Movies about books?

Do you have trouble getting interested in reading books even though you'd really like to? Do you like movies?

Check out Book Shorts, a collection of short clips about books.

I like the one about Casanova, it does a good job of getting you interested, like a good movie trailer does, in the book.

Prehistoric Ecosystem found in cave

This is freakin awesome.

Barry Bonds

So he's gone and broken Babe Ruth's record.

I just finished reading a couple of relevant books this past weekend: Game of Shadows, which tells of the BALCO investigation and how Bonds was connected to steroids and growth hormones. I also read Juiced, Jose Canseco's tell-all book about steroids in baseball.

The Canseco book, while annoying and amateurish (as well as filled with ego-boosting stories), does bring to light some important things about the game of baseball, all seen from the inside. His commentary on the different treatment that he got compared to McGuire, while interesting, is too whiny and one sided to hold up for long.

Game of Shadows, on the other hand, was much more interesting. After reading it, there is no doubt that Barry Bonds knowingly took steroids. He cheated and he knew about it. Not only that, Bonds is an asshole. Big time. I didn't like the guy before, but after reading this book I really don't like him.

Anyway, he's an annoying cheater and I can't wait until the investigations prove him guilty and he gets an asterisk next to his name. He doesn't deserve to be in the same sentence as Ruth and Aaron.

Dream

There was some loud bang and a flash of light, then my family panicked and started to fly toward one end of the house. I was on the floor, flinching, getting ready for the impact. Something, I knew, was about to hit me. Hard.

I managed to pull off one of the toughest feats out there - wake myself up when I know I'm having a bad dream.

So I woke up, and was thankful. Then I remembered, "Oh yeah, I have some horrible virus that makes me feel like shit. Like my head is being squeezed my some greater power. And that my body is sore as hell. All of it. I don't know if it's the virus or the baseball game I pitched yesterday. The one where I got my ass kicked and the next day (today) I felt like a I had been run over by a bunch of wild horses.

And now the TV is on, it's Hitchcock theater. He's funny in a sort of creepy kind of way. Earlier I was watching infomercials, which, oddly enough, I like. The latest one was about a company that would change my life by combining the Internet with the hottest trend in travel: Relationship Networking.

I watch and wonder who else is watching, jotting down the number or the website, like I am. Except I'm doing it as research. I will go from start to end on one (or several) of these things and will either a)Make a ton of money because part of me, deep down, thinks that maybe I can. It's a scam, of course, but since I'm better than all these other suckers out there, I'm doing research for god's sake, because I'm better I could do it. Or b) It doesn't work out, which is more likely, and I will have a great story to sell to Esquire magazine, which will mark my coming out party into the world of getting paid for writing super interesting stories that no one else could've written.

And then it hits me: While what I'm writing right now probably sounds pretty good, I know it's straight out of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which I just read and liked a lot and wish I had a story like that to tell (but not really, how horrible!).

My favorite parts having to do with how, before he does something in his life, something that would be a good, nice thing to do for someone (save his suicidal friend's life, scatter his mother's ashes in Lake Michigan, stuff like that (I know, he's got some good ones)), he first thinks about how he could use it for a book he wants to write. And he admits how guilty and horrible he feels, but it still doesn't stop him from taking his little notebook with him (and tape recorder, which I did for a while, I didn't like the sound of my voice). And I like that because I understand it, and I admire the honesty in admitting the whole thing.

And now I'm going to go watch a movie called Noi the Albino, and hopefully it'll be good.

Good Night.

Eggers and Frey (AHWOSG vs. Million Little Pieces)

So I'm reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and I can't help but notice the similarities between the stylistic (and even some of the content) elements between this book and Frey's A Million Little Pieces.

Now, after everything that's happened, it's clear that Frey might've ripped off this style from parts of Eggers's memoir. But where Eggers is overly honest about what he's writing and what really happened, Frey is not.

Has anyone else noticed this? If you have read both books, please let me know if you noticed any of these similarities.

Turkish Suicides

This story details a rise in suicides in Turkey among young girls.

An excerpt:

Bahar Sogut was one of 14 people -- 10 of them women and girls aged under 23 -- who have killed themselves this year in Batman, a city of 250,000 people, activists say. Another was aged 12 and threw herself off a building opposite her school.

Wait a minute...BATMAN!!??

Why would you want to kill yourself when:

-So, where are you from?
-Batman.
-...
-Yeah, I know.

Wacky MLB Injury

Right fielder Jose Guillen could only play two innings because of an eye injury, suffered when he tried to scratch his left eye with his batting glove during batting practice.

