posthumously. A deserved honor for one of my boyhood heroes. With apologies to Darrell Green, Bob Hayes will become the fastest player in the NFL Hall of Fame. I don't know who, in the foreseeable future, will take that title from him. Watch video of his Olympic 100 meters: he is pulling away from the fastest men in the world. If they had run another 20 meters, Hayes might've had a 15 meter lead on the field. NFL Films
I suspect Michael Irvin's election into the Hall of Fame, and his nakedly heartfelt acceptance speech, helped ease the path for Bob Hayes' induction. My thoughts about Irvin's induction here.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Big Hollywood is a website on fire: "Republican is the new punk"
Doug TenNapel:
Mark Steyn demurs.
The rebellious spirit of rock is dead. No better evidenced than by its formal endorsement of President Obama. [...]I think he's onto something. I feel sexy. Fight the power.
But rock cannot be both establishment and anti-establishment. It can’t be a rebellious underdog while endorsing and distributing the status quo. And yes, President Obama is the status quo of unlimited spending and government expansion he supposedly opposed during the election [...]
Lefty politics are no longer the fringe and no matter if the voters knew it or not they carved lefty politics into stone. Bill Ayers became the system he once fought against. Sure, they still wear the earring and say “fuck” a lot to maintain street-cred among the academics, but now rock has taken sides — it is for the establishment. Same with journalism, the university and pop-culture. The left has become a cliché. They’re not “Arrested Development” they’re “Golden Girls” with a soul patch. Snore.
Now that the art nerds and punks just became the football jocks and prom queens, a new rebel is emerging from the wilderness. They are the new anti-establishment. One minority force bands together against every other branch of government swallowed by the Democrat octopus. The last evidence of a check or balance against the popular people are now the Conservative Republicans.
The arts have failed. They no longer keep mass culture in check with thought-provoking art that challenges the establishment. Now they’re in charge of spreading the mainstream mandate of the Liberal Vatican. There isn’t an original thought among them, just a thousand-mile stare, a blue logo and the drone-like vocabulary of emotive, vaguely inspiring chants.
We’re the new rebellion against the majority juggernaut that doesn’t take kindly to dissent. Make a fist and show them what happens when they tell you what to think, feel and believe.
If you want me to unite to your cause, then end abortion, give the people back the money they earned, fight terror, keep your hands off free speech on the radio and enable job creators to make more jobs. Until then, screw your hope and screw your change.
Mark Steyn demurs.
Iraqis Vote
More purple fingers. Attractive purple fingers! Love it. Peaceful transition of power is a huge deal. I am always grateful for it. Kudos to all who sacrificed so this day might happen.
Multi-Generational Economic Rape Act
Directs $4.19 Billion to ACORN.
Billion.
Undoubtedly designed to pay fee of biggest spokestool in history.
Also includes buy American provision which dampens free trade ~~~~ haunting ghost of 1930 Smoot Hawley Act which: raised tariffs, dampened free trade, disastrously deepened Depression.
Shockingly ignorant of history, economics, virtue, wisdom. We are being disingenuous and foolish. We should stop now. I am less and less tranquil.
Update:
I'm reminded of instances, when commenting with persons of the left, when they would accuse Repubs of being big spenders.
"Repubs are big spenders," I would reply, "And I am mad at them, and they completely deserve to lose elections. However, Dems are always much bigger spenders than Repubs. Dems would be worse."
"No," the Left person would earnestly reply, every time, "Dems will spend less than Repubs. There's no doubt. Dems will even balance the budget."
Sigh. We've just completed an election in which the electorate largely believed
The spending thing was Congressional Repubs fault. They were fools when they controlled Congress, and they richly deserve their current fate.
Public economic opinion is everyone's fault: McCain, Congressional Repubs, even the voters.
Update 2:
Exactly what you get, exactly what you deserve, when you refuse to allow failing companies to fail (and GWB is guilty, guilty, guilty in this area; yet Barack and Dems could have stopped it). Who can blame GM for investing where they are profitable, instead of where they are unprofitable? I don't. I would rather they invest where they are profitable.
GM investing $1 Billion of Bailout money in Brazil Auto Operations
Billion.
Undoubtedly designed to pay fee of biggest spokestool in history.
Also includes buy American provision which dampens free trade ~~~~ haunting ghost of 1930 Smoot Hawley Act which: raised tariffs, dampened free trade, disastrously deepened Depression.
Shockingly ignorant of history, economics, virtue, wisdom. We are being disingenuous and foolish. We should stop now. I am less and less tranquil.
Update:
I'm reminded of instances, when commenting with persons of the left, when they would accuse Repubs of being big spenders.
"Repubs are big spenders," I would reply, "And I am mad at them, and they completely deserve to lose elections. However, Dems are always much bigger spenders than Repubs. Dems would be worse."
"No," the Left person would earnestly reply, every time, "Dems will spend less than Repubs. There's no doubt. Dems will even balance the budget."
Sigh. We've just completed an election in which the electorate largely believed
- the Dem would cut taxes more than the Repub,
- Dems in Congress would spend less than Repubs and would balance the budget,
- Dems are better with the economy than Repubs.
The spending thing was Congressional Repubs fault. They were fools when they controlled Congress, and they richly deserve their current fate.
Public economic opinion is everyone's fault: McCain, Congressional Repubs, even the voters.
Update 2:
Exactly what you get, exactly what you deserve, when you refuse to allow failing companies to fail (and GWB is guilty, guilty, guilty in this area; yet Barack and Dems could have stopped it). Who can blame GM for investing where they are profitable, instead of where they are unprofitable? I don't. I would rather they invest where they are profitable.
