly"? Is that a slang disparagement I haven't heard? Was he demanding the attendant bring him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at once, OR ELSE? Does he just shout random phrases to himself? Maybe he has Tourette's, and the actual quote was more like "m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!"?
Whatever the case, I think we can all agree that it's a damning snapshot of a despicable, soulless (barely) human being.
But what Rodriguez is feeling is another issue. He will be in training camp in Tampa, Fla., in a couple of weeks, with a uniform number, and a bull’s-eye, on his back.
As ever, I guess.
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Speaking of venerating the exemplar of homespun wisdom...
A 74mk diary…hosannah!
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 26, 2009 10:21 AM PST reply actions
Speaking of Caseco...
The man has shrunk considerably.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
Maybe he was cold?
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Jan 26, 2009 10:33 AM PST up reply actions
Disturbing.
All the way around.
by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Jan 26, 2009 6:52 PM PST up reply actions
He reminds me of Giant Gonzalez
Bodysuits unite!
Play more Conan!
by oaklandSMASH on Jan 28, 2009 2:39 PM PST up reply actions
Jesus Christ, if everyone in NY hates A-Rod so much then just give him to the A's already.
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
don't want him.
Don’t care what stats say. Can’t stand him. Don’t want him.
nehnehnehnehnehnehneh
(fingers in ears)
I see a deranged rabbit, on fire, cowering away from a vagina. I await the results of the Rorschaschererer. -Nico
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 26, 2009 3:05 PM PST up reply actions
really?
with the holes the a’s have as shortstop and thirdbase, you really would rather have a crosby/hannahan left side than arod? that’s baffling, just plain baffling.
my guess is that he got that pb&j.
by CliveWarren on Jan 26, 2009 10:21 PM PST up reply actions
CWABoAHJOTM
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions
Oldest living ex-MLB player dies at 100
Check out sfgate for that one. If you can’t be arsed to read it, take with you these two tidbits:
1. Babe Ruth urinated on rookies in the shower as part of their initiation.
2. Old man-speak is alive and well:
"Werber said he stopped following baseball after watching the shaggy, unkempt Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 2004.
“They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers,” he concluded."
Babe Ruth and Greg Maddux, fountains of fun!
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 26, 2009 10:46 AM PST up reply actions
New sig line.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 26, 2009 3:07 PM PST up reply actions
yeah, consarnit!
Dadgummit, even!
"I have more questions after these."-WaddellCanseco
by Gaijin_Suketto on Jan 28, 2009 4:35 PM PST up reply actions
I hate it when a guy comes over and changes the feel of my club
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Aren't you supposed to tap the brake a couple of times first?
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 26, 2009 3:08 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah. You should definitely re-grip your own irons.
by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Jan 26, 2009 6:53 PM PST up reply actions
Jeremy's...iron?
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
State of the Broadcasting Union
Yesterday’s Chronicle included a fine, long feature article by Tom FitzGerald, advancing the thesis that Bay Area play-by-play broadcasting is trending towards the "homer" approach, after years of the more sophisticated dispassionate style. At least, that trend is the prevailing wisdom of most of those he interviews, who variously point at the employers (more likely now to be teams rather than stations) or the more diverse and fragmented media market.
Per Greg Papa:
Papa is as professional and polished as any sports broadcaster in the Bay Area, but he includes himself when he says, "I think we’ve all become a little softer to the teams we cover.
“Maybe that’s the right way. You’re speaking to your audience, and they want the team to win. There is a little more ‘homerism’ in the Bay Area than there was when Bill (King), Hank (Greenwald) and Lon (Simmons) were in their prime.”
Ken Korach, by contrast, denies this is a regional trend, and instead blames some broadcasters’ never-ending quest to become the ESPN call du jour:
Not every local broadcaster sees an uptick in homerism. Korach is one of them. Rather, he senses a national trend of broadcasters making over-the-top calls that will be more apt to make ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” “Instead of simply making the call, they’re trying to make sure it gets played on a highlights package,” he said.
We’re so lucky to have had Bill King and Ken Korach. Head and shoulders above anyone else in Northern California. On King:
Ken Korach, about to enter his 14th season calling the A’s games, credits King and Simmons for “a tradition of fairness” on the club’s broadcasts. “You’re not yelling for the ball to go foul or over the fence,” he said.
Where King was most apt to stray from calling or analyzing the action was in his tendency to blast officials, especially when the calls went against the Warriors.
“He didn’t have room for incompetence,” said Roxy Bernstein, who calls Cal basketball and used to do Florida Marlins games. “He expected perfection from himself and he expected the officials to be perfect too.”
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 26, 2009 10:46 AM PST reply actions
Get up! Get up!
"You’re not yelling for the ball to go foul or over the fence," he said.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Ken said HE didn't, now we all know Fosse, has a little homer in him.
by theblackpearl on Jan 26, 2009 11:56 AM PST up reply actions
As long as it wasn't his wife making that call at 2 in the morning
Get up! Get up!
by theblackpearl on Jan 26, 2009 12:19 PM PST up reply actions
Only going deep once in two years.
No wonder she’s shouting.
by green star oakland on Jan 26, 2009 1:36 PM PST up reply actions
Bravo, bravo!
well played, gentlemen, well played indeed.
Bob Geren, on 8/2/07, on the success of Alan Embree as new interim closer: "What can I say,... he's been our Steady Tremendous Bullpen Man"
by popcornjames on Jan 27, 2009 11:12 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah, that one got me too
I assume you’re familiar with some of Tom Stienstra’s great writing on the loss of beloved pets.
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 26, 2009 11:18 AM PST up reply actions
Huh. Never heard of him, actually.
I’ll read it as soon as no one is around to see me blink and sniffle and rub my eyes, as that would really put a dent in the embittered cynic persona I’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
Stienstra's great
One of the Chron‘s treasures. Said it before, I’ll say it again: their lineup of columnists, across all the sections, is really fantastic. Sure, there are a couple clinkers, but overall it’s a great collection of writers.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
A couple of oversized, general-purpose-cranky-pants sports columnist clinkers?
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
I've heard they enjoy hitting the
cocktail hour hard………trust me, I have it on good authority.
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Jan 26, 2009 12:59 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
[If Urban sees this the second interview will be unbearable]
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
The first one already was.
After the first three or four answers, I just skimmed over the rest to see whether they also contained idiotic “see how I’m playing along with the audience” drunkenness jokes. They did, so I saved myself some time and skipped the rest of the interview.
Ray: "How fun is it to be up here playing in the Big Leagues?"
Gio: "It's *SUPER* fun!!!"
There are three Chron sports columnists I won't defend: Shea, Ostler, and Knapp
Shea’s a decent straight-news reporter, but his analysis and weekender wire-scrapers are worthless.
Ostler … just, yuck. He’s exactly the kind of columnist who should be replaced by bloggers.
Knapp … well, I have a non-sports animus against her, and she doesn’t know a thing about baseball, so I won’t really condemn her non-baseball material except by saying I refuse to read her on principle.
I’m on record saying Ratto is a great columnist. But he tends to be lazy and uninformed (part of the territory with cranking ’em out).
On certain things, Jenkins is great (tennis, especially). He’s unpredictable, and inconsistent, and infuriatingly right about a lot of stuff and wrong about others. He should be a blogger (and is … though he hasn’t really adapted to the form yet).
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
jenkins is my all time least favorite columnist
some of the crap he writes is just painful
"True fact: In a global thermonuclear war, the only human who would survive would be David Eckstein" -PT
at sfgate sports. are you unfamiliar with bill plaschke?
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05
They're basically alter egos of each other
with the (admittedly large) exception that Jenkins doesn’t display the same idiot-savant tendencies with respect to writing style.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
I’m surprised that you (sort of) enjoy Bruce Jenkins. Odd leaps of (il)logic and anachronistic sensibilities aside, he’s just a terrible, terrible writer.
But maybe I just haven’t read the good stuff.
Can you provide a link to something he wrote that you consider to be “great”?
when he's describing tennis rallies, or personalities
As far as three-dot columns go, his always keeps moving. He has some very good insights occasionally, and while he doesn’t seem like a “great” stylist, he’s always very terse and direct (even when he’s wrong).
And as for the il/logic and anachronisms … he’s not especially consistent with those. Sometimes his little snippets are tightly argued … sometimes not. Sometimes he’s all you kids get off my lawn, sometimes he’s all you idiots are stuck in the past.
I wouldn’t call myself a fan per se, but I always read his column.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Sometimes he’s all you kids get off my lawn, sometimes he’s all you idiots are stuck in the past.
well noted—this is exactly why Jenkins drives me batty. Well, that and his tedious use of the phrase “it says here…”
"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King
I'll have to take your word for it, I guess.
I admit I haven’t read Jenkins since I left the Bay Area (and my parents’ dead tree Chronicle) behind oh so many years ago. Possibly my prior impression of him was skewed by a youthful propensity to overstate the evils of middlebrow writing.