Genius

Most Drunk Guy Ever

From this article, pretty crazy.

A classic:

Sungaila, who was slapped with a 3,000 litas ($1,110) fine and the loss of his license for up to three years, told police he had been drinking the night before and tried to freshen up by downing a pint of beer for breakfast.

Condoleezza Rice at Boston College

Ahhh, the old alma mater. Turns out a bunch of students had a silent protest going and one picture looks positively black panther, except for the cell phone. Or is it a sign of the times?

How do I feel about it all?

Eh...

These are young kids that feel the weight of graduation on their shoulders, probably very idealistic and just waking up to a lot of the things that are wrong in this world. Which is good. But this is their awakening, their knee-jerk reaction. As with all knee-jerk reactions, we need to give them a chance to think about their newfound knowledge, digest it, and contemplate on it.

Once they've done that they'll be wiser and more articulate on these issues.

But, for now, protest. That's what we're supposed to do at that age, in that situation.

State of Baseball in Puerto Rico

Here is a really interesting article about the decline of baseball in Puerto Rico. By decline it refers to fewer and fewer players coming into pro baseball from the island.

It cites many issues, one of which is the economic prosperity the island is going through. How does this affect baseball in a negative way? The article explains:

Another factor could be a favorable economy that provides an opportunity for a successful life outside of sports. Translation: Baseball is not seen as the only way out like it is in some other countries.

Very very interesting topic to me. I've always seen poorer countries like the Dominican as having an advantage because baseball is seen as THE way to get out of poverty. When there is only one way out, you attack that way with a fury. Your livelihood is at stake, as well as the health and well-being of your entire family. How's that for motivation?

Personally, I've always wondered what if would've been like if I had been poor growing up. Sure, the country is/was poor, but I wasn't. I always had the guilt hanging over my head that being a ball player was seen as being "just a ball player," when I had all these opportunities, education, etc. to be something more.

So it's interesting to me, all this talk in Puerto Rico.

Sox - Cubs Brawl

Just got home and I turn on the TV and BAM!! All hell breaks loose at US Cellular field. On a fly ball to left, AJ Piersynski tags up, smacks into Barrett, he's safe, then he gets up and - maybe a little out of it - bumps into Barrett again, who's not happy about it and he gives him a bear hug that turns into a right to the face. THen everyone goes nuts.

THe announcers are staying neutral on this.

"Who knows what AJ said to Barrett"

"Why is AJ bumping into Barrett there? The dugout is in the other direction."

"You still don't punch someone like that."

When it comes down to it, Barrett got frustrated. He shouldn't have thrown a punch. No good.

Now Iguchi hits a homerun and Cubs fans everywhere are like "Fuck"

Money and Happiness...$40,000?

From an article about a study done about money and happiness:

Francis cites a study conducted by economist Richard Easterlin at the University of Southern California. He found that the amount of money people needed to make them happy was $40,000 a year. Once basic needs were met, increased money didn't really change how happy people actually were.

You gotta send E-Mail to get E-Mail

That was the way I always felt about it, and for the longest time it held true. If you sit around clicking on "Check Email," hoping to have something from someone, anyone, you'll probably go nuts or just be very disappointed. We yearn to get mail, to get a package, to get an e-mail - it tells our ego that someone out there is thinking of us, wants to hear about us, cares what we think.

And in my experience, when I wanted to receive, I would sit down and type out a whole bunch of emails. That is, I would give. And, lo and behold, I would get (over the course of a few days) a cluster of emails back.

It was a nice analogy to life in general.

But last week I sent a ton of emails (my ego was getting that itchy feeling) and I've still to get a response (ok, maybe one).

So much for my theory.

Juan Pierre

A lot of people are down on Juan Pierre right not, saying he was a bad choice, how much he sucks, etc.

Chill out people, you're starting to sound like Red Sox fans. Look at this guy's career numbers (here): he's going to hit. He's a career .305 hitter and he hit .330 in the minors. I think it's the pressure that's getting to him. He puts the burden on himself too much with comments like "I basically didn't do anything today" after losses.

Once he relaxes he'll be fine.

More expensive in some countries

An interesting article in Businessweek about how and why identical products cost more in some countries than in others—even when conventional wisdom says they shouldn't.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and we would go to the only video-game store in Guatemala City. They accepted dollars and a Nintendo 64 game could cost over $100. Like the article mentions though, it's because they were the only outfit in town. If you wanted a new game and didn't have a PO Box in the US, this is where you had to go.