GM investing $1 Billion of Bailout money in Brazil Auto Operations
What do women want? Women don't know
Men generally respond (largely respond?) to what they say they desire. Women don't know what they are responding to. Women were turned on by monkeys having sex, then denied it. link
So, do you approach a woman and say: "I'm into the same thing you're into: monkeys having sex!" Apparently, she will be subconsciously turned on, then will throw her drink in your face and summon police. Then she'll Tweet about it, and call you by name, causing from a dozen to hundreds of women to be: 1) turned on by you, and 2) fully disgusted by your very existence. Which, in toto, is an improvement over how women view me now.
Relevant: Dr. Helen interviews Advice Goddess Amy Alkon
Related: Women want manlier men when women's hormones are higher; women want girlier men when women's hormones are lower. link
Also relevant:
Interested Or Deceptively Flirting? Observers Of First Dates Can Predict Outcome, Study Shows
So, do you approach a woman and say: "I'm into the same thing you're into: monkeys having sex!" Apparently, she will be subconsciously turned on, then will throw her drink in your face and summon police. Then she'll Tweet about it, and call you by name, causing from a dozen to hundreds of women to be: 1) turned on by you, and 2) fully disgusted by your very existence. Which, in toto, is an improvement over how women view me now.
Relevant: Dr. Helen interviews Advice Goddess Amy Alkon
Related: Women want manlier men when women's hormones are higher; women want girlier men when women's hormones are lower. link
Also relevant:
Science News
ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2009) — When it comes to assessing the romantic playing field -- who might be interested in whom -- men and women were shown to be equally good at gauging men's interest during an Indiana University study involving speed dating -- and equally bad at judging women's interest.
Researchers expected women to have a leg up in judging romantic interest, because theoretically they have more to lose from a bad relationship, but no such edge was found.
"The hardest-to-read women were being misperceived at a much higher rate than the hardest-to-read men. Those women were being flirtatious, but it turned out they weren't interested at all," said lead author Skyler Place, a doctoral student in IU's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences working with cognitive science Professor Peter Todd. "Nobody could really read what these deceptive females were doing, including other women."
linkAl Gore, budding "object of derision", testifies before Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Incredibly, not a Senator on the Committee questioned -- much less burst into outright laughter at -- Gore’s absurd point. [...]
It is true that atmospheric CO2 warms both Venus and the Earth, but that’s about where the CO2 commonality between the two planets ends. While the Venusian atmosphere is 97 percent CO2 (970,000 parts per million), the Earth’s atmosphere is only 0.038 percent CO2 (380 parts per million). So the Venusian atmosphere’s CO2 level is more than 2,557 times greater than the Earth’s. And since the CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere is increasing by only about 2 parts per million annually, our planet is hardly being Venus-ized.
John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel, explains The Amazing Story Behind the Global Warming Scam
Gaping Void on Marketing Strategy
"We're into the same kind of things you're into"link
works better as a marketing strategy than,
"Here's why you should buy our product."
Krauthammer on Barack making stuff up about Bush Admin in Al-Arabia interview
via Peter Wehner:
[For Barack] to imply that there was a disrespect of Islam in the [Bush] administration, I think is unfair and fictional.Krauthammer's entire comment at the link.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Michael Steele elected Chairman of the RNC
Me: This is awesome!
Steele: "This is awesome!"
Steele: "Get ready for something completely different."
Steele: "This is awesome!"
Steele: "Get ready for something completely different."
The magnosity of the stuprissity
Been pretty tranquil over Barack's follies. I fall back on:
What?!
Man's effect on global warming is less significant than celebrity Mario Lopez' effect on world peace.
Who? What? Exactly.
Back to the quote. It said "billion": $2.4 billion to be spent on snake oil. It's bad enough our nation is going down via the folly of Keynesian economic theory, but now we will spend billions (!!) on climate change snake oil?! I am wicked ticked. Our embrace of the Keynesian economic stupidity (how much proof * do we require before rejecting that fluff?) and climate change snake oil is ... so ... outrageous, I cannot find words to convey
the magnosity of the stuprissity.
Vladimir Radyuhin:
A link filled treasure: James Hanson's former NASA Supervisor says Hanson's climate change claims are manure. Or something like that. I paraphrase!
*U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minnesota, looks back on FDR's and Hoover's follies:
Keynes' way doesn't work. We are being disingenuous and foolish. We should stop now.
Related: Ben Stein is disconsolate.
The Lord's in charge; all things work together for the best for them who love God.Also fall back on Tom Landry:
"I don't worry about things I cannot control."My tranquility is disturbed over Barack's emphasis on climate change. "The Multi-Generational Financial Rape Act" stipulates expenditure of
"$400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects."?!
What?!
Man's effect on global warming is less significant than celebrity Mario Lopez' effect on world peace.
Who? What? Exactly.
Back to the quote. It said "billion": $2.4 billion to be spent on snake oil. It's bad enough our nation is going down via the folly of Keynesian economic theory, but now we will spend billions (!!) on climate change snake oil?! I am wicked ticked. Our embrace of the Keynesian economic stupidity (how much proof * do we require before rejecting that fluff?) and climate change snake oil is ... so ... outrageous, I cannot find words to convey
the magnosity of the stuprissity.
Vladimir Radyuhin:
Russian scientists reject the very idea that carbon dioxide may be responsible for global warming.[...]
“The Kyoto theorists have put the cart before the horse,” says renowned Russian geographer Andrei Kapitsa. “It is global warming that triggers higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, not the other way round.”