On the other hand, rifling through his blog just now … blech. Either he’s still terrible or I haven’t outgrown my pomposity.
If you go to the archives from July ’07 and check out his Wimbledon coverage, particularly his column recapping the epic Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal (I think around July 6), then I think you can appreciate his occasional brilliance. Of course, you might suspect that the brilliance of that particular event colors my perception, but I do remember looking to read other recaps and not finding any others coming anywhere near an adequate description of that amazing match.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 26, 2009 8:00 PM PST up reply actions
I’ve never read Sienstra, due to a lack of interest in the subject, but I’ve heard good things. I very-much agree with your other assessments here, especially w.r.t. Jenkins.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 26, 2009 7:55 PM PST up reply actions
Stienstra really is good--I need to follow his advice more often
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
He's one of the few I missed when I cancelled the Chron.
"You have to score to win"~Rickey Henderson
He was the speaker at my college graduation
That dude has some crazy stories.
He said one of the best things that ever happened to him was that he got hit in the back of the head with an axe because it slowed him down. He became focus on his craft thus becoming a great writer.
The whole speech was like this.
Play more Conan!
by oaklandSMASH on Jan 28, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions
The only good piece of writing the sports guy ever wrote.
And it wasn’t about sports (not a coincidence).
Dogfood Gangstas
Canned or Dry,
We Neva Die.
Wow...
I think Simmons is fantastic. His NFL and NBA columns are great reads and very funny. His Podcasts are excellent too. Different tastes for everyone I guess, but only good piece? Wow.
Bring back Hammer.
by OaktownPower on Jan 26, 2009 12:06 PM PST up reply actions
I like him,
but the older he gets, the more he sounds like Peter King. And the Boston stuff gets old. ALL his teams have won since I’ve started reading him. I don’t like Boston.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 26, 2009 3:12 PM PST up reply actions
More importantly,
His stories went from “last weekend I…” to “back in College I…” which is about 1% as interesting.
This is not to say I don’t read almost everything he writes (and enjoy most of it), but he needs a new shtick
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
I agree there.....I still like him a lot
But liked him even more 4-5 years ago.
Bring back Hammer.
by OaktownPower on Jan 27, 2009 11:14 AM PST up reply actions
I've actually read two or three others of his that pass as "good"
I guess I should go find them, this being a DLD and all, hmm? Maybe later. Right now, I am in total (well, almost total) bliss, reading a 74mk post and eating a taco salad. Sometimes life is fair.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Great read...read it Friday
Really well done.
Bring back Hammer.
by OaktownPower on Jan 26, 2009 12:06 PM PST up reply actions
I only needed to read the last paragraph
My own dog is getting up there in age…sigh, so much for the total blissful lunch.
I'm here to talk about the past.
ugh
Thank goodness I’m alone in the office today so no one else can see me bawling.
"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King
passes tissue
The nuts and bolts of gameplay are apocalyptic failures, but the awfulness doesn’t stop there. Managing games is utterly pointless. [Feb 2009, p.85]
Me too :(
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all games and holes are created equal." --George F. Will
[sniffle]
It’s our miniature schnauzer’s 13th birthday today. She doesn’t hear as well as she used to, and she sleeps a ton, but she still loves going for walks and always tries to eat our food. I’m hoping she lives forever.
by whiteshoes40 on Jan 26, 2009 12:57 PM PST up reply actions
Aw, geez ...
… noose? check.
Would somebody pls kick the chair out for me? Anyone? Not so fast, FSU.
Instead of that, maybe this is a good time to introduce Milo and Molly, two eminently adoptable (together) foster-dog litter-mates? Three months ago they were practically nekkid from flea bites; now, they are fully healed and handsome. Pretty cool 3-yo dogs.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Jan 26, 2009 2:01 PM PST up reply actions
Second dog looks like it went to the Billy Koch school of facial hair.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
She's not as fast, but has better control (fully house-trained!).
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Jan 26, 2009 2:31 PM PST up reply actions
I should probably know this
But given your SN is dog adopting something you do? I ask because I will be in that particular market (for one dog) in a few months…
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
Happy to help, if I can.
I mostly work with Border Collies, but I’m pretty well-connected with other general and breed-specific Rescue groups in these parts. Milo and Molly aren’t BCs, but we pulled them because they are a classic case of badly neglected pups who only needed more time than the shelter could give them. And at least they’re black-and-white.
My email’s in the profile. If I can help anyone consider Rescue, I’ll be glad to try. Also, petfinder.com is a good place to start.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Jan 27, 2009 6:52 AM PST up reply actions
That was too much.
In one week last summer, my 15 yo beagle and my 11 yo chocolate lab died. Rough.
"Smells like summer camp!"
Happy Lunar New Year!
It’s the Year of the Ox (or Water Buffalo for Vietnamese). Oxen on the A’s 40-man roster include Ryan Sweeney, Daric Barton, Sean Gallagher, Gio Gonzalez, and Javier Herrera. According to this hilariously depressing Singaporean astrologer who comes pretty close to suggesting that everyone in the world should stay indoors and lie down with a damp washcloth over their eyes all year, this will not be a great year for Oxen:
Your concentration will be weaker this year and this might place you in a fragile position. You will tend to overlook details and might even make mistakes. Aside from affecting your performance and luck, it might also lead you to become more accident-prone than usual. Your health issues will mostly be stress related.
Overlook details, like, say, whether there’s water in the pool?
And we might see the Ox players taking BART:
You must be extra careful when you drive by staying focused on the roads and not allowing your thoughts to stray. Should you find that you have difficulty in staying focused, it might be safer to take public transport.
The Ox boys may be unlucky in love this year too:
Should you be single, the possibility of getting attached is quite slim this year because you will have too many worries on your mind that will distract you from such relationship matters. For those in a relationship, you might find that the time that you spend with your other half will be limited and you might get into conflicts more often this year.
Chuc mung nam moi!
Thanks for writing “Lunar”. My Vietnamese wife goes ballistic every time she hears “Chinese New Year”.
I'm a Snake
and it looks like it will be a great year for me….
This will be a great time for you in terms of your career as your contributions and efforts will be recognized. Promotions and salary increments might also be a possibility.
Though I worry about Mark Ellis and Eric Chavez, also Snakes…
You will be prone to illnesses that might relate to your digestive system like gastric, stomach flu and intestinal problems… No matter how busy you might be at work, you should not trade your health for anything
There's no crying in baseball!
by gigglingone on Jan 26, 2009 12:49 PM PST up reply actions
Well then, don't eat the sushi.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
in Toronto
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 26, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions
Things look great for us monkeys
Everybody’s gonna love me, I’ll be popular, I’ll get rich, and I’ll have a heart attack and/or stroke.
au contra ire
I know he gets a lot of stick for being, well, ridiculous
but i kinda love Damien Hirst’s cover for the 150th anniversary editiion of Origin of the Species, which, if you haven’t read it, you REALLY should.
it’s pretty highlarious.
when did we stop using adverbs proper?
by alea iacta est on Jan 26, 2009 2:04 PM PST reply actions
"highlarious" isn't exactly the word I'd choose
But yes, you REALLY should
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
Oh. And 74mk
I love the Yankees strife. Keep it coming. The PB&J stuff was awe-some. REC’d. With authority.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
But not too much.
Unfortunately, coverage of the Yankees increases exponentially with the increase in strife. Also applies to the Boston Red Sox, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers.
by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Jan 26, 2009 7:02 PM PST up reply actions
Top 5 TV Shows Cancelled Way Before Their Time
1. Arrested Development
2. Freaks and Geeks
3. Firefly
4. The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
5. Wonderfalls
Honorable Mention:
Pushing Daisies
Still Haven’t Seen:
Twin Peaks
Northern Exposure
The Tick
Dead Like Me
I made this list in honor of Freaks and Geeks, which I’m about to finish watching for the first time. What would it take for the networks to advertise good shows? And how on Earth do shows like Reba last six seasons?
au contra ire
by JediLeroy on Jan 26, 2009 6:33 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Tenspeed and Brownshoe
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
I never watched Andy Richter Controls the Universe
but I did think Andy Barker, P.I. got cancelled way to soon.
"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King
Oddly enough, though I never saw ABPI, it sounds as if it was a precise cross between the two shows I cited above.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
ABPI was great.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
I *hated* AR as Conan's sidekick
(And, Conan: The Wire of late-night hosts [yes, he was brilliant as a producer on The Simpsons, though])
But he’s just great in everything else I’ve seen him in.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Argh!
I LIKE Conan! And I LIKE the Wire! So I agree with the above statement, except for the attack that your whole purpose is to insult both entities!
Who do you like in late-night?
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 10:03 AM PST up reply actions
David Letterman ranks just below Adam West in my pantheon
Kilborn was … ok. Ferguson I find funny, but he’s a lousy host. Leno makes me want to commit octuple homicide. Snyder was amazingly weird in a low-key way. Kimmel makes me despair for humanity. Johnny, of course, was the gold standard (to preempt LCJ, yes, that means we’re now in the Bretton Woods late-night regime).