I just realized how weird that sounds, "When I was a kid...N64 games." That's because I was a teenager, not really a kid.

SPAM

Do you want to do something useful in your life?

Courtesy of koko959

Coed boned doggystyle and on her back

How does that work?

Year Of Magical Thinking

Just finished it yesterday. It was OK, though it could've been shorter by 50-60 pages. I found myself most intrigued at the beginning and how she reacted to the death of her husband. It's a very detailed account and it makes you really feel like you were there with her. But then it gets repetitive and the most interesting parts were about their lives as writers. But even these were too abbreviated, since she was trying to focus on the grief and how the past fit into this "year."

She should write a memoir (maybe she has) of what it was like to live as a writer, it sounded awfully interesting.

Jennifer Aniston = Hope?

So I'm reading the news and I see a little article on Aniston possibly looking for a place here in Chicago with Vince Vaughn. And there's a little picture of her right there on the side.

And it hits me how huge she is and how "newsworthy" she's become.

But why?

Look at all the other big, female celebrities out there: Julia Roberts, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba, the teenie-boppers (Lohan, Simpson, etc.), and even Meryl Streep. What do they all have in common? What made them so big and important?

One of three things:
- They are/were (recently) super hot
- They are really good at what they do (acting, performing, etc.)
- Both of the above (really rare, but I think Streep falls here (note the "were" in the first bullet)).

So where does Aniston lie? She did marry Bradd Pitt for the longest time, and that seemed to give her a ton of attention. OK, I understand. She had the hottest show on TV for the longest time. On that show, she was known as "the hot one," which is what she was. On that show.

Is she a great actress? I think she's good at the romantic comedy stuff, though I would think more of her if she did more projects like The Good Girl (her best "real" work). But she's going to get any Oscars anytime soon with that genre. So she doesn't have that cache that the Streeps and Roberts have.

Is she super hot? This is subjective, but lets try to break it down. She's 37 years old. She isn't on covers of magazines with a bikini on or anything like that. She isn't lusted for the way other stars are (Alba, Longoria, etc.).

And yet, there she is, practically every day, in People Magazine or somewhere online. People want to know about her. They want to know what she's up to.

Should Aniston give us hope?

I think so.

That a 37-year-old romantic-comedy actress who used to be on a top-rated show (read: washed up), who doesn't have double-D breasts and wears skimpy outfits still commands the media's attention because the masses want to know.

Jennifer Aniston is what's right in America right now. It's that desire for the wholesome, all-American girl that you can't wait to bring home to your parents. She's the type of girl that makes everything OK. There is no dark side to her, as far as the public is concerned. No kinky shit going on, either. This isn't what guys dream about when they get horny, this is what they think about after the act, when their head is clear and they yearn for something more. Something real.

Jennifer Aniston is the quintessential good girl. I, for one, tip my hat and say thank you. We in Chicago would be lucky to have you.

DaVinci code gets lame response from Cannes reviewers

What did people expect? It’s a movie based on a book that isn’t known for as a “well-written” book. And it isn’t. But it’s a good story, it’s entertaining. Some of the lines were jeered, I think I know which ones. I almost jeered when I read them, but seeing them onscreen is different. It’s easier to poke fun and sigh and roll your eyes.

America will love it.

Nice Rowand Article

Check it out, it's well done.

Barrett spot on

From the Tribune, talking about the current losing streak and whose fault it is:

"Fans have a right to say whatever they want," Barrett said. "They have a right to blame whoever they think is at fault. My opinion is, the players are getting paid way too much money to blame anybody else. We just have to look at ourselves."

Amen, brother.

Ozzie playing Nintendo?

From an article in the Tribune:

"Do the umpires have a tough job to do?" Guillen said. "Yes. Do they have to control the game? Yes. But it's getting to the point where you feel like you just make the lineup, sit there and shut up. And if another manager doesn't want to say that, I do. They should just let the players play the game. Someone gets hit, all of a sudden you can't [retaliate]. They send a note saying, 'We're watching you.' Like you're a headhunter. Someone balks and they tell you that you can't argue a balk.

"It's pretty much like you're sitting there just playing Nintendo. You're not doing your job. When you're not doing your job you feel like you're letting people down. I didn't say anything against the umpires, but there are so many rules, it's tough to deal with. People forgot how to play the game. They [mess with] a lot of managers, they [mess with] a lot of players."

He has a point, plus it's funny.

