On the Corner of 4th and Self Important
"Take me out to the ball game...."
So Bush says we will not go to the strategic oil reserves, even though OPEC is cutting production by 1 million barrels. At this rate, he and VP Cheney will be carpooling to work by the end of the week. Too bad there isnt a car that runs on bile.
In an interview, former Notre Dame great Paul Hornung said that in order to compete, the Irish needed to "lower their academic standards so that they can bring in the black athlete." Whew, talk about your can of worms. I have so many thoughts about this, I dont even know where to start. First and foremost, we are talking about an old man. Some deference needs to be given to older people, who just, well, don't know any better. Those aren't supposed to be hateful comments, I dont think they were intentionally racist, but well, they just happened to be. Most black people look at comments like that and ignore them. They laugh off such stupid comments as simply the ignorant ramblings of an old man from a different era. Admittedly, it carries some newsworthiness, but ESPN and others have run with this comment and really inundated us with it. There seems to be a rush to group him in with Rush Limbaugh, Al Campanis and Jimmy the Greek, all older white men who got caught with their foot in their mouth, and paid the price. So why do ignorant comments get such coverage? I'll tell you why. There is a rush to point out the failings of others in order to boost the stock of the people who are doing the pointing. It is almost as if the white media wants to make a spectacle of anyone who makes questionable comments, so that they can publically separate themselves from those comments. It is as if they are saying, "Hey, look what that guy said. And may I note, I don't agree with it." It is clearly selfish reporting. By pointing out anothers failings, we are able to bring to the forefront our lack of failings. It would seem silly to just say "I havent made a racist comment." But when person X does, it is open season on them as guilty whites fire blast after blast at them, making them the sacraficial lamb in an attempt by the white media to boost their own stock. The right way to deal with such a comment? Just say, man, that's stupid. That guy is way off. And that's it. It's not a news story, and it's not worth the energy being put into it. How about creating a dialogue about it, and discussing it. Sorry, but, I could have sworn this is America, and we were free to say almost whatever we want.
Why do local news shows still have sports guys? This seems like a real waste. With ESPN, the internet, 1000 magazines, Fox Sports Net......it all seems to be covered. What is some hair weave in a suit going to tell me that I dont already know? If I want the score of the Laker game, I could watch it, watch the pre game, the post game, the highlight show, Sportscenter, check my phone, my wireless palm, the internet.....I can get that information without Joe Teeth and his 3 minute segment. The only possible value the local sports guy can have is to talk high school sports, but there are shows on that now too! It seems the only reason to watch that portion of the news any more is the pure comedic value. Nothin funnier than when the anchors bait the sports guy with, "Wow, those Padres sure are looking good." and the sports guy goes into a mini rant about hitting with runners in scoring position, and the strength of the bullpen, and the anchors just look away, like, "Um, I was just being nice...."
What is the deal with towing someone's car? Since when did it become ok to turn another person's life completely upside down just because you put up a sign? Here's the deal. I go to meet some friends at a bar in Mission Valley, which is near Qualcomm Stadium. Well, there is some drag racing show going on there, so there is no parking anywhere. Apparantly, these superfans will drop 20 bucks on a ticket to see people race 50 feet in a straight line, but they cant find 5 bucks to park in the lot. So, Im there, and its about 11:15. Just gonna be there for an hour or so. Well, I find a lot, and the sign says no parking, blah blah blah. It's for a credit union, so I figure, it's almost midnight, Im out of here shortly, can't be too big a deal. Think again, scooter! They tow me. Three days and 250 bucks later I have my car back. Now, who exactly was I disturbing by parking there? How wasteful is that to have parking, and then towing cars out of it? How about just chargin people 3 bucks to park there? How about not worrying about it? How about don't be such a pr....but I digress. Just don't see how posting a sign is so legally binding. This freaking tow place also charges me for "storage fee." Excuse me? You brought the damn thing here! I dont want it here. If your storage is so damn important, tow the damn thing to my house. Ill stow it there for free! Or put it on the damn street. I am being held hostage, and why? Just ridiculous.