Oh, and Space Ghost was awesome.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
yikes
My own power rankings would go something like
1. Conan (although I feel like he’s gotten a little too comfortable lately—I’ve seen him so many times he’s become predictable)
2. Jon Stewart (although maybe he belongs in a different genre … and his show hasn’t had any good correspondents since Rob Cordry left)
3. Kimmel (rapidly closing on 1 and 2, above—maybe he’s already passed them)
4. BIG GAP HERE … the above 3 are the only ones that make me pause in my remote-control-flippping
5. Letterman. According to my vague memories of the 1990s, Letterman spent one year following Leno before he jumped to CBS. Or not. For whatever reason, I never saw Carson (and so he’s not ranked here) but I DID see Letterman in the 12:30 slot on NBC and I enjoyed him there a ton. The low ranking is because I really felt like Letterman’s show lost a lot of its zing when he moved to CBS/11:30. I still feel that way. Maybe I just like the Ed Sullivan Theater.
6. Kilborn (mostly because I was fond of him back when he was on SportsCenter)
7. Ferguson (he actually seems half-decent, but I haven’t really given him a shot)
8. Chevy Chase (thinking of his stint as a late-night host actually makes me feel nostalgic)
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 10:19 AM PST up reply actions
6T: Leno
Forgot about him. I generally can’t watch his show for much longer than 60 seconds … it doesn’t annoy me, just fails to hold my interest.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 10:21 AM PST up reply actions
ah, left out Stewart ... not sure if he belongs or not
If we include Stewart, we have to include Colbert, and Colbert as a host, on-air raconteur/persona, and interviewer bests them all quite handily.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
agreed. the argument is over.
all bets are off, gentlemen. No more bets.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 10:56 AM PST up reply actions
I like Craig Ferguson
the only problem is he uses the same jokes every night. He just changes the names in the joke. I love his skits though, “Has there been a murder!”.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
+1 on Space Ghost
-1 on the Conan bashing. He’s my fave.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Has Jeff Goldblum ever been on "Inside the Actors' Studio"?
Because there’s a classic moment just waiting to happen there involving Tenspeed and Brownshoe.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
best pitch that got optioned but never made
I have it on better authority than mrod’s that a certain Pulitzer-winning playwright once sold a sitcom pitch called Ghost Chimp, M.D. to a network. It was about a recently deceased primate who came back from the dead to offer advice on medicine and dating to his comely buxom human coed roommates.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
I'm going to suggest that as a health care reform idea at change.gov
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
I'm going to suggest comely buxom human coed roommates as a stimulus package
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
QOTM!
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Jan 26, 2009 7:43 PM PST up reply actions
1. Arrested Development
HELL YES. That show was just so freakin’ awesome. Probably the best show to come from this decade.
That shows like Grey’s Anatomy keep getting renewed and brilliant stuff like Arrested Development get canceled is completely disappointing.
by walkoff baltimore chop on Jan 26, 2009 8:15 PM PST up reply actions
Northern Exposure ran a little too long
Although I can’t complain much since they brought in Teri Polo for the final season.
Bonus points for mentioning Firefly.
The monster at the end of this blog.
+1
I think Northern Exposure jumped the shark when it brought in Anthony Edwards, jmo.
I have Firefly and Serenity and adore them.
"You have to score to win"~Rickey Henderson
I really loved Northern Exposure.
Chris in the morning charcter was very sexy. 14 or 15 years ago we toured the set of the show. It was kind of cool.
Freaks and Geeks at #1 for me.
Also agree on Arrested Development, Firefly, and Andy Richter Controls the Universe.
Other shows that were canceled too soon:
Undeclared – Judd Apatow’s follow-up to Freaks and Geeks which was also great but also lasted for only one season.
Lookwell – Adam West plays an ex-TV action hero who doesn’t understand the difference between reality and the character he played on TV. Written by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel. It never made it past the pilot, but the pilot is said to be the funniest pilot ever created (link included above).
Deadwood – HBO Western that resurrected the popularity of the word “cocksucker.” Lasted three seasons.
Stella – I think Michael Showalter is the funniest person doing comedy today. Stella’s smart-dumb absurdist humor is right up my alley, but many just think they’re humor is dumb-dumb. The comedy trio’s show lasted one season and I’ve never been able to find links.
Newsradio gets an honorable mention for being woefully underwatched in its five seasons (though the year where Jon Lovitz replaced Phil Hartman shouldn’t count), despite being one of the best sitcoms of all time.
And thank you Comedy Central for resurrecting Futurama, which would have been #2 on my list.
Adam West is a god
(Jumping to film) The New Age — priceless. He plays the aging, tanned lothario father of Peter Weller.
And speaking of film pilots … the early-60s version of Alexander the Great with West, William Shatner (!), John Cassavetes (!!), and Joseph Cotton (!!!) has to be seen to be believed.
I need to find Lookwell. I hadn’t heard of it until now.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
"Adam West is a god" are the words I live by
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
Monkeyball--I believe I understand the basis of your Adam West worship and ...
think I can put to put to rest the nagging issues of self-doubt and hatred that have surrounded you all these years ever since you learned you were adopted.
It was only briefly alluded to in trade papers like Variety and whispered about in hushed tones at the trendier Hollywood parties of the time. But if the rumors were true …
The principals I interviewed refused to say anything on the record but after spending countless hours poring over court records and digging through hospital birth lists I was able to confirm what I thought to be true.
During the making of this film, West, who appeared briefly in the opening minutes, had a secret affair with the movie’s female star, Mona. (As you can see, their onscreen chemistry is electrifying.) Of course in those days with the Hollywood star-making machine being what it was, a studio couldn’t support the scandalous tryst between one of its most bankable stars (Mona) and an unknown actor (West).
The papers said that, after the filming, Mona was “tired” and “needed a break from making movies.” Her “hiatus” lasted approximately 223 days—which just happens to coincide with the gestation period of a woolly monkey.
In the following months, Mona suffered a nervous breakdown ending up in a mental institution— the only home she would know until her death several years later. It was said she died clutching the only thing that had given her solace over those last painful months—a red-haired baby doll.
Ironically, West went on to achieve stardom and immortality in television’s Batman but did you know that West has harbored a decades-long secret?
He let it slip in a recent interview: “It’s true. I’ve been covering it up for most of my life. Fact is, I’m a natural redhead,” West said.
So there it is, monkeyball.
It’s almost undeniable.
I believe YOU were the result of that torrid union so many years ago and, if you’ll allow me, I’d like the chance to prove it.
I’ll just need you to fling me a sample of your DNA …
Pink Champagne
by Ice Cream on Jan 27, 2009 12:29 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
you forgot to preface that story with "I have it on good authority that ..."
Here ya go:
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Shame on you
Numbers 1-25 on that list are all Deadwood.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
Again.
Agreed. All bets are off. Deadwood was effing awesome. If there was a character of Al Swearengen’s capacity that came out of Sopranos, The Wire or Arrested Development, I’ve yet to find them. And I love those shows.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 10:58 AM PST up reply actions
I can’t speak for AD, and the Wire is admittedly bereft of any one dominant character that just sucks up the screen. But I think Tony Soprano measures up to Al Swearengen and then some. Or put it this way: I think they’re equally massive on-screen presences, but Soprano had the benefit of a better ensemble and better writing to work with. Both were antiheroes, but Soprano stayed both lovable and hate-able to the end, while the Deadwood writers clearly couldn’t suppress their own love for Al, and the show got a tad soft I thought as a result—the villainous side of Al seemed to have died midway through Season 2. I never got to Season 3, so take my opinion for what it’s worth.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 2:54 PM PST up reply actions
Vic Mackey would kick Swearengen and Soprano to the ground with one hand tied behind his back
Heck, Vendrell could probably take them both down on his own (and fuck it up six ways to Sunday in the process, but still).
I’d really like to see Wagenbach and Swearengen face off.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
mmm, haven’t watched The Shield. Note to self (and to 74mk): our new analogy for mediocrity is The Shield!
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 6:39 PM PST up reply actions
Mackey couldn't carry
Swearengen’s jock or even Tony Sopranos. The Shield used to be a poor man’s Sopranos but now it’s gotten lame. It’s a good thing that this is the last season for that show imo.
The kidney stones took a lot out of him.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 4:47 PM PST up reply actions
I loved the Sopranos and Deadwood.
My beef with Deadwood is that they didn’t have an ending. They left us hanging. And that Cocksucka Swearengen was such a multi-layered villain. As was Tont Soprano. Great character development by the writers.
The writing on Deadwood was incredible.