DMV and Family Guy

So I went this weekend to get my first driver’s license and, predictably, it didn’t happen. I was there on time, I took my written and visual tests, but they decided to close the driving tests and hour and fifteen minutes before closing time. When I asked the polite, latino man/woman behind the desk he/she told me it’s at the manager’s discretion—they can close down whenever they see fit. Other than that it was relatively quick, for a major bureaucracy, anyway.

Then yesterday on Family Guy Peter told the story of how the black man had his revenge against the white man for slavery: the DMV. Then they go into one of their trademark flashbacks where a white guy is in front of a counter at the DMV while a black Peter tells him to get into another line. The guy complains, they keep going back and forth, talking over each other (another Family Guy staple) until finally the black Peter just says, “I’m on break,” puts a sign up, and disappears. Pretty funny stuff.

Although I must say that, after reading some criticism about the show, I think they have a point. Family doesn’t really have “stories” in their episodes. As much as I like their flashback usage and the many random things they throw out there (and yes, they’re funny), it’s much harder to be funny and stay within a story. What they do is more like a comedy routine with flimsy connections between the jokes.

Year of Magical Thinking

by Joan Didion

I just started it last night and right off the bat it jumps out at you how she handles death. I haven't read anything of hers (except maybe a short story a while ago) so I don't know much about her. But the first 30 pages tell me she's a very rational, emotionally even person. She reacted to the death of her husband with a frightening amount of reason, like something out of a textbook. She hides in research in order to give meaning to the things she's feeling. It's a little sad and scary, especially since I could see myself reacting this way to a death of that magnitude. Or at least I could until I read this. I think my emotions would swoop in and take control, no way I could be this "cold" and collected if my "other half" died.

Driving Rules

I'm getting my first driver's license in the US and I'm studying for the test. Check out some quirky stuff I found in the official, state-prepared study materials:

When dealing with aggressive drivers:
* Do not make eye contact.
* Listen to relaxing music or books on tape.

On a cell phone:
- Avoid intense, emotional or complicated conversations.

Felix Pie will be up soon, trust me

As bad an idea as it is to bring this kid up right now (he’s young, was injured last year, needs AAA Abs), the Cubs are sucking right now and they need a spark, even if Pie isn’t a 1B. He hit two homeruns yesterday for Iowa and it’s pretty clear they need some excitement in Chicago.

SPAM

Sh0ots ch0c0late cha-cha

No way I was clicking on that one.


With Viagra Pro your penis will forget about being disabled forever.

I have this funny image of a little penis with a white wrap over his head and little mini-crutches getting out of his car, which is parked in a disabled spot.

I mean, a disabled penis?

Hugo Pivaral

He was kind of a legend while I was growing up. He was the biggest kid in guatemalan baseball and threw the hardest. When he turned 16 (midnight on his birthday, actually) he signed with the LA Dodgers, adding to the lore.

Things didn't turn out for him in pro ball, but I found this nifty little report on USA today's website. It's from 1996, when Hugo was around 17.

The writer is ranking the top teen prospects in baseball. Here is the company Hugo was in at the time:

The top 10 teens:

No. Player Pos. Team
1. Andruw Jones OF Atlanta
2. Kerry Wood P Cubs
3. Chad Hermansen SS Pittsburgh
4. Mike Kusiewicz P Colorado
5. Ben Davis C San Diego
6. Hugo Pivaral P Los Angeles
7. Damian Moss P Atlanta
8. D'Angelo Jimenez SS N.Y. Yankees
9. Joe Fontenot P San Francisco
10. Ben Petrick C Colorado


Notice that most of those guys made it to the big leagues and contributed. Only three of them were unheard of to me, which says a lot.

Running With Scissors

I'm reading Augusten Boroughs's Running with Scissors, and I'm really liking it. So I went online and wanted to read an interview with him. I found some good stuff.

The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It's not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work.

Plus I like this last question:

What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
Well, like I said above -- you must never give up. Once I decided to write, to be published, I knew it would happen. I knew that if I wrote a new book every six months or every year, if I continued to read great books, eventually I would write something worthy of publication. I understood I might be in my forties or my fifties or even my sixties, but I felt confident that it would happen. The reason I was so confident is because I knew I wouldn't stop trying until it happened. And this is the secret. You don't need to be confident. You just need to be stubborn.

In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders

Great, great stuff. Read it.

Good Night Good Luck

Finally saw it last night. I guess it had no way of living up to the hype and the expectation. It was good, and it had some relevance in what's happening today. But it was just that, good. I think the buzz was overkill, maybe I would've felt this way if it would've come out closer to 9-11.