Russian researchers made this discovery while studying ice cores recovered from the depth of 3.5 kilometres in Antarctica. Analysis of ancient ice and air bubbles trapped inside revealed the composition of the atmosphere and air temperature going back as far as 400,000 years.
“We found that the level of CO2 had fluctuated greatly over the period but at any given time increases in air temperature preceded higher concentrations of CO2,” says academician Kapitsa, who worked in Antarctica for many years. Russian studies showed that throughout history, CO2 levels in the air rose 500 to 600 years after the climate warmed up. Therefore, higher concentrations of greenhouse gases registered today are the result, not the cause, of global warming.
Critics of the CO2 role in climate change point out that water vapours are a far more potent factor in creating the greenhouse effect as their concentration in the atmosphere is five to 10 times higher than that of CO2. “Even if all CO2 were removed from the earth atmosphere, global climate would not become any cooler,” says solar physicist Vladimir Bashkirtsev.[...]
“There were periods in the history of the Earth when CO2 levels were a million times higher than today, and life continued to evolve quite successfully,” agrees Vladimir Arutyunov of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Chemical Physics.[...]
“The Kyoto Protocol is a huge waste of money,” says Dr. Sorokhtin. “The Earth’s atmosphere has built-in regulatory mechanisms that moderate climate changes. When temperatures rise, ocean water evaporation increases, denser clouds stop solar rays and surface temperatures decline.”
Academician Kapitsa denounced the Kyoto Protocol as “the biggest ever scientific fraud.”
A link filled treasure: James Hanson's former NASA Supervisor says Hanson's climate change claims are manure. Or something like that. I paraphrase!
*U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minnesota, looks back on FDR's and Hoover's follies:
The entire FDR New Deal, inflation adjusted to modern day dollars, cost $500 Billion. "The Multi-Generational Economic Rape Bill" currently (ah says "currently") sits at $1.173 Trillion.Yet, once elected, [Franklin] Roosevelt not only maintained [Herbert] Hoover's programs, he used them as a foundation for his titanic New Deal expenditures. He even expanded Hoover's failed housing program and launched the now-infamous mortgage giant Fannie Mae. And even in the face of a staggering 25 percent unemployment, FDR held fast to the big-government philosophy -- jobs programs, handouts, tax hikes -- and, as a result, presided over a decade of economic misery.
FDR's own treasury secretary, Henry Morgenthau, had to admit as much in 1939:
"We are spending more than we have ever spent before, and it does not work. ... We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. And an enormous debt to boot!"Instead of pursuing the tragic economic policies of Hoover and FDR, we should follow the model of presidents who successfully met the economic challenges of their times and ushered in prosperity. In recent memory, Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan dramatically cut taxes to stimulate growth and create jobs -- and their policies succeeded.
When Jimmy Carter left office, the economy was slumping, unemployment was higher than today and inflation was in the double digits. Reagan's economic policy, which included massive tax cuts, reversed a worsening situation, and the economy surged on every level -- 17 million jobs were created, employee compensation increased, inflation was conquered and the longest peacetime boom in our history was born.
Keynes' way doesn't work. We are being disingenuous and foolish. We should stop now.
Related: Ben Stein is disconsolate.
Barack Antoinette: Let them soak in hot tubs
Barack in May 2008
Ironically, Barack now travels amidst a FLEET of SUVs (heh), serves $100 Wagyu steaks at White House cocktail parties (from cows whose flatulence creates massive carbon dioxide emissions), and has his thermostat adjusted according to whim. I, personally, have no objection to any of this. But I'm also not sitting on the nation's shoulder and wagging my finger, and then acting hypocritically:
Barack in Jan 09
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Daschle:
The people have no heat to warm their homes.
Barack Antoinette:
Let them soak in hot tubs...
White House Chief of Staff Rohm Emmanuel:
The people have no leadership to guide them.
Barack Antoinette:
Let them use GPS...
U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton:
Other nations see the White House thermostat and do not say "okay".
Barack Antoinette:
Let them say "Yes we can"...
Althouse:
"Never lecture me again about global warming, Barack Obama",
her commenter, Pogo:
“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,”...This very quote inspired MKH's most watched video: Obama On Your Shoulder.
“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.
Ironically, Barack now travels amidst a FLEET of SUVs (heh), serves $100 Wagyu steaks at White House cocktail parties (from cows whose flatulence creates massive carbon dioxide emissions), and has his thermostat adjusted according to whim. I, personally, have no objection to any of this. But I'm also not sitting on the nation's shoulder and wagging my finger, and then acting hypocritically:
Barack in Jan 09
The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.
“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there."
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Daschle:
The people have no heat to warm their homes.
Barack Antoinette:
Let them soak in hot tubs...
White House Chief of Staff Rohm Emmanuel:
The people have no leadership to guide them.
Barack Antoinette:
Let them use GPS...
U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton:
Other nations see the White House thermostat and do not say "okay".
Barack Antoinette:
Let them say "Yes we can"...
Althouse:
"Never lecture me again about global warming, Barack Obama",
her commenter, Pogo:
Pogo said... -
Carbon footprints are for the little people.
His thin skin is uncomfortable in the cold.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad
It seems as if PETA made certain their ad would be banned. They likely prefer to not pay the rates for a Super Bowl Ad, but rather to have a viral internet hit. They got O'Reilly to be outraged over their ad (last night), and to play much of it on his show - all the better for them (and all the better for O'Reilly's ratings: he and PETA use each other for mutual benefit).
The humor is what makes these vignettes good. Content warning.
Memories: MKH's video response to Alicia Silverstone's PETA ad.
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The humor is what makes these vignettes good. Content warning.