I think I got too used to The Sopranos. And I didn’t like how we couldn’t even get them (them=HBO, in this instance) to give us the two, two-hour movies they promised us. They didn’t realize how betrayed a great many of us would feel. I refused to watch “John from Cincinnati” or whatever out of principle, i.e. this show was sacrificed for that one. It was a very effed-up way to “end” a series, though upon reflection, the “endings” for Sopranos and The Wire (as different as the way they each ended) were no more satisfying. Perhaps with the non-ending for Deadwood, I can imagine Al, getting that little club in London, catering to specialists, hanging upside down in the corner. Everything dies baby that’s a fact.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 8:27 PM PST up reply actions
First I heard the real Al died hopping freight in Denver
but then Wikipedia claims he actually suffered massive head trauma in the ‘burbs (and who among us didn’t).
by green star oakland on Jan 27, 2009 10:08 PM PST up reply actions
certainly.
there’s peaches on the bar if anyone wants em.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 28, 2009 7:00 AM PST up reply actions
No, that's about right
Al was so much fun, but he became the foul-mouthed hero of the show. I still enjoyed it, overall, and was annoyed when Milch and HBO cut it short, but he got too nice at the end.
Agree with
AD, F&G and Firefly.
Then I’d go with Smith with Ray Liotta. Best thief show I’ve ever seen.
5. I would go with Sports Night. Whatever happened to Dan Rydell?
I wish the wire would’ve gone on for longer.
by CliveWarren on Jan 26, 2009 10:33 PM PST up reply actions
5. I would go with Sports Night.
LORDY yes. One of the best shows EVER.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all games and holes are created equal." --George F. Will
by anomaly_kat on Jan 26, 2009 10:49 PM PST up reply actions
I love Reba
Reba lasts for six seasons because it’s fun and people like it.
I usually watch TV when I want simple feel-good humor. Not interested in that edgy stuff. Of the ten shows in your list, I’ve only heard of four of them, and the only one I’ve ever actually seen is Twin Peaks.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
TV doesn't need to be edgy to be fun.
You won’t catch me watching anything like Nip/Tuck, Dirt, or even any of the HBO/Showtime “edgy” shows (except Flight of the Conchords, which is gold). A show doesn’t have to push the limits with its content. The most important things for me are sharp writing and memorable characters that actually say and do things that normal people would say. Granted, Arrested Development has plenty of over-the-top characters, but their awkwardness is clearly juxtaposed with the normal-ness of the protagonist (unlike, say, Gilmore Girls, where everybody has lines that nobody would actually utter).
Freaks and Geeks is one of the most wholesome, feel-good shows I’ve seen. It just happens to have razor-sharp writing and lovable characters.
Also, I can respect that you like Reba. Sure, I don’t dig the sometimes hammy acting and the laugh track. But I can see why people like it—some people just want a normal, everyday sitcom. It’s not that I can’t see the value of a show like Reba—it just angers me that the majority of people that watch TV either can’t appreciate the sharp scripts of Arrested Development or Wonderfalls, or the networks don’t give them the chance (with shoddy advertising).
It seems to me that the comedies that fail are those with tight story arcs. I like the multi-layered observational humor that builds on a joke from a previous episode. The shows that usually stick around don’t require the viewer to have seen previous episodes to still get all the jokes. The Office is one show that’s done very well even though much of the humor requires foreknowledge of the characters. Then again, NBC’s marketed it as much as any other show they’ve thrown out there.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
I think the tight story arc is crucial
in a negative way. There were times in my life when I could keep up with a show and watch it every week. Now, on the rare occasions when I have time for TV at all, I just want to see any old rerun and be able to enjoy it without having to go on Wikipedia to figure out what the hell is going on.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
how 'bout some love for the other critically loathed genre, police procedurals
I can watch Law and Order (just about any of ‘em, but especially the early years with Michael Moriarty and the spinoff with Vincent D’Onofrio … though the rotating bad-acting-bimbos they get to be Waterston’s ADA and Noth’s partner are just … terrible; gawd, how does Alicia Witt have a career?) for days at a time.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
How does Alicia Witt have a career?
You can blame the creator of Twin Peaks for that.
Alicia Witt trivia: Her first movie role was playing an abomination in an abomination.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
now there's one trivium I didn't know
I haven’t seen Dune in ages, but I do remember this: it’s the only scifi film ever made that actually looks and feels like it was made on another planet, by aliens. (And that is not a negative criticism; I’m a huge Lynch fan.)
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
I like Lynch ok, but that movie was atrocious.
Dune is such a wordy and introspective book that making a movie out of it was never going to be easy, but it’s like they went out of their way to make it stupid and ugly.
In the entire history of cinema, is there another case where so many great actors (Sian Phillips! Jose Ferrer! Patrick Stewart! Max von Sydow!) appeared in such a awful film? Perhaps, but if so, I don’t know of it.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Never seen it.
Isn’t semi-porn? (That would be a plus, actually.)
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
White Girls.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
You don't like I Claudius??
I assume you mean the BBC television series. I thought it was terrific. I’m a huge Derek Jacobi fan, but Sian Phillips is the star.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
I love I claudius
We own tje TV series on video and I have read the book too. I was suggesting that the cast was stellar.
Indeed it was, and so early in the career for most of them
Surprising how many of them went on to blockbuster films many years later. Aside from Patrick Stewart, who became Jean-Luc Picard, there’s the ubiquitous John-Rhys Davies, who pops up in James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings movies. The guy who played Castor, Kevin McNally, eventually became Joshamee Gibbs, the sailor with the muttonchops in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Patricia Quinn, who plays Livilla, is better known as Magenta in Rocky Horror (which preceded I Claudius by a year).
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Pow,erful stuff in that series for sure.
Mesalina’s beheading didn’t bother me a bit though, but Iglew? I hate that you are a Claudius fan and a Reba fan , The two do not compute.
Don't hate it.
I love what I love. Doesn’t have to be all high-brow or all low-brow.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Off the top of my head...
Wild Wild West had Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, Will Smith, and Salma Hayek, all of whom have been nominated for at least one Academy Award. It also had the awesome M. Emmet Walsh.
Gigli had cameos from Christopher Walken and Al Pacino and still managed to completely suck.
You could make an argument for Ocean’s Eleven, unless, of course, you’re partial to that sort of thing.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico had Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, danny Trejo and Willem Dafoe. It also stole its title from two much greater movies.
I have a man crush on Kenneth Branagh.
I might show up at his house. In hot pants. And lipstick. With a heavily underlined copy of Othello in my pocket.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 8:37 PM PST up reply actions
He was half the man he was in Othello.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 8:45 PM PST up reply actions
His manhood was held cheap in Wild Wild West
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
I'm more sad than angry at this.
Footlights toss-pot.
by green star oakland on Jan 27, 2009 10:09 PM PST up reply actions
I actually saw Ocean's Eleven about 55 times
And it was actually entertaining for about 32 viewings. Then it got to be overkill, but I kept replaying it out of habit.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 28, 2009 7:14 AM PST up reply actions
that and RONIN I can pick up and watch at any time for countless viewings
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
I just watched Dune over the weekend
It was so awful that it made me wonder if the book, which I remember liking as a teenager, was as good as I thought. My suspicion is that it was just unfilmmable. There are some good individual scenes, but the whole thing is a mess that is too long and not nearly long enough.
One obvious problem: In the book, there are lots of scenes in which characters think things as events occur. In movies, that doesn’t really work, but Lynch kept it up throughout. And the villains were laughable cartoons. Perhaps that was the same as the book, but I don’t remember them being so lame.
One interesting thing is the reference to jihad by the Fremen. I had forgotten the term was used, but it would have made the movie seem weirdly relevant if not for its general tediousness.
I know! Its an ongoing problem,
when adapting classic scifi. I actually thought Lynch did an ok job. And I didn’t mind the SciFi Channel mini series, which I think the books were much more suited to. What I hate is when studios try to adapt timeless works that are awesome reads, and turn them into cheesy films that are terrible to watch like Starship Troopers and The Puppetmasters Heinlein was a genius, and that stuff kills me!
"You have to score to win"~Rickey Henderson
Aren't a lot of films like that?
I think you single out Heinlein only because you happen to have read the book first. The list of “awesome reads” turned into “cheesy films” would be a long one.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Your memory is correct
The book is very good. The movie bears very little resemblance to it.
I do think the nature of the book would make it a challenge to film, and I don’t think any film could follow it closely. But they still might have thrown out 80% of the content and made a pretty picture out of what was left. Consider Doctor Zhivago: an excellent novel that you’d think would be hard to film, and yet David Lean made a very nice picture out of it without disrespecting the original.
But the Lynch / deLaurentiis film fails miserably.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
As for the jihad
Dune is chock-a-block with Arabic terms — religious (mahdi, umma, adab, usul, ghanima); geographic (erg, bled, qanat); titles (padishah, bashar, caid, naib). Many of the book’s significant phrases are Arabic phrases only barely modified (shai-hulud, lisan al-gaib). But “kwisatz haderach” is Hebrew.
The connection is intentional. Herbert imagines a vague future-historical connection. That’s what the “Zensunni wanderers” stuff is all about.