The meat of the movie was the opening piece and the final speech at the end. The rest just didn't have the punch I think a lot of other people felt and is what made them like it so much.

Oh well, I guess I'm out of the loop on this one.

Managers with Uniforms

From a Q & A in the Dallas Morning News no a subject I've noticed before and pointed out, just never got an answer.

Q: This may sound like a silly question, but here we go. Why is baseball the only sport where the head coach (manager) and assistant coaches suit up in uniform?

Could you imagine seeing Bill Parcells in shoulder pads? Why can’t baseball coaches dress like regular coaches?

Alan Harwell, Corpus Christi, Texas

GRANT: Tradition is the closest thing to a cast-in-stone answer. In baseball’s formulative years, the manager was often a player. So, he wore a uniform for reasons of practicality. But the age of player-managers pretty much faded in the first half of the century. Two managers, Connie Mack and Burt Shotton, both of whom didn’t manage after 1950, chose to wear civilian clothes in the dugout. Baseball is a game of tradition. You don’t mess with tradition.

If there is still a reason for managers and coaches to wear uniforms, it’s because they are the only coaching staffs to enter the field of play (legally, at least) in any sport. It would look funny to see the base coaches in slacks and Tommy Bahama and funnier to see Buck Showalter jog out to the mound to make a pitching change in a suit. I have him for more of a tie-dye and Birkenstock look anyway.

Moussaoui, one last time

An interesting article on Moussaoui and some of the stuff he said at his sentencing (he will not get the death penalty).

Moussaoui sat in his chair staring at Dolan and the other family witnesses, Rosemary Dillard and Abraham Scott, betraying no emotion as they spoke.

He responded directly to them in his speech, referring first to Dillard, who spoke of losing her husband, Eddie, in the Pentagon attack. "She said I destroyed a life and she lost a husband," Moussaoui said. "Maybe one day she can think about how many people the
CIA has destroyed. ... You have a hypocrisy beyond belief. Your humanity is a selective humanity. Only you suffer."

"You have branded me as a terrorist or a criminal or whatever," he said. "Look at yourselves. I fight for my belief." He spoke for less than five minutes; the judge told him he could not use his sentencing to make a political speech. He concluded: "God save Osama bin Laden — you will never get him."

Moussaoui said he kept his speech short because America doesn't want to listen. "You wasted an opportunity to learn why people like me, like (9/11 hijacker) Mohamed Atta, have so much hatred of you. ... If you don't want to hear, you will feel" pain.


I think that, somewhere underneath all of that, there is something useful to think about.

Albert Pujols getting better? My predictions

Yep, you heard it here. Pujols is now taking that next step into immortal territory. As much as I hate the guy, I have to name this "Bonds Territory," and it's where Pujols is about to venture.

Why?

I'll tell you.

For the last two years his walk/strikeout ratio has been 84/52 and 97/65.

The trend in his career has been a slow, steady reduction of Strikeouts with a slow, steady rise in walks.

Which is good.

But he still would only draw about a third more walks than strikeouts. Which is great, but it ain't Bonds.

His walk ratios the last two full years have been: 148/58 and 232/41, which is ridiculous, hence the naming of the "Bonds Territory" after him. His OBP for those two seasons? .529 and .609 respectively, which is insane.

Now, lets look at how pitchers (and Pujols) are adjusting to how good Pujols is becoming.

This season his walk / strikout ratio is: 29/7. That's over four times as many walks as Ks. That's pretty much near what Bonds has been doing lately. His OBP so far is .492, which tells us he's close to Bonds, but not quite there yet (he's got a .330 AVG, so his OBP is only 162 points higher. Bond has a .512 OBP with a mere .250 AVG, for a differential of 262 points.)

Not only will I make the claim that Pujols will be the next Bonds, I will go even further and tell you who will become the next Pujols (the mini-Bonds, if you will).

Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins.

Granted, a lot depends on what team he plays for numberswise, but he's becoming just as feared as Pujols was a few years ago.

For the past two years he's pretty much averaged 60 BBs and 120 Ks. His OBP has been .366 and .385 respectively. Notice how it's creeping up?

Well, with the lack of protection behind him and respect he's earned in the league, here's what he's done this season:

19 walks and 20 Strikeouts, which is almost 1 for 1.

Which is close to Pujols' 2nd and 3rd seasons.

So, what have we learned?

Pujols is the next Bonds.

Cabrera is the next Pujols.

I hate Bonds but I respect the numbers he's put up.

Who is the next Cabrera?