Memories: MKH's video response to Alicia Silverstone's PETA ad.
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Tammy Bruce kicks derriere
Gateway Pundit quotes her responding to calls for GWB to be prosecuted for war crimes:
Which is a nice excuse to quote a West Point Cadet about a Dec. 9 visit from President Bush. Pajamas Media
"It takes a liberal to suggest or to say directly that liberating 53,000,000 people is a war crime. It takes a liberals to say that keeping this nation safe from another horrific attack by terrorists amounts to a war crime."Tammy Bruce
O'Reilly Factor
January 27, 2009
Which is a nice excuse to quote a West Point Cadet about a Dec. 9 visit from President Bush. Pajamas Media
The next two hours were inspiring, amazing, and ultimately very revealing about who the commander-in-chief really was and what he really believed. After repeating the same injunction about recording devices, he began to take questions. Real questions. Unmoderated questions. Cadets, normally somewhat reticent about asking questions during a briefing, couldn’t get their hands in the air fast enough. He answered everything we threw at him, both the easy and the difficult. As time passed, I began to see this man for who he really was — contrary to all the most popular stereotypes, he was not a power-monger, not an evil oil baron, not the clumsy, bumbling fool as he has often been accused of being.
This was not the George W. Bush that we all thought we knew. Immediately, it became apparent why he didn’t want the press there — he wanted the freedom to be as candid with us as he knew how, as a classic Texas straight shooter down to the last word. Intimately familiar with the new media’s habitual mistreatment of any and all of his verbal missteps or lapses in diplomatic, politically correct language, he knew they would have pounced on this meeting. There would have been no end to the howling coming from his enemies’ camps.
Not politically correct? Yes. Not eloquent? True. Aware of his faults and shortcomings? Absolutely. Honest and sincere in pursing what he believes? Concerned for the welfare of the country, and especially for the welfare of soldiers and their families? You’d better believe it.
He finished, almost reluctant to leave, and thanked us from the bottom of his heart. For the next fifteen minutes, he took the time to chat with the horde of cadets pressing up against the barrier next to the stage. He talked to us, asked us personal questions, and shook every hand offered to him, lingering longer than the average “politician hand squeeze.” No one dared leave the room until after he’d disappeared into the hallway.
As we ascended the stairs and headed back to our rooms, I could hear almost every cadet expressing amazement and admiration for the man, even if they didn’t agree with his policies. I can say that I feel the same.
Success Project 4
This video, Failure: The Secret to Success, inspired these posts. h/tDanica Patrick:
You're driving your car, and you feel frightened a little bit. We bump up against that feeling as much as we can - to try and push that limit further, and get comfortable there, and then push it again, so you're constantly on the brink of crashing - because: that's the fastest.
First thing: Danica is clear about her purpose, i.e. go as fast as possible. I am often less clear about my purposes.
Second thing: the inherent inspiration in Danica's outlook, i.e.
We bump up against that feeling as much as we can - to try and push that limit further, and get comfortable there, and then push it again, so you're constantly on the brink of crashing - because: that's the fastest.Sign me up for that. It's a challenge! It's a fun contest: "push that limit further, and get comfortable there, and then push it again."
She sees her challenge. She has defined it. She is clear about it. She is inspired by it. It's often not as easy to see, define, and be inspired by various of life's challenges. But we would benefit from attempting to be as clear, and as inspired, as Danica.
Pres. Bush attends Baylor Girls vs. OU
Walks in holding hands with Mulkey. Met her after Baylor National Championship in 2005.
Sowell: Crises used as opportunity to expand federal government's power
Thomas Sowell at Townhall.com:
Malkin calls it "the Multi-Generational Financial Rape Act". WSJ calls it "A 40 Year Wish List":
Yesterday, the "the Multi-Generational Financial Rape Act" passed out of the House without a single Republican vote. Good. Republicans suck eggs, but Democrats are truly dangerous.
Crises have long been seen as great opportunities to expand the federal government's power while the people are too scared to object and before any opposition can get organized.
That is why there is such haste to do things that will take effect slowly.
What are the Beltway politicians buying with all the hundreds of billions of dollars they are spending? They are buying what politicians are most interested in-- power.
In the name of protecting the taxpayers' investment, they are buying the power to tell General Motors how to make cars, banks how to bank and, before it is all over with, all sorts of other people how to do the work they specialize in, and for which members of Congress have no competence, much less expertise.
This administration and Congress are now in a position to do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the Great Depression of the 1930s-- use a crisis of the times to create new institutions that will last for generations.
To this day, we are still subsidizing millionaires in agriculture because farmers were having a tough time in the 1930s. We have the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") taking reckless chances in the housing market that have blown up in our faces today, because FDR decided to create a new federal housing agency in 1938.
Malkin calls it "the Multi-Generational Financial Rape Act". WSJ calls it "A 40 Year Wish List":
We’ve looked it over, and even we can’t quite believe it. There’s $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn’t turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There’s even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.
In selling the plan, President Obama has said this bill will make “dramatic investments to revive our flagging economy.” Well, you be the judge. Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There’s another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities. Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus.
Yesterday, the "the Multi-Generational Financial Rape Act" passed out of the House without a single Republican vote. Good. Republicans suck eggs, but Democrats are truly dangerous.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Re Celebrities pledging to help Barack
If you missed, last week, Bill Whittle's snarky video reaction, I highly recommend it - as well as Dr. Sanity's brilliance (at same link), as well as this spoof video. We would be living through a moment of hilarity - except Hillary was defeated. Now the moment is even funnier.