As for contemporary relevance, I’d say the jihad in Dune is closer to true sense of the word than the jihads we hear about nowadays.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Seriously. Another one I could watch (read: have watched) all day: Without a Trace
Even though I know they’re manipulating my emotions, I keep coming back for more.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
I LOVED Pushing Daisies
It was hilarious!
"To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other." - Jack Handey
by JJ on Jan 27, 2009 3:40 AM PST up reply actions
I also like it. Are they going to have any more eposides or have the last aired?
The nuts and bolts of gameplay are apocalyptic failures, but the awfulness doesn’t stop there. Managing games is utterly pointless. [Feb 2009, p.85]
Last I heard
ABC was going to burn off the remaining episodes in June or something. That may end up changing, though.
I liked it, even if it was a bit much at times and felt more clever than funny (74mk’s reaction to Arrested Development. My school-age daughters really liked it. My wife thought it was stupid.
That show is a classic case of a show that would have benefited from the British model of running a couple of short seasons and calling it a day.
Scoop from Entertainment Weekly.
Question: Is there any news on anything Pushing Daisies related? — Eric
Ausiello: Yes, there are three new developments — and, believe it or not, all of them are positive! 1) I’m told Warner Bros. will definitely be releasing a season 2 DVD. 2) After undergoing a major post production tweaking, the series finale is now a loose-end-tying-up extravaganza. 3) And the inimitable Ellen Greene is in talks with Heroes to return as Sylar’s mom during May sweeps.
"Smells like summer camp!"
I react to Arrested Development the same way I do to many Coen comedies, in that I understand why people enjoy them, I “get” the humor, but I never actually laugh.
I think “Ah, that’s clever. That’s clever, too. Ah hah! Clever again. Very funny. I see what they did there. Shrewd cultural reference! Irony. Farcical juxtaposition. Wordplay. Yes. Quite good. Noted, all.”
It’s, I don’t know … anti-emotive. Arms-length comedy. Watching it always made me feel restless and vaguely alienated. Like strolling through supermarket cereal aisles when you don’t actually need any cereal, you just want coffee but you can’t find it, it must be in the adjacent row, and now all these crazy bunny faces and pirates and such are staring at you, and you get a notion about how marketing governs your behavior in myriad unconscious ways, ways that (if you could glimpse them) would annihilate all your silly notions about free will and rational decision-making, which strikes you as simultaneously absurd and terrifying, so you’re sort of chuckling at the madness but also fighting an impulse to flee the cereal boxes, grab your coffee, elbow a couple of elderly shoppers out of the way (why do they always write checks in the express lane?), and run home, which is just not something a non-insane person would do, so you regulate your breathing, place two boxes of Cap’n Crunch in your cart as a compromise, forget about the coffee entirely even though it’s supposed to keep you from going nuts, and stride calmly to checkout.
Or maybe it’s not like that at all. The analogizing lobes of my brain appear to be malfunctioning this morning.
by 74mk on Jan 27, 2009 7:11 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I understand your point
It’s a matter of taste, or how it hits you. I laughed a lot at the premiere episode the first time I saw it, which colored my impression going forward. It’s the only show I ever got the DVDs of, in part because there is so much going on that it’s easy to miss pretty funny stuff that passed quickly the first time around.
Car'n Crunch is good.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 11:00 AM PST up reply actions
That cereal metaphor went over my head
but I get what you mean on the first part. There is a certain sort of wit that makes the intellectual part of my brain say, “ah yes, that is very clever”, but it doesn’t actually make me laugh. It’s not that I don’t like that kind of wit — I do, in fact — but it seems more suited to the written medium.
As for shrewd cultural references, I wonder if these aren’t funnier in animated series. When a real character says something oh-so-clever, I tend to think “Gee, that character is smart, but he’s such an ass”. But something like “get your picture taken with Thomas Pynchon” on the Simpsons makes me fall on the floor laughing.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
The first season of Twin Peaks is pretty fun stuff...
In the second season, some story lines got a little stale and the guest directing (or was it guest writing) just kinda screwed the whole thing up. The last couple episodes of Season 2 were ok, and then they tried to wrap it all up in the finale, which really didn’t work too well.
But yeah, that show’s got some classic scenes.
"I switched Cabraras when your back was turned."
I'm going to have to watch that first season again
Whenever I run across a repeat, it’s always from the second season, which is mostly humorless. On reflection, the whole show is more than a little ridiculous, but I loved it when it first came out. And it can be argued that Twin Peaks was one of the most influential television shows of all time, given the shows it spawned… The X-Files, Lost, et cetera.
the Agent Cooper character was so fantastic
It’s really a shame that the show couldn’t stay as good as it was the first season and the movie was a complete disaster.
"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King
Just now got around to F&G?
Welcome to the club, JL. There’s always room for more fans.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
awesome show
My girlfriend is a fan of Bones, which is noteworthy only because an all-grown-up John Francis Daly has a supporting role on it. I’m going to try to use that as an entry point to get her to watch F&G.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 10:23 AM PST up reply actions
I watched all the Freaks and Geeks episodes on DVD. Good stuff.
That show had a great cast, Seth Rogen and James Franco, two big actors. Plus Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Linda Cardellini (ER), who have had decent success as well.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
Wow, that show was like a Who's Who of
“actors who play dorky-looking guys who miraculously defy the laws of relationships by ending up with women who are much more attractive than they are.”
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Still holding out for our own TV show are we?
by methodrampage on Jan 27, 2009 12:30 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Huh?
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
C'mon, you gotta admit, it was kinda funny
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Put Journeyman on the list of shows canceled before their time
It was suspenseful, had the quantum leap-type time travel and was situated in the Bay Area.
It was a winner cut down before its prime!
Play more Conan!
by oaklandSMASH on Jan 28, 2009 2:46 PM PST up reply actions
i doubt you'll ever see this
but I AGREE SO MUCH WITH YOUR LIST.
Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies are some of my favorite shows ever made.
You need to see Dead Like Me. I think the DVDs are on sale for not too much at Target… that’s where I got mine. Especially if you like Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies, you’ll totally dig Dead Like Me.
Spoooooon!
The Tick was great. Well, the 9 episodes that were made anyhow. Plus the cartoon was good and the comics were off the wall. Gotta love a 600 lb crazy, stupid blue guy that doesn’t know who he is and can’t be hurt!
How could you not love a show that has a line from when a coffee vending machine wouldn’t give up the coffee that was paid for…
“Armless bandit… Empty your bladder of that bitter black urine men call coffee! It has its price and its price has been paid! Java devil, you are now my bitch”
I love me some Tick
Ooo! Piece of candy!
by ChickenStanley on Jan 29, 2009 1:22 PM PST up reply actions
What I remember from the cartoons:
Arthur: “You can’t fight evil with a macaroni duck!”
Tick: “I’ll be the judge of that.”
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
Anybody see the first Lie to Me episode last week?
And if you say “yes,” why should I believe you?
Anyway, I liked it. Maybe.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
it was ok, it will get at least one more veiw
What about the Mentalist on CBS?
The nuts and bolts of gameplay are apocalyptic failures, but the awfulness doesn’t stop there. Managing games is utterly pointless. [Feb 2009, p.85]
I watched it
I was hopeful and was a bit disappointed but I’ll give it another shot. The quality of sound recording of the protagonist combined with his accent made it hard for me to follow him sometimes.
I hear it referred to as from the people who brought you 24 and I wonder if that is just the money guys or what. I’m not quite sure how to phrase it, but the content of 24 could come from Homeland Security and Lie to Me from the ACLU.
All hail the newest
Of course, it’s sad to see how our guys rank on that particular scale.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
Why?
It suggests the 2009 A’s rotation is potentially headed by 2 #2s and a #3, along with some guys who didn’t throw enough innings to qualify yet.
Sure sounds a lot better than some of the Chicken Little rantings we’ve been hearing around these parts lately…
Or perhaps you mean that the guys they traded away score really well on it?
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
The latter
We have no one in the top 30 and there’s Harden a step above everyone else (not to mention Haren)
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
I'm not sure where you get #2s out of those numbers
#3s, sure; maybe “#2s through #4s”; but not #2s and #3s.
< / splitting hairs on an imprecise and untested stat >
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Top 30 pitchers are #1s... next 30 are #2s... see how it goes?
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
I was looking at the quartiles and median
I guess I should take my own advice about the distribution curve and realize that there are more #5 pitchers than #1 pitchers.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Our Rotation
Thanks for the sig, 74mk
And awesome DLD, by the way.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Awww!
You beat me out! PB&J holds a warm place in my heart.
Good to hear that Mia is making progress JL.
"You have to score to win"~Rickey Henderson
And to think....
…I used to think Torre was classy. Not so much anymore.
"I know they're the defending World Champs, but they are the whiniest team in baseball" -Rays announcers
I'm puzzled by the book
I haven’t read it, obviously, and am sure the coverall book is far more balanced than the nuggets played up in the newspaper.
