Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Davis vs. Limbaugh

Just a quick post. I've been following this disgusting attack by that idiot Rush Limbaugh on Michael J. Fox for coming out and saying that he would like to see some people elected that give a damn about stem-cell research, something that this country is falling FAR BEHIND on compared to the rest of the world. (Remember when we had a science agenda to be proud of in this country?) Just to recap: the permanently flaccid and admitted OxyContin junkie Limbaugh has been railing on and on that, in the ads, Fox is either acting sicker than he is, or that he has deliberately stopped taking his meds in order to make his disease look worse than it is.

Rush Limbaugh is an asshole.

First, he has no idea how Fox's meds work. If he did, he would know that he has his cause & effect mixed up. No meds = paralysis, meds = extreme movement. Pick one -- they both sound like really great options, don't they Rush. I realize that you have no problem just cramming more pills down your fat trap to fix whatever you say this weeks problem is ("Wahhh! I'm in pain -- I need 60 Oxys a day!"; "Wahhh! I have to meet some Carribean hookers and my dick won't get hard -- someone get me some Viagra under a fake name!"), but some people would actually like a cure for some of these problems that pills just don't make that much better.

Here's a piece written by someone who has some experience in the matter. Patti Davis (Reagan). Remember, she was the estranged Reagan daughter, who then came back to the family to make her peace with St. Ronnie before he died, and now believes, along with the other sane family members, that maybe stem-cell research wouldn't be such a bad thing, and that maybe real human lives carry more importance than blastocysts. Take a look here.

Monday, October 16, 2006

The Stupidity Awards

Sorry for not posting much lately. It's been real busy getting our other blog, atomicnewwave.blogspot.com (tied to our Internet Radio Station) up and running, and also trying to, you know, make a living and such.

Anyway, I just had to comment on what has to be the stupidest thing I have heard this month, so far (I realize that 15 more days is plenty of time for people to say even more stupid things, and I don't doubt they will, but this gets the award for now): Supposedly, tomorrow, the United States of America will have a population of 300,000,000 people. I'm sorry, let me be more specific: at 4:46 am PDT on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, the giant odometer that tracks the population of the U.S.A. will roll over 300,000,000.

Now, I certainly don't want to rain on anyone's parade here. In fact, I hope that Baby "USA 300M" gets a lifetime supply of Huggies and a guest-hosting stint on The View. However, does anyone actually believe this crap? 300,000,000? How do we arrive at that number? By the census?!? Are you kidding?? I'm thinking it would be more accurate if news reports called it 300,000,000 +/- 20,000,000. We have already established (after the 2000 election) that we are unable to count votes in an election (seriously -- the Supreme Court said that -- look it up), and, to vote, people actually have to go somewhere and sign in and do something to be counted. For this, you either fill out a form or.... what? Someone goes and looks for you? Well, yes. Census officials actually walk around and look for people that aren't counted. Do you have an address? Well, you've probably been counted already. More kids? Homeless? Living on a Rural Route?? Hiding in a storage shed??? Well, whatever, we'll just mark down a few more people and we'll be on our way.

Don't get me wrong. I suppose a census is important for various reasons (I'm not going to go into them), but attempting to celebrate a 300 millionth person at an exact time is just stupid, and reeks of a society desperate to celebrate something, or mark some kind of milestone, or get some kind of feeling of accomplishment, even though nothing has really happened. It's like being proud of your blood-type. You didn't do it. We didn't do anything. It's not even a real event. Get over it.


In other news, I usually don't comment on football on this blog but, may I just say: Screw You, Leinart. I realize that as a graduate of the University of Spoiled Children, you're not used to a lot of disappointment in your life, and we all felt very bad watching you have your little outbursts on the sidelines, but, perhaps you need to get over yourself and perform a little better next time. USC grads normally don't have to hear that until later in life, but I guess you're getting advance notice.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

No Pony for You

Well, that's it. The Dodgers' season is over, after collapsing with a spectacular whimper against the Mets tonight. I watched the last half of the game on TV, which means I didn't even get to hear Vin call the ending. Wahhhhhh.

Ok, Dodgers, we need to talk about a couple of things:

First, I thought the team came out about where they should have this year, maybe one or two games better. I really didn't expect the playoffs, but once we were there, I would have liked to, you know, win a game or something. But, at least we got something. I think. The wildcard is something, right? It says to the world, "Look! We suck less than the rest of the losers! Woo Hoo!!"