I watched women's hoops last night. I think there is something wrong with me. Truth is, anything Minnesota and Im rootin for it. Well, the girls beat Duke and made the Final Four, and Ill take it. Anything is great for the school. The game was exciting, but it was a battle of futility. I can only watch so many free throws, so many missed shots, so many bricked layups.....it is literally like watching a frosh/soph game. It just isnt a more fundamental brand of basketball, its a significant step below. Call it what it is.
Ok, here are a couple people I'd like to beat in the face with a waffle iron. First, the guy who sits behind home plate and gets on his cell phone, waving at his friends. Dude, you aren't on TV. You are backdrop. No one cares. Seriously, big freaking deal. Can we just remove the protective netting and drill these people in between innnings? Also, when Im at the ball game, if you dont have good information, then dont talk to your buddy about something. Nothing annoys me worse than a guy who acts like he knows everything, and every bit of information he spouts is false. I just want to turn around and staple the guy's mouth shut.
Finally got the first sports article up on Sportspages.com. I think it turned out ok, but def not perfect.
There seems to be a double standard out there. Janet Jackson exposes herself, and there is an absolute outrage. God forbid sex be introduced into the mainstream. Um, are you serious? Arent these the same TV execs who broadcast commercials of two chicks fighting in their underwear over the value of a light beer? I gotta be honest, give me a choice between Janet's wardrobe malfunction, and your average beer commercial, give me Miller and Bud any day of the week. I mean, I just heard a radio commercial for Audi. During a voice over by an attractive sounding female reader, I heard during a 12 second period references to a "perfect match", "turbo charged", "nice package", "fantastic cockpit", and finally finding "the one." Um, what happened to subtlety? Why not save the cost of advertising and write a commercial like, "Audi. Sex. Cars. Sex. Buy a car, get sex. Audi. Sex." That is basically what they are doing.
So Bush says we will not go to the strategic oil reserves, even though OPEC is cutting production by 1 million barrels. At this rate, he and VP Cheney will be carpooling to work by the end of the week. Too bad there isnt a car that runs on bile.
In an interview, former Notre Dame great Paul Hornung said that in order to compete, the Irish needed to "lower their academic standards so that they can bring in the black athlete." Whew, talk about your can of worms. I have so many thoughts about this, I dont even know where to start. First and foremost, we are talking about an old man. Some deference needs to be given to older people, who just, well, don't know any better. Those aren't supposed to be hateful comments, I dont think they were intentionally racist, but well, they just happened to be. Most black people look at comments like that and ignore them. They laugh off such stupid comments as simply the ignorant ramblings of an old man from a different era. Admittedly, it carries some newsworthiness, but ESPN and others have run with this comment and really inundated us with it. There seems to be a rush to group him in with Rush Limbaugh, Al Campanis and Jimmy the Greek, all older white men who got caught with their foot in their mouth, and paid the price. So why do ignorant comments get such coverage? I'll tell you why. There is a rush to point out the failings of others in order to boost the stock of the people who are doing the pointing. It is almost as if the white media wants to make a spectacle of anyone who makes questionable comments, so that they can publically separate themselves from those comments. It is as if they are saying, "Hey, look what that guy said. And may I note, I don't agree with it." It is clearly selfish reporting. By pointing out anothers failings, we are able to bring to the forefront our lack of failings. It would seem silly to just say "I havent made a racist comment." But when person X does, it is open season on them as guilty whites fire blast after blast at them, making them the sacraficial lamb in an attempt by the white media to boost their own stock. The right way to deal with such a comment? Just say, man, that's stupid. That guy is way off. And that's it. It's not a news story, and it's not worth the energy being put into it. How about creating a dialogue about it, and discussing it. Sorry, but, I could have sworn this is America, and we were free to say almost whatever we want.