Success Project 3
This video:
Failure: The Secret to Success
(h/t Guy Kawasaki),
inspired these Success Project posts.
Early in the video, Danica Patrick:
I like to be able to see the improvement. And with racing: it's very obvious. I can see the direct result of my effort.
We often succeed in ways which are difficult for us to see; difficult for us to measure; easy for us to discount. Few successes in life are either as clear as in racing, or as clear as in sport in general. That's one attraction of sport: success is easy to see; easy to measure; easy to acknowledge to ourselves and to others. We can acknowledge sport accomplishment with confidence and certainty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Success Project 1, I referenced The Holy Ghost dwelling within us. Yesterday, The Anchoress, in a full post I fully recommend, quoted 1 John 4:12-15.
From Morning PrayerNo one has ever seen God.Chew on God dwelling in YOU. And YOU dwelling in God.
Yet, if we love one another
God dwells in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
The way we know we remain in him
and he in us
is that he has given us his Spirit.
We have seen for ourselves, and can testify,
that the Father has sent the Son as savior of the
world.
When anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of
God,
God dwells in him
and he in God.
--1 John 4:12-15
We none of us are always the person we want to be or try to be. But we keep plugging away. Because we want to dwell in God, and have God dwell in us.
More Rangers Uniforms Opinion
316 visits to the blog Monday, and 286 yesterday, and again the overwhelming majority come to read Southern Brother's "Texas Rangers Batting Helmets Inside Industry Scoop" post, maybe partly b/c Rangers 2009 Batting Helmets are creating a huge stir.
People who like sports uniforms are fascinating human beings who can hang with me anytime. If they also appreciate good mascots, we can be friends forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've let the Rangers new uniforms sink in for a couple of days. They're not horrible or anything (except the batting helmets?). They are fine; presentable. But I don't love them.
Gone: Small Numbers on the Bottom Left of the Fronts of the Jerseys
I loved those numbers. Think of the 11 year old boy from Abilene who is in the stands high above the first base dugout and is studying a program roster and is trying to learn the name of the left fielder. The left fielder never turns around, thus the boy cannot figure out who he is. Should the boy wait until the beginning of the bottom of the following inning, so as to watch the left fielder run from the dugout to LF so as to see the number on his back? Waiting that long is a lifetime for an 11 year old boy. He'll be in the concourse studying the Hebrew National Hot Dog cart by then, and still will not know who the LF is. I liked the numbers on the front.
New Red Jersey
The best effect of this is the side effect: return of the red caps(!), which are more fun for me to wear than the blue caps. Hoorah! Beyond that, as for the red jerseys themselves: meh. I would've loved white uniforms w/ red trim. Red jerseys = okay, I guess. Nothing wonderful.
<== photo courtesy Joe Siegler
Gone: White Vests with Rangers "T" on the Breast
In use since 2004 - these had grown on me. I will miss them. The "T" on the breast of the vest was distinctive to the Texas Rangers; and was very baseball kitschy; very Americana. I liked it. I mourn this loss, as I mourn the way Laynce Nix has yet to fulfill his potential. Laynce has talent. I loved watching him throw. I loved watching line drives scream off his bat.
New Two-Tone Batting Helmets
Before declaring disaster, I'd like to see them in action on one batter and on one baserunner. Until then, I am reserving judgment. I still suspect the design is inspired by the pine tar buildup on major league helmets. By the end of May, we won't be able to tell the difference between Vlad Guerrerro's helmet and the Ranger helmets. Both will look identical.
Black Belts
Letting these marinate.
Black Spikes (Cleats?)
Love em. In truth, I also loved the blue spikes. Most footwear is excellently designed - far better designed than most uniforms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related: My people, i.e. uniform nerds, get together and party. We are not at all like adult women who collect and play with elaborate dolls. Not at all.
People who like sports uniforms are fascinating human beings who can hang with me anytime. If they also appreciate good mascots, we can be friends forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've let the Rangers new uniforms sink in for a couple of days. They're not horrible or anything (except the batting helmets?). They are fine; presentable. But I don't love them.
Gone: Small Numbers on the Bottom Left of the Fronts of the Jerseys
I loved those numbers. Think of the 11 year old boy from Abilene who is in the stands high above the first base dugout and is studying a program roster and is trying to learn the name of the left fielder. The left fielder never turns around, thus the boy cannot figure out who he is. Should the boy wait until the beginning of the bottom of the following inning, so as to watch the left fielder run from the dugout to LF so as to see the number on his back? Waiting that long is a lifetime for an 11 year old boy. He'll be in the concourse studying the Hebrew National Hot Dog cart by then, and still will not know who the LF is. I liked the numbers on the front.
New Red Jersey
The best effect of this is the side effect: return of the red caps(!), which are more fun for me to wear than the blue caps. Hoorah! Beyond that, as for the red jerseys themselves: meh. I would've loved white uniforms w/ red trim. Red jerseys = okay, I guess. Nothing wonderful.
<== photo courtesy Joe SieglerGone: White Vests with Rangers "T" on the Breast
In use since 2004 - these had grown on me. I will miss them. The "T" on the breast of the vest was distinctive to the Texas Rangers; and was very baseball kitschy; very Americana. I liked it. I mourn this loss, as I mourn the way Laynce Nix has yet to fulfill his potential. Laynce has talent. I loved watching him throw. I loved watching line drives scream off his bat.
New Two-Tone Batting HelmetsBefore declaring disaster, I'd like to see them in action on one batter and on one baserunner. Until then, I am reserving judgment. I still suspect the design is inspired by the pine tar buildup on major league helmets. By the end of May, we won't be able to tell the difference between Vlad Guerrerro's helmet and the Ranger helmets. Both will look identical.