But Torre has had an image as a classy guy who handled a a challenging job well, protecting his players from the New York insanity while keeping his own job for a long time. He’s been well-compensated for many years, so doesn’t need the money. And he even got a bit of a last laugh in 2008 while he led the Dodgers into the playoffs while the Yankees didn’t qualify for the first time since he left.
So I don’t get this. Baseball frowns on these sorts of books, and I don’t really see what he’s told us that hasn’t already been reported anyway.
Jose Canseco had far better reasons for writing his books (needs the money, had an untold story to tell, would be ignored otherwise). Torre is just damaging his reputation.
1. It is exceedingly difficult to separate caricature from reality, because the caricature inputs (via sports media, marketing initiatives, etc.) overwhelm the reality inputs.
Sportswriters and television executives (and bloggers) insist upon depicting athletes mainly in terms of heroism and villainy, and frame all (semi) big games as monumental clashes couched in the language of war and redemption, populated with good guys and bad guys and scrappy tough-as-nails gamers who magically elevate their talent to superhuman levels at key moments.
However silly these portraits, we learn to trust them. We come to believe that familiarity with a cultivated public persona is equivalent to actually knowing the athlete/coach/manager.
Anyway. That is a long-winded way of saying that I always assumed that the conventional wisdom portrait of Joe Torre as a classy, above reproach, wisdom-dispensing Grandfather in Chief was approximately as valuable as the image of Alex Rodriguez as a selfish, posing, fragile, egomaniacal choker. Which is to say, not very.
Good related discussion here.
2. You comment rarely these days, and hardly ever in posts that you have not authored. Did you find a better blog? Did you lose an honor duel with Nico? Did you have some sort of seize the day epiphany, where seizing the day doesn’t involve arguing about roster machinations on AN? Did Zonis’ 938 part prospect ranking project convince you that AN had been sucked into a wormhole of idiosyncratic doom?
I think we have our 2009 AN t-shirt tagline
a wormhole of idiosyncratic doom
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
likelier option
… Has your daily life routine changed so that you have less time than you used to for doodling around on AN?
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
The Marvin Harrison story was excellent
I didn’t know a thing about it until today.
Every public figure has a narrative. Shoot, people who post on this Web site have narratives. Anything that doesn’t square with that narrative tends to be rejected, unless the evidence is overwhelming. It seems foolish for Torre to mess with his own saintly narrative.
As for #2, I get these comments every time I pop up and write anything. I actually have been writing more during the last month or so, but there’s a rhythm to these online conversations that’s hard to pick up on once you’ve been away for a while. I still chime in when in the mood, and feel I have something to say that hasn’t already been covered thoroughly by others.
I guess I should feel flattered that anyone gives a hoot that I write anything. It’s probably just my familiar screen name, not my mastery of A’s prospects or wicked sense of humor.
I
Lego Jason Giambi
Complete with gold thong, if not a green jersey.
From this flickr stream (Warning: Created by a Red sox fan).
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 27, 2009 10:56 AM PST reply actions
that totally should be in the A's coloring book
that way i could change the jersey to Green and gold.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
You thinking more of a Larry Craig?
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 27, 2009 8:03 PM PST up reply actions
{waves cane at caterwauling whippersnappers; vows to not return football in yard or Frisbee on roof}
Really. Really?
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
since Zonis already broke the respectful silence, I'm going there
John Updike: the The Wire of contemporary novelists
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
His latest efforts have been surprisingly lively, especially for a dead man.
My good friend did his thesis on Updike. But…he was not exactly woman-friendly and his 70’s and 80’s and a good chunk of the 90’s appear to have been misspent. But, that’s kind of like the fifth season, I suppose…
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 11:57 AM PST up reply actions
I'm still trying to wrap my head around
how you can watch Law and Order all day long, but have such a low view of The Wire.
"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King
by batgirl on Jan 27, 2009 12:07 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
+1
I thought the same thing.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 27, 2009 2:58 PM PST up reply actions
I haven't read any of his novels
His reviews in the new yorker were usually tedious and bad.
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
Hi, 74mk's boss here
You can call me Diane.
Just got back from a meet-and-greet lunch-and-go presentation on dynamic facilitation (sad to say, it was not dynamically facilitated, but you didn’t hear that from me), and while I’m usually too busy peering fiercely at my blackberry to notice what 74mk is doing (I mean, I assume he’s working – those spreadsheets he turns in look super complicated, and they have shiny colors and pie charts and everything), today I figured I’d stop by to say hello, you know, check in on the troops, do my part to boost morale. And there he was, slumped over his keyboard, deader than a doornail! Naturally, I called 911 right away. Well, to be totally precise, right after I took a really important call from the VP of Top Down Synergy Initiatives. He was dead, you know. It didn’t really matter.
So the medic told me it looked like a “rage aneurysm” (to put it in layman’s terms, basically his head exploded). Holy crap, I said. What caused it? He didn’t know, and then they just wheeled him out of here, and now I need a new Operational Audit Analyst II. In this economy! No way that’s getting approved! Who’s going to bring me my shiny spreadsheets?
Long story short, his web browser was open to this page (a violation of company policy, I might add), and it looks like he was in the middle of a response to this post by “monkeyball”. The stuff he wrote before he keeled over is really really profane (and he was always so polite in meetings! who knew?), so I’ll spare you the ugliness.
Anyhoo, just thought I’d let you know, since it turns out he spent a lot of time on this, what is it, a sports website? Are you all in your underwear right now?
OK, gotta go jump through a bunch of HR hoops over this. Stupid bureaucracy. Thx bye.
by 74mk on Jan 27, 2009 12:20 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
alternate 2009 t-shirt tagline
What is it, a sports website? Are you all in your underwear right now?
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Now, see, if MU could have written like *this* ...
by green star oakland on Jan 27, 2009 1:22 PM PST up reply actions
I have it on good authority
that he hated Updike.
"Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it?"-Steve McCatty
This is your brain
This is your brain on football
“What’s been surprising is that it’s so extensive,” said (VA neuropathologist Dr. Ann) McKee. “It’s throughout the brain, not just on the superficial aspects of the brain, but it’s deep inside…”
“I knew what traumatic brain disease looked like in the very end stages, in the most severe cases,” said McKee. “To see the kind of changes we’re seeing in 45-year-olds is basically unheard of.”
The damage affects the parts of the brain that control emotion, rage, hypersexuality, even breathing, and recent studies find that CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a progressive disease that eventually kills brain cells.
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 27, 2009 1:12 PM PST reply actions
OK, now I’m 100% on board with moving the A’s to San Jose.
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
That
had nothing to do with free kraut. Or Hot Pants Day, for that matter.
Sometimes I guess wrong.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Ah
I picked the wrong time to put down my reading-between-the-lines glasses.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Leopold Bloom
mentioned getting into hot pants for free, but for the most part, you are correct.
I'm here to talk about the past.
You can get kraut into hot pants for free; it's the sausage that'll cost ya ...
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Hot links with the peppers and the onions?
That means I’m gay?
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 4:43 PM PST up reply actions
That ad makes me want to break out the old NES and attempt to shoot the damn dog for laughing at me when the duck gets away. /nostalgia
by walkoff baltimore chop on Jan 27, 2009 4:01 PM PST up reply actions
What, you don't find the T-shirt ads irresistible?
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Nope.
If I could shoot the dog, I would.
by walkoff baltimore chop on Jan 27, 2009 9:51 PM PST up reply actions
Woo!
The A’s and Ken Korach reached a two-year agreement Tuesday to keep the longtime broadcaster as the voice of the team through the 2011 season.
“I am thrilled to continue with the A’s,” Korach said in a statement released by the team. “It means so much that the club has shown this kind of confidence in me. I consider it an honor to call their games, considering the Athletics have such a storied history with broadcasters, including some of the all-time greats like Bill [King] and Lon [Simmons].”
“I’m thrilled by it, especially with a year left on my current deal,” Korach just told me by phone from his offseason home near Las Vegas. “It’s been a really good offseason for the A’s and for the fans. I hope this new station (860 AM) provides the coverage and stability we’ve wanted for a long time, hopefully it will turn into a long-term deal. I’m thrilled to have worked for this team so long and thrilled they’ve made that kind of commitment.”
by whiteshoes40 on Jan 27, 2009 3:30 PM PST up reply actions
Ken Korach rocks
I like him better than Bill King. And way way better than anyone else who has come through the booth in the past 10 years.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
I wonder if she'll go out with me
since Cindi has the whole “too young” thing going on.
Perhaps I’ve gone too far, or in these parts, I’ve Urbaned.
I kid, sheesh,
I'm here to talk about the past.
I do too.
I was never a Bill King fan. It’s heresy to say that on AN but …especially near the end of his career …he just wasn’t good at all. Now Korach is getting better and better and he’s so easy to listen to. I appreciate him very much.
blasphemer!
Actually I do love me some Korach. But there is only one King, my friend.