Come on, I've done enough work already.

Moussaoui gets life

Here are some of his outbursts (via CNN) during the trial:

Outbursts

Here is my favorite:

"Moussaoui biological warfare"

- April 27, after a juror called in sick.

Immigrants returning to Mexico

Check it out.

SPAM

This is most modern and safe way not to cover with shame

I imagine this has to do with "length problems," but I'm at work and don't want to get in trouble by opening anything illicit.

Currently Reading

In Persuasion Nation, by George Saunders

Here's an article that mentions his book, David Foster Wallace, and Gravity's Rainbow. It deals mostly with "experimental fiction."

Did I mention how good DFW's Consider the Lobster is?

Sedaris on Foster Wallace

From The Duluth News Tribune

Q: What are the highlights of your personal library?

A: I love that David Foster Wallace essay collection that came out few months ago called "Consider the Lobster." True, those are essays, but he's smart, he's really smart, he says things that just stop you cold, his observations are so keen that even though it's in essay form I don't consider his writing like mine at all because he's smart.

Right on. They are very different, but I enjoy them both.

Vocation Vacations help land dream jobs

Check out this article on Vocation Vacations, a company that pairs you up with a mentor in a field you're interested in persuing.

Think of it as an intense, high-class internship.

Pretty cool stuff.

Trendy to be an immigrant

I may or may not be one of those people inside a group that cherish being part of the group but look down on the people who try to claim they are a part of it though they aren't, even though I would probably do the same in their place.

I am from Guatemala, born and raised.

Today I heard something I've heard tons of times before,

"Oh well I'm Philipino."

"Really?"

"Well, technically."

This was all under the umbrella of the immigrant debate that is raging these days. I've been hearing these claims since I got to college.

"I'm a quarter polish, an eighth german and a little Native American."

No, you are from Worcester and you were born and raised there, and you've probably never even been to Connecticut.

Sorry, but it's the truth.

And now everyone and their mother is an immigrant.

"We are all immigrants."

It just goes to show you how bored with their lives people are that they can't even focus on what they are and what they have, instead yearning to be a part of something bigger, something meaningful, something worth fighting and dying for (which immigrants to every day - not me though). I get it. I watched Malcolm X and Schindler's List. I know what it's like to be on the outside and want to take part in a movement that inspires you.

But when it's pretty clear you're the old guy at the club, it's time to go home, look in the mirror, and realize you've got other responsibilities, and they can't be neglected.

Corey Patterson

For the past two days the Orioles have finally started playing Corey Patterson. Which is good, I like the guy and want him to do well. The mistake they made was the same the Cubs made: they have him leading off. He is NOT a leadoff hitter. He can run really fast and he’s left handed, that’s all he has that leadoff hitters need. That’s IT. He is a .275 25HR 75RBI guy for the back of the order with a ton of strikeouts and very few walks. If they keep walking him out there in the leadoff spot then the same thing will happen that happened here: they’ll get sick of him and trade him away.

So far he has 1 BB and 9 Ks, but he does have 7 steals and hasn’t been caught.

Come of folks this one is an easy call.

SPAM Recycler

My friend Olisa sent me thislink to a website that recycles your spam and turns it into artwork.

I took a quick look at it and it's pretty cool. Can't test it out just yet though, maybe later.

The NBA sucks? Yup, but...

I’ve been hearing it for years now: “I don’t watch NBA Basketball anymore, it’s boring and no one plays D.”

And I agree. At least I did until I began watching the Bulls, on a whim, a couple years ago. Please please please, if you are one of these people and you don’t want to give the NBA another shot – watch the Bulls play. Give them at least one game. You can watch them now that they are in the playoffs.

They are young, they are hungry, they play D. They don’t have a superstar that thinks he’s the center of the universe. They are built around Kirk Hinrich, one of the best defensive players in the league. He’s the epitome of a team player.

They have players who have been successful in college or in international play.

They have Andres Nocioni, my favorite player in the NBA. Here is a guy who leaves it all on the floor, has superstars hopping mad at his hard D, and responds simply by saying, “No problem. I play hard every game.” He gets smacked, he gets up. No attitude or ego issues here.

They let a guy go (Tim Thomas) who was starting for the Suns in the playoffs because he was viewed as lazy in practice by the coach.

We have a coach who will NOT put up with shit from players who think they are better than the team.

Really, I could go on and on, but you need to see this for yourself.

Can a team like this win in the NBA? They are tied 2-2 against the Heat, so we’ll soon find out.

Tuesday in Miami, I’ll see you there.