Black Belts
Letting these marinate.
Black Spikes (Cleats?)
Love em. In truth, I also loved the blue spikes. Most footwear is excellently designed - far better designed than most uniforms.
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Related: My people, i.e. uniform nerds, get together and party. We are not at all like adult women who collect and play with elaborate dolls. Not at all.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Success Project 2
It's especially right to succeed inside a free market economy. In a free market economy: the more we produce, the more we contribute to everyone.
The Bloggess: Does spreadsheets for a living and says f@#$ a lot
and lives in Houston. What's not to love? link:
So I dressed up in my ‘post-coital Maude’ outfit, which is basically a red wig and a bed sheet held up by one strained safety pin and I walked out of my house intent on joining the horde of people dressed in viking clothes, bowling pin hats and bikinis. It was at this point that I remembered there were a dozen construction workers standing outside my house who had seen me naked just 48 hours before.Twitter stream:
[...]
I walked in and saw that it was just five of us and fucking no one was wearing costumes. You know that dream where you’re naked at school and no one else is naked at school? It’s like that but replace “naked” with “wearing a bedsheet” and “at school” with “on national television”.
So basically it was me, two people in normal clothes and two people in bowling shirts who could have gone into any Starbucks in America without getting a second look. Then Jason handed me the latest copy of Barstool Magazine in which I was mentioned as “a certain bloggess whose vagina I know way too much about”. It was at that moment, reading a glossy magazine about my vagina and dressed in a bed sheet poised to go on live television, that realized I had lost control of my life. Somewhere in between becoming a sweet mommyblogger and this exact moment a series of bizarre choices had landed me in this psychotic life and I had no other choice but to run with it. Someone handed me a badge which said I needed to be escorted by an employee at all times. Clearly these people had heard about me.
One more blog excerpt, from a Quaker Oats Blogging Party on Inauguration Day which was covered by Fox News, then CBS, then NYT: Obama Fever = better than Dengue Fever, not quite as good as Boogie Feverhttp://thebloggess.com/?p=1130 If Jesus cared what you were going to do with semen he would have mentioned it in the Constitution.
So my coworker is all "I don't even know where to begin on correcting you on that last twitter" 8:39 AM Jan 15th from web
Apparently I said Jesus wrote "the Constitution" when I meant that he wrote "the Commandments" 8:40 AM Jan 15th from web
And then it turns out Jesus didn't even write the Commandments?! 8:40 AM Jan 15th from web
And I'm all "The hell he didn't!" 8:40 AM Jan 15th from web
My coworker :Why don't you look it up? It's all probably all outlined in the Bill of Rights. 8:41 AM Jan 15th from web
He's kind of an asshole. 8:41 AM Jan 15th from web
No! Jesus is not an asshole. Jesus is awesome. I love his wine trick. Fuck. 8:47 AM Jan 15th from web
The news guy was just about to interview me at 8am and I mentioned that my granny is all “I wish Jenny would just blog about kittens and not about killing them” and then the news guy is all “Huh. So…maybe time to up the medications?” and I’m all “Oh, I’m already mixing a bunch of medications” and he’s all “Oh. Usually people are just kidding about that” and then like two minutes later he’s like “You know…maybe we’ll interview the religion blogger instead”. It’s probably a good choice.And a couple more Tweets:
UPDATE - 7am: Me: “The last time I was on fox news I was naked wearing only a bed sheet.” News guy : “I’m sorry, what?”. Me: “Are you sure you don’t want me to talk? Because I have a lot to say about this inauguration shit.” Him: “Pretty sure..pretty sure.”
[...]
UPDATE - 8:55am: Laura just arrived with booze. Mood: Less pissed off.
UPDATE - 9:30am : The oatmeal is here. Fucking finally. Apparently we have an oatmeal caterer and he’s pouring us all champagne. Also something is important happening with Obama today. I’m like the best political pundit ever.
UPDATE - 11:00 : CBS is here. My laptop has crashed. I blame Bush.
[...]
UPDATE (I don’t know what time it is) - The news did not use any part of my interview. Also, the inauguration has just ended and already the backlash and political infighting has begun. What was it Obama said about this kind of aggression? That we will extend our hand to you if you will just unclench your damn fist, and then we will kick you in the groin while you’re still looking at our hand? That’s what I heard.
Monday, January 26, 2009
for Emjay: Texas Rangers the new Devil Rays?
i.e. transitioning from nowhere to contention?
I think so - possibly as fringe contenders in 2010; as 800 lb gorilla contenders in 2011. Holland and Feliz and Diamond and Madrigal and C.J. Wilson will make sure of it, with Main and Beavan and Marpez (and Boscan! and Wieland! and more!) on the way.
Feliz could become dominant #1 quality; the four other starters could become #2 quality; therefore Rangers wouldn't have a #3 quality or below starting pitcher on the staff. And I might be selling those starters short. In my dreams: Holland, Main, Marpez, and maybe Beavan become #1 quality starters in a murderer's row of starting pitchers.
Meanwhile, opponents will peek at Kinsler/Hamilton/Cruz/Davis/Max Ramirez*/Justin Smoak and tremble. What if CF Julio Borbon's offense fulfills it's promise? PO....TENT. Ron Washington becomes heralded as the new Earl Weaver? Jon Daniels becomes heralded as, um, the guy who has compromising blackmail info about Tom Hicks' income taxes?