I'm here to talk about the past.
I have it on good authority that IM4Oakgal has completely lost her mind
The Wire, Updike, and now Bill King? In one thread?
What’s next?
Basset hounds are overrated?
Bob Dylan, The Wire of iconic figures?
Deep fried Twinkies are better than Marionberry Cobbler?
important legislation was introduced in oregon
to make the marion berries the official state berry…. good to see that we are using the peoples time wisely.
Some of the most violent things I’ve ever seen were at Raiders games. And I’ve been to jail. - leopold bloom
by designatedforassignment on Jan 28, 2009 12:40 AM PST up reply actions
I grew up in Washington state
in the boonies. Hence my preference for freshly picked blackberries. I spent many a summer picking the berries. My Mother would send each of us out with a 5 gallon bucket and we had to fill it before we could come home. So we always had cobblers,pies and jam with the berries.
What?!?
The best jam I’ve ever had, and best non-strawberry rhubarb berry pie I ever tasted, were both Washington huckleberry. It all depends on whether you’re picky about the texture of the berry holding up. I don’t care if it’s all one smooth consistency—the flavor is divine.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Your post is one of the most disturbing posts ...
that I have ever read on any site ! Huckleberries are very small and the flavor doesn’t last well when heated. I grew up eating huckleberries right off the bushes. They grew like weeds where I grew up. Blackberries and Salmonberries also were plentiful. In addition to the wild berries, my family cultivated large patches of strawberries and raspberries. I know my berries dammit! You must be yanking my chain. Please take it back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't even believe people are using The Wire as a negative.
I think that outrages me more than anything I’ve ever seen on AN.
I use it not as a negative, but as an example of fine craftsmanship but overrated art
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
It's Unpopular Opinion Day
My little irony about Updike is that I was trying to decide which of his novels to read, as I am currently trying to read or re-read some great American fiction. I’ve only read one of his novels. I guess I will get good suggestions from the obituaries.
Bill King. I understand that Bill was slipping a bit, but saying “he just wasn’t very good at all” was never true.
The Wire isn’t for everybody and wasn’t perfect. But it was such a marvelous series to behold, especially its fourth season, which can be watched by people who didn’t see the previous three seasons because the focus is on a bunch of new, young characters.
Agree completely.
Season four was awesome in its awesome awesomeness.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 28, 2009 7:12 AM PST up reply actions
He ordained, that if a beast be followed with large dogs and hounds, he shall belong to the hunter, not to the chance occupant, and if like manner, if he be killed with a lance or sword, but if chased with beagles only, then he passed to the captor, not to the first pursuer.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
I think the judge would have a hard day's night thinking about that one
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Oh man
I seriously hopes this goes on a while, down the long and winding road of this thread.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Hey Jude-
I mean 67-what do you mean by that comment?
"Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it?"-Steve McCatty
67 isn't Jude
He’s a paperback writer
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
If we don't stop these silly threads, Maxwell's silver hammer will come down upon our heads
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
It's funny I keep rereading this stuff
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the thread.
"Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it?"-Steve McCatty
Wait, wait. I do like Bill King.
I just think Korach is even better.
It’s true that Bill declined a bit in the last few years, but even then I liked him better than the various mediocrities I’ve heard since.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
First, the Beatles, then TV, and now Bill King?
Are you my arch nemesis?
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
LOL...
But seriously about King… I think people confuse his many years of dedicated service with excellence in performing skills. His abilities were waning near the end and I remember many times saying to my husband that I wished that Bill would hang it up. I know a lot of people don’t agree with my memory of the guy but I listened to him for a lot of years and that’s what I truly think about him.
Old sportscasters
don’t ever hang it up. Well, they do occasionally, when they live long enough. They usually die right after, though. Is that what you want, Bill King Murderer?
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 8:32 PM PST up reply actions
fair enough
I think that Bill brought a certain friendliness/humor/hospitality to the radio booth that’s been missing ever since he left. Korach is pretty good, but he lacks Bill’s historical perspective. I’ve also always felt that Bill was more likely to sprinkle in a little bit of honest criticism, which for me is a necessity. I found that Ken always seemed to soft-pedal every criticism of the home team. In short, I feel that he aims to please management first and the listener second, while with Bill it was the other way around.
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on Jan 28, 2009 7:21 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I'm not sure KK soft-pedals
as much as speaks without speaking when being critical. But I love how you’ve articulated this, and you’ve expressed something here that I strongly agree with, but was incapable of stating, apparently. Rec’d.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 28, 2009 7:34 AM PST up reply actions
It would be fun being your nemesis,
but I think I’ve been misrepresented. I don’t dislike Bill King at all. I probably don’t love him as much as you do, but I do like him quite a bit. (And I like Korach even more.)
I don’t hate TV either. I wish I had more time to watch TV, but there’s just so much else to do.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
I actually like Korach more, too.
Sounds like we’re not complete polar opposites.
As for TV, I actually don’t watch much at all. The only stuff I do get to see is on DVD.
Looks like my search for a true nemesis continues.
But I’m curious about your not-liking-ness of the Beatles. I get pretty sick of the early 3-chord stuff, but can’t get enough of the late stuff.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(loud pop)
(head explodes)
(please, no more “Bill King was okay” or “Bill King was not all that great,” or"God, he sucked." I will come back to Oakland. And I’ll show up on your door. In hot pants. And lipstick. Trust me, it’ll freak you the eff out.)
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 27, 2009 8:34 PM PST up reply actions
Okay, here's the deal:
On a scale of one to awesome, Bill King is 42. Ken Korach is 42.5. Korach’s that good.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Post pics of you in the hot pants
and lipstick please. I am not easily freaked out. I work at a middle school.
Pictures don't really convey the full creepiness.
You gotta see them live.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 28, 2009 7:37 AM PST up reply actions
Something to look forward to then hehe.
I am also pretty creepy looking in hot pants so it could be you that gets the scare; if you show up.
Maybe I can be your "neme-bro" instead
As for the Beatles, I dislike pretty much all guitar bands. The Beatles are just the most famous and influential of them. The Beatles were central in moving the main stream of songwriting into a direction I don’t like.
There’s a couple of Beatles songs I like, but I generally prefer them performed by someone other than the Beatles. The only Beatles song I really love is Yesterday, which I think is brilliant. But it’s no coincidence that my favorite Beatles song is about the least Beatles-like song in their canon.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
This is one of my favorites.
There are places I remember all my life,
Though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places have their moments
Of lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I loved them all.
And with all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these mem’ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
And I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them.
In my life I loved you more.
And I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them.
In my life I loved you more
In my life I loved you more
This is one of my favorite Beatles songs.
It used to drive my wife nuts, but she’s come around to it, too.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
So you brainwashed her into liking the song?
Your tactics might have worked under the previous administration but the new guy in town has said the old new ways are no longer sanctioned.
The monster at the end of this blog.
What kind of non-guitar bands are there?
I’m more of an acoustic guitar guy. My top 9 (somewhat in order of preference) Beatles songs are:
1. She’s Leaving Home
2. Blackbird
3. Fool on the Hill
4. Yesterday
5. Eleanor Rigby
6. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
7. Golden Slumbers
8. Strawberry Fields Forever
9. And I love Her
It’s telling that 7 of the top 9 are McCartney songs, and one of the two non-McCartney songs is one of Harrison’s (6).
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
There aren't any anymore. That's the problem.
McCartney is definitely the genius in that band. I think he would have benefited from a more thorough musical training and working in a different genre.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
Instant Karma's gonna get ya!
"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud." Willie Stark
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 28, 2009 10:42 AM PST up reply actions
Has anybody looked Marty Lurie's blog?
There are a couple of good interviews with Buck and Sweeney.
http://www.loveofthegameproductions.com/modules.php?name=News&file=categories&op=newindex&catid=10
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
I've had a lot of time on my hands lately.
1. I watch TruTV (formerly CourTV) almost 24/7. It’s bad. A friend of mine that lives in Shreveport call each other 3-4 times a day to talk about court cases. I heart Jami Floyd.
2. I though a band named Glasvegas would be a mix between Fall Out Boy and N Sync. I was wrong.
3. Vince with ShamWOW! is now selling Slap Chop. Slap Chop. Sounds like a karate move. Anyway, Vince, I am SHOCKED you are cheating on ShamWOW! And you brought along your headset! For shame, Vince.
4. I miss baseball and AN. Hold me.
5. Lykke Li, get out of my head. One. Two. Three. Four.
"Smells like summer camp!"
Vince is going out on top
The ShamWOW!, as the #2 seed in the Household/Automotive Regional, pulled an upset over The Clapper in the Regional Final, knocked off Girls Gone Wild in the Final Four and has defeated the George Foreman Grill in the Finals to win the Championship of the “As Seen On TV” Tournament.