Second, this Maddux thing is starting to grate on me a bit. Yes, he was a great pitcher. Yes, he's still pretty good. No, I don't trust him. No, you can't depend on him. I don't mind that Maddux goes out there and throws the ball right down the pipe, daring the batter to hit it. It works for him, and that is great. But, this 70-pitch limit has got to go. There is no way we can take Maddux into next season (if he is still playing, that is) knowing that he can only make 70 pitches before he is "mentally exhausted." Mentally Exhausted?!? Screw You! Maybe you're in the wrong game. Jesus Christ -- get out there and throw the damn ball!! Basically, each time Maddux starts, the Dodgers know they will be looking at a minimum three pitcher game, maybe more. I don't see that as acceptable.

Third, Goddammit McCarver, WE ALL KNOW THAT THE DODGERS TRADED LODUCA A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. SHUT UP ABOUT IT!! Is it really necessary that every single time we see LoDuca, Tim Mcarver has to say something along the lines of "You know, the Dodgers made a very controversial trade concerning LoDuca, one that will probably never be forgotten." Trade, got it. Move on. Baseball: trades happen. Wow -- you mean LoDuca was on the other team? What a surprise! What were the odds?? Incredible.

Fourth, and this is to all teams clinching an LDS: drop the champaigne celebrations. It looks ridiculous. If you win a LDS, you really haven't won anything other than the right to play for the pennant. You haven't won a division -- that was already settled. You haven't won a pennant -- that's not here yet. All you have done was stay alive to play another series. You want a party? Win the LCS.

There will be more. I still say it was a good season, and I will be back on Feb. 14 next year (traditional 'Pitchers & Catchers Report' day) to start it all over again. After I tape my heart back together, that is.

Go Tigers! (What the hell, right?)

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Playing to 165, I guess.

Ok, I'm not going to dwell on this, but since one of "my topics" is baseball in general, and the Dodgers specifically, I have to ask a question after the last two games:

What in the hell is going on out there???

Fine, if you don't want to play any more baseball this year, that's ok -- I'm disappointed, but, go ahead and pack it in. Just don't make yourselves look like such idiots doing it!!

It's kind of weird, the way that things have been turning out, especially regarding what will now be forever known as "The Play". It's weird because, on Tuesday afternoon, HBO-FW14 (or something) was showing the cinematic masterpiece Major League 2. I stopped my busy day to watch about a half-hour of it because I couldn't remember the intricasies of the plot, and the exact motivating factors that drove each player to achieve his own personal peak, and at the same time, achieve self-ac.... well, whatever. The thing is, when the Indians start playing well again, one of the events they show is their catcher getting a throw, and then tagging two players out, both coming into home, about three seconds apart (they called it a Twin Killing). At the time, I wondered if that kind of play had ever actually happened, or if that was just some freakish thing dreamed up by the writers.

Of course, just one day later, I had my answer. By now, we all have encyclopediac knowledge of all instances of two runners being thrown out at home on the same play, without the ball leaving the catcher's hands. The last time was 1985. Before that it was about 25 or 30 years previous. It's only happened a handful of times ever, and I am very proud to say that the Dodgers can now attach their names to that shitty, amateurish, bush league play.

For what it's worth, I think the blame goes to 3rd Base Coach Rich Donnelly. He sent Kent home, which was a judgement call, and I don't fault him for that. Kent was overly-cautious, and he's slow, and he got gunned-down at the plate. It happens. BUT, J.D. Drew was about 40 feet behind Kent, and Donnelly didn't give him any indication at all of what was going on. By the time Donnelly sent Kent, he knew it would be close. If that was going to be close, how can you justify sending another player half-a-base behind him?!?

Looking back at it (twelve million times today -- thanks Fox!), no one was more surprised than Paul LoDuca. He tags out Kent, he's holding the ball, and all of a sudden people are screaming that someone else is coming home. It was like manna from Heaven for him.

Also, it is amazing that Martin could knock a hit to the right field wall and end up Grounding Into a Double Play.

Maddux goes Saturday. He's good for 70 pitches, tops. And, he will be Maddux. He will throw 70 pitches right down the pipe and see where the Mets hit 'em. They know this. They will not be swinging on the first pitch. If we get five innings out of Maddux, I will be shocked. (But, I will take the five innings.)

Whichever way it goes, it was a hell of a season! Massive losing streaks, even bigger winning streaks, walk-off grand slams, four-homers-in-a-row, etc., etc. No complaints here -- I would just like to see it last a little longer.