This pundit is thinking the same way (except the blackmail part).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Am now rooting for Max Ramirez to become the Rangers starting catcher in 2010 - or to at least split time with Teagarden, and to DH during much of the time Teagarden is catching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also rooting for Chris Davis to play 50 games a year in RF (especially in the smallish RF in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington), plus 50 games a year at 1B, plus 30 games a year at 3B (which won't happen, but I wish it would).
Addendum:
Hank Blalock is about to kick these ZIPs projection 2009 numbers: .272/.335/.454 in the derriere. Big time. For starters, I say Blalock hits for .290 BA without any reduction in power.
Blalock has had two problems, and they are related:
1. Weakened right shoulder musculature due to lack of blood flow(since corrected via surgery)
2. Consistently tried to pull ball too often, due to
a) immature approach
b) weakened right shoulder musculature which caused Blalock to sense he was more effective when left shoulder dominated and he was pulling the ball.
Blalock sat out for a long time while recuperating. I say he had time to see the big picture and thus reject his previous immature approach. In 2009, expect Blalock to willingly spray the ball to all fields.
Now that his right shoulder is strong again, expect Hank Blalock to wreak havoc upon the AL. He was already outstanding upon his return in Sept 08 - probably more outstanding than at any time in the previous 3 seasons. Blalock is a dangerous hitter, a coiled snake, and he will prove it.
Rangers almost have to trade Blalock at the deadline. Free Agent compensation (Type A, Type B, etc) is determined by production over two seasons. This is why Milton Bradley was a Type B free agent instead of a Type A. Blalock will only have production to show over 1 season + Sept 08. Blalock will be a Type B free agent and therefore return the Rangers only one draft pick. If Rangers can trade him for an A+ prospect, along with another decent prospect, then Rangers come out ahead.
If Nelson Cruz, for instance, regresses as a hitter and turns out to have merely been enjoying a year long hot streak (which I DO NOT expect to happen), then Rangers might consider signing Blalock long term instead of trading him. Or, if Julio Borbon falters, then Blalock could be valuable. Blalock's legs still work. If his arm comes back, he could play some 3B; some LF; some 1B; mostly DH.
Awesome firepower:
1. Kinsler 2B
2. Young 3B
3. Hamilton CF
4. Cruz LF
5. Blalock DH
6. Maximus Ramirez C
7. Chris Davis RF
8. Justin Smoak 1B
9. Elvis SS
Rangers should consider keeping this batting order together for 5 years or so. It's devastating. Why, really, would the Rangers not put this line-up together? I'm thinking they should. If Borbon succeeds, he can rotate in and out of the OF. Add the speedy Vallejo in a utility role. Add Teagarden. That's a really, really good team. 1993 Dallas Cowboys. Michael Young is the wizened Thomas Everett.
In the above lineup, every hitter except Smoak is protected. Smoak is known to be a selective hitter. He's the perfect batter to front Elvis (also, Teagarden is selective and could front Elvis).
I expect Elvis to be a good major league hitter. I just don't know how quickly it will happen. Hopefully quick; maybe not.
I think so - possibly as fringe contenders in 2010; as 800 lb gorilla contenders in 2011. Holland and Feliz and Diamond and Madrigal and C.J. Wilson will make sure of it, with Main and Beavan and Marpez (and Boscan! and Wieland! and more!) on the way.
Feliz could become dominant #1 quality; the four other starters could become #2 quality; therefore Rangers wouldn't have a #3 quality or below starting pitcher on the staff. And I might be selling those starters short. In my dreams: Holland, Main, Marpez, and maybe Beavan become #1 quality starters in a murderer's row of starting pitchers.
Meanwhile, opponents will peek at Kinsler/Hamilton/Cruz/Davis/Max Ramirez*/Justin Smoak and tremble. What if CF Julio Borbon's offense fulfills it's promise? PO....TENT. Ron Washington becomes heralded as the new Earl Weaver? Jon Daniels becomes heralded as, um, the guy who has compromising blackmail info about Tom Hicks' income taxes?
This pundit is thinking the same way (except the blackmail part).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Am now rooting for Max Ramirez to become the Rangers starting catcher in 2010 - or to at least split time with Teagarden, and to DH during much of the time Teagarden is catching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also rooting for Chris Davis to play 50 games a year in RF (especially in the smallish RF in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington), plus 50 games a year at 1B, plus 30 games a year at 3B (which won't happen, but I wish it would).
Addendum:
Hank Blalock is about to kick these ZIPs projection 2009 numbers: .272/.335/.454 in the derriere. Big time. For starters, I say Blalock hits for .290 BA without any reduction in power.
Blalock has had two problems, and they are related:
1. Weakened right shoulder musculature due to lack of blood flow(since corrected via surgery)
2. Consistently tried to pull ball too often, due to
a) immature approach
b) weakened right shoulder musculature which caused Blalock to sense he was more effective when left shoulder dominated and he was pulling the ball.
Blalock sat out for a long time while recuperating. I say he had time to see the big picture and thus reject his previous immature approach. In 2009, expect Blalock to willingly spray the ball to all fields.
Now that his right shoulder is strong again, expect Hank Blalock to wreak havoc upon the AL. He was already outstanding upon his return in Sept 08 - probably more outstanding than at any time in the previous 3 seasons. Blalock is a dangerous hitter, a coiled snake, and he will prove it.
Rangers almost have to trade Blalock at the deadline. Free Agent compensation (Type A, Type B, etc) is determined by production over two seasons. This is why Milton Bradley was a Type B free agent instead of a Type A. Blalock will only have production to show over 1 season + Sept 08. Blalock will be a Type B free agent and therefore return the Rangers only one draft pick. If Rangers can trade him for an A+ prospect, along with another decent prospect, then Rangers come out ahead.