Re: #3
He scares me. I actually like the Slap Chop thing—we have something similar, and it saved me lots of time when I was chopping walnuts for Christmas cookies—but I would never be able to buy anything from that crazy man. Just watching him makes me tired.
by whiteshoes40 on Jan 27, 2009 9:56 PM PST up reply actions
Vince is trying to dethrone Billy Mays as the infomercial guy.
I’m almost sure of it.
by walkoff baltimore chop on Jan 27, 2009 10:12 PM PST up reply actions
At least Vince doesn't shout.
My favorite moment in the Slap Chop commercial is when Vince tosses the other chopper over his shoulder and it lands IN THE SINK!
YOU’RE GONNA LOVE MY NUTS?!
I think I’m going to start using YOU’RE GONNA LOVE MY NUTS instead of We’re all gonna die!
"Smells like summer camp!"
Gee. I can only imagine how much Billy Mays shouts on his new reality show.
“Stop having boring tuna! Stop having a boring life!” probably is my favorite moment in the Slap Chop commercial, but the other chopper landing in the sink is a close second. The entire ad is comedy gold, really.
by walkoff baltimore chop on Jan 28, 2009 12:09 AM PST up reply actions
Best line:
The reason that you’re going to slap away every day is that it’s so easy to clean
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
here's the longer version as well
i know i’m immature, but you can that’s what she said about eleventy billion comments in this commercial
"True fact: In a global thermonuclear war, the only human who would survive would be David Eckstein" -PT
If you have so much time on your hands why
don’t we see more posts here on AN? I was hoping it was because some hunky fella was keeping you busy.
That's actually what's keeping me busy
Only the horny hunky fella is my son.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Naw.
AN isn’t fun when you’re depressed. I’m just… blah feeling right now.
"Smells like summer camp!"
I'm sorry, Honey.
Come out West when the season starts. My youngest daughter is your age and you two can hang out and have fun in the city. I’d love to meet you …you are such a quick wit.
Thanks,
You know, each day I wonder if this is as bad as I’m going to feel. Then something completely fucking awesome happens [that’s oozing with sarcasm] and I realize, no, THIS is worse.
But I haven’t cried… yet. Thank goodness. I’ve been close on more than one occasion (a day). LOL!
Okay, never mind. While typing this, my mother called and made me cry. There goes my streak.
"Smells like summer camp!"
There's no crying on AN!
Actually, crying probably hopefully did some good. Here’s to better days.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Facts:
1. You make the best DLD’s.
2. I didn’t get any of the references in your numbered list above (except 4), but I still laughed. And I’m the sort of person who crosses his arms and affects a stony frown while watching TV comedies.
3. I have it on good authority that if at least one ANer makes it to 40,000 comments by the All-Star break, various incomprehensible, possibly other-dimensional, forces will be catalyzed into a once-in-a-zillion eons alignment, the consequences of which, while mostly ill-understood by top scientists and philosophers, are 98% certain to include (and here I’m citing Wikipedia) Ryan Sweeney instantaneously absorbing the combined talents of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, and Rickey Henderson, allowing him to single-handedly lead the A’s to the World Series title by hitting 430/800/1500 in the second half + playoffs, at which point he will surely wink at/profusely thank that dedicated commenter during his champagne-drenched victory speech.
Conclusion:
You posting frequently benefits me, AN, the A’s, and the universe at large. Kind of a daunting burden, I know, but like Uncle Ben says, with great power comes great responsibility.
Crying isn't a bad thing.
If the sadness goes on too long , see a Doctor. Depressive illnesses can be treated very effectively . Whatever the reason for your sadness I hope time helps. I know that I can speak for most of the regular readers on AN when I say that we all miss your posts and hope that you feel better soon.
Thanks.
This is probably way TMI, but part of the problem WAS my medication. When I lost my job, I lost insurance. I didn’t get get unemployment beneifts for 9+ weeks. I was trying to save money, so I stopped refilling my medication. That was a bad idea. Trying to ration medication you needed only works for so long.
Well, since then, my script expired and I didn’t want to see the doctor, so I was trying to put it off as long as possible.
Things came to a head yesterday, I guess. My uncle… well, he’s more like that grandpa my grandfather never was… anyway, he’s dying. I went to see him, and it was just aweful. Cancer. He’s lost so much weight that his skin is just hanging off of his body. His eyes are all sunken in, but his skin has lost elasticity so it’s all tight looking. My grandmother went out the same way, and it brought up a lot of memories.
Then, I had a really great interview last week, and I was waiting to hear back from them. That didn’t work out so well. I called my mother to let her know…. and that’s when she said she’d pray for me. I lost it.
I’m better now. Not great, but better. It was a moment. :)
"Smells like summer camp!"
I highly recommend multistate killing sprees; they're very therapeutic
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
It's never good to stop medications suddenly.
It’s hard to ask parents to help when things go wrong financially but if your parents are able I am sure that they will be glad to help you, Jen. Our daughter who is the same age as you are (24 right?) has psoriatric arthritis. She needs a very expensive medicine but doesn’t have a job with health care. Because she needs Humira she can’t buy a cheap health care package. So we are paying for a costly one for her. We want her to be healthy and happy and continue to work on her academic goals(she is just completing her Master’s degree in African American History) and is planning to start her Doctorate in the fall. Anyway TMI on my part too but the point I am making is that I am sure your parents feel that you are a blessing to them and that they want to be there for you in your time of need. Don’t be too proud to ask.
I am very sorry to hear about your Uncle. It’s very hard to watch someone that you love pass on in a hard way. Grief is a hard emotion to deal with and it really never goes away. It’s just something you have to get used to living with and to find happiness in our lives despite the losses of those that we adore. Take care and I hope things continue to improve. Email me if there is anything that I can do to help.
We made a Sham-Wow banner
last year sometime. The guy tried to pay us in shammies. Ben refused.
"They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers" -Crazy Old Dude.
by Leopold Bloom on Jan 28, 2009 7:38 AM PST up reply actions
HELP THE CALIFORNIA MARCHING BAND.
TYRANNICAL KING OF UC EUGENE! BRING ME THE HEAD OF SEATTLE QUACKER!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Wall Steet mistresses spin tales of woe, yearn for compassion
All meaningful distinctions between The Onion and The International Herald Tribune appear to have evaporated.
Dawn Spinner Davis, 26, a beauty writer, said the downward-trending graphs began to make sense when the man she married Nov. 1, a 28-year-old private wealth manager, stopped playing golf, once his passion.
I always figured that would be the warning sign that things were about to get really hanky. Once fund managers start missing tee times, you know the shit is not far from the fan.
In addition to meeting once or twice weekly for brunch or drinks at a bar or restaurant, the group has a blog, billed as “free from the scrutiny of feminists,” that invites women to join “if your monthly Bergdorf’s allowance has been halved and bottle service has all but disappeared from your life.”
Theirs is not the typical 12-step program.
Step 1: Slip into a dress and heels.
Step 2: Sip a cocktail and wait your turn to talk.
Step 3: Pour your heart out.
Repeat as needed.
What a coincidence! That mirrors my AN routine:
Step 1: Slip into a gray sweatshirt with armpit holes.
Step 2: Sip a cocktail and wait for monkeyball to offend my aesthetic sensibilities.
Step 3: Pour my heart out.
On the blog, the objects of their affections – and disdain – are called FBF’s, for Financial-Guy Boyfriends. News is conveyed via a color-coded daily warning system: red, when the Dow fell 300 points on Oct. 6 (“Good night to have dinner with your girlfriends and do laundry”); yellow, when Warren Buffett invested $3 billion in General Electric (“Good night to hang out with your FBF”); green on Jan. 21, in honor of President Barack Obama’s hope.
Wouldn’t that be FGB’s? Or maybe FGBF’s? And why does green equal hope? I feel like hope should be blue.
Relevant
It’s not a revolution if nobody loses (RR)
At one point, things got so weird that an abbot published a defense of the scribal tradition then being eclipsed by the printing press and, because he wanted it disseminated cheaply and efficiently, had it printed rather than having it copied by the scribes whose livelihoods he was defending.
Just like Murray Chass’s blog.
Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.
that is awesome
in a creepy, he could have killed Matt Stairs kind of way.
He kisses pitcher Jamie Moyer on the cheek and yells, “Thank you for everything!” And Moyer yells, “No, thank you!”
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
That is the other side of it
I mean, great story, but I still couldn’t help think, “Um, security? Please?”
I'm here to talk about the past.
that is hilarious
I’m sort of dissappointed with his level of preparation, though. I would have thought he’d have instantly whipped out some fancy goggles to protect his eyes from the bubbly.
"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King
Are the Yankees becoming Big Brother?
From mlb.com
NEW YORK — In the wake of the information in Joe Torre’s yet-to-be-released book, the Yankees are considering a “non-disparagement” clause in future player and managerial contracts to prevent similar situations in the future.
The clause would ensure that future books are “positive in tone” and “do not breach the sanctity of our clubhouse,” an unnamed Yankees official told Newsday in its Thursday editions.
You want disturbing?
Apocalypse here we come
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
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