Why do local news shows still have sports guys? This seems like a real waste. With ESPN, the internet, 1000 magazines, Fox Sports Net......it all seems to be covered. What is some hair weave in a suit going to tell me that I dont already know? If I want the score of the Laker game, I could watch it, watch the pre game, the post game, the highlight show, Sportscenter, check my phone, my wireless palm, the internet.....I can get that information without Joe Teeth and his 3 minute segment. The only possible value the local sports guy can have is to talk high school sports, but there are shows on that now too! It seems the only reason to watch that portion of the news any more is the pure comedic value. Nothin funnier than when the anchors bait the sports guy with, "Wow, those Padres sure are looking good." and the sports guy goes into a mini rant about hitting with runners in scoring position, and the strength of the bullpen, and the anchors just look away, like, "Um, I was just being nice...."
What is the deal with towing someone's car? Since when did it become ok to turn another person's life completely upside down just because you put up a sign? Here's the deal. I go to meet some friends at a bar in Mission Valley, which is near Qualcomm Stadium. Well, there is some drag racing show going on there, so there is no parking anywhere. Apparantly, these superfans will drop 20 bucks on a ticket to see people race 50 feet in a straight line, but they cant find 5 bucks to park in the lot. So, Im there, and its about 11:15. Just gonna be there for an hour or so. Well, I find a lot, and the sign says no parking, blah blah blah. It's for a credit union, so I figure, it's almost midnight, Im out of here shortly, can't be too big a deal. Think again, scooter! They tow me. Three days and 250 bucks later I have my car back. Now, who exactly was I disturbing by parking there? How wasteful is that to have parking, and then towing cars out of it? How about just chargin people 3 bucks to park there? How about not worrying about it? How about don't be such a pr....but I digress. Just don't see how posting a sign is so legally binding. This freaking tow place also charges me for "storage fee." Excuse me? You brought the damn thing here! I dont want it here. If your storage is so damn important, tow the damn thing to my house. Ill stow it there for free! Or put it on the damn street. I am being held hostage, and why? Just ridiculous.
I watched women's hoops last night. I think there is something wrong with me. Truth is, anything Minnesota and Im rootin for it. Well, the girls beat Duke and made the Final Four, and Ill take it. Anything is great for the school. The game was exciting, but it was a battle of futility. I can only watch so many free throws, so many missed shots, so many bricked layups.....it is literally like watching a frosh/soph game. It just isnt a more fundamental brand of basketball, its a significant step below. Call it what it is.
Ok, here are a couple people I'd like to beat in the face with a waffle iron. First, the guy who sits behind home plate and gets on his cell phone, waving at his friends. Dude, you aren't on TV. You are backdrop. No one cares. Seriously, big freaking deal. Can we just remove the protective netting and drill these people in between innnings? Also, when Im at the ball game, if you dont have good information, then dont talk to your buddy about something. Nothing annoys me worse than a guy who acts like he knows everything, and every bit of information he spouts is false. I just want to turn around and staple the guy's mouth shut.
Finally got the first sports article up on Sportspages.com. I think it turned out ok, but def not perfect.
There seems to be a double standard out there. Janet Jackson exposes herself, and there is an absolute outrage. God forbid sex be introduced into the mainstream. Um, are you serious? Arent these the same TV execs who broadcast commercials of two chicks fighting in their underwear over the value of a light beer? I gotta be honest, give me a choice between Janet's wardrobe malfunction, and your average beer commercial, give me Miller and Bud any day of the week. I mean, I just heard a radio commercial for Audi. During a voice over by an attractive sounding female reader, I heard during a 12 second period references to a "perfect match", "turbo charged", "nice package", "fantastic cockpit", and finally finding "the one." Um, what happened to subtlety? Why not save the cost of advertising and write a commercial like, "Audi. Sex. Cars. Sex. Buy a car, get sex. Audi. Sex." That is basically what they are doing.
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