If Nelson Cruz, for instance, regresses as a hitter and turns out to have merely been enjoying a year long hot streak (which I DO NOT expect to happen), then Rangers might consider signing Blalock long term instead of trading him. Or, if Julio Borbon falters, then Blalock could be valuable. Blalock's legs still work. If his arm comes back, he could play some 3B; some LF; some 1B; mostly DH.
Awesome firepower:
1. Kinsler 2B
2. Young 3B
3. Hamilton CF
4. Cruz LF
5. Blalock DH
6. Maximus Ramirez C
7. Chris Davis RF
8. Justin Smoak 1B
9. Elvis SS
Rangers should consider keeping this batting order together for 5 years or so. It's devastating. Why, really, would the Rangers not put this line-up together? I'm thinking they should. If Borbon succeeds, he can rotate in and out of the OF. Add the speedy Vallejo in a utility role. Add Teagarden. That's a really, really good team. 1993 Dallas Cowboys. Michael Young is the wizened Thomas Everett.
In the above lineup, every hitter except Smoak is protected. Smoak is known to be a selective hitter. He's the perfect batter to front Elvis (also, Teagarden is selective and could front Elvis).
I expect Elvis to be a good major league hitter. I just don't know how quickly it will happen. Hopefully quick; maybe not.
251 visits to this blog yesterday
on a day I did not post.
Clearly, the secret to increasing blog traffic is: do not blog. It's kind of like the leftist prescription for defeating terrorists: do not kill terrorists (b/c, if you kill them, it only makes them stronger and more terrifying, b/c before you killed them they were docile and agreeable and benevolent types, and after you killed them they became mightily pissed off docile types who brought 72 nukes and a bunch of missile technology up from hell on a winged horse, or something - you can read all about it on the lefty blogs).
Anyway, about 170 visitors came to read Southern Brother's Industry Insider Useless Information on Texas Rangers 2009 Uniforms - which occurrence reaffirms my love for humanity, as I am a nerd who loves sports uniforms, and this confirms there are other nerds out there like me.
Most of the other visitors came to read the brief commentary on the Obama disses Limbaugh and Limbaugh responds kerfuffle, which was linked by Yahoo as a commentary on the incident, and thus also got high up in Google Blog Searches.
Since I added SiteMeter, and started looking at why people come to the blog, I've figured out how to increase blog traffic so as to get minor ad revenue. Yet, the revenue would be so minor that I don't really want to fool with writing on certain topics for marketing reasons.
For instance, a 20 year old Brazilian model got a bladder infection in Dec; it turned into sepsis and she just died from it. It's terribly tragic, and she was so beautiful, and I could blog about it and include her name and her photo and generate hundreds or maybe even thousands of visits from all over the world, and I just don't really want to, which is why I'm not even writing her name here(to prevent Google sending anyone). But, I did accidentally discover sepsis is the 10th leading killer in the U.S., and supposedly kills 800K Americans every year, and that shocks me. I had no idea.
I would rather write about Projecting Texas Rangers Pitching going forward from the 2010 Season, which basically interests two readers: Bro64 and Emjay, yet which is definitely a subject I enjoy blogging about - so much so that I spent an hour or more blogging the post, and it felt like 5 minutes. So, I like the blog, and that's what I want out of it - unless I can figure out how to generate mucho $'s, which right now I can't figure out, maybe partly b/c I don't ever try to figure it out, and maybe mostly b/c I'm not as amusing and insightful as the handful of bloggers who generate good revenue, which is fine.*
Vive le Rangers de Tejas! Vive Derek Holland y Blake "Badass" Beavan! Vive Marpez!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*in the post preceding this one, I blogged about reasons to be successful, yet here am justifying lack of success. Sweet and sour irony with steamed rice. Hunan style.
Clearly, the secret to increasing blog traffic is: do not blog. It's kind of like the leftist prescription for defeating terrorists: do not kill terrorists (b/c, if you kill them, it only makes them stronger and more terrifying, b/c before you killed them they were docile and agreeable and benevolent types, and after you killed them they became mightily pissed off docile types who brought 72 nukes and a bunch of missile technology up from hell on a winged horse, or something - you can read all about it on the lefty blogs).
Anyway, about 170 visitors came to read Southern Brother's Industry Insider Useless Information on Texas Rangers 2009 Uniforms - which occurrence reaffirms my love for humanity, as I am a nerd who loves sports uniforms, and this confirms there are other nerds out there like me.
Most of the other visitors came to read the brief commentary on the Obama disses Limbaugh and Limbaugh responds kerfuffle, which was linked by Yahoo as a commentary on the incident, and thus also got high up in Google Blog Searches.
Since I added SiteMeter, and started looking at why people come to the blog, I've figured out how to increase blog traffic so as to get minor ad revenue. Yet, the revenue would be so minor that I don't really want to fool with writing on certain topics for marketing reasons.
For instance, a 20 year old Brazilian model got a bladder infection in Dec; it turned into sepsis and she just died from it. It's terribly tragic, and she was so beautiful, and I could blog about it and include her name and her photo and generate hundreds or maybe even thousands of visits from all over the world, and I just don't really want to, which is why I'm not even writing her name here(to prevent Google sending anyone). But, I did accidentally discover sepsis is the 10th leading killer in the U.S., and supposedly kills 800K Americans every year, and that shocks me. I had no idea.
I would rather write about Projecting Texas Rangers Pitching going forward from the 2010 Season, which basically interests two readers: Bro64 and Emjay, yet which is definitely a subject I enjoy blogging about - so much so that I spent an hour or more blogging the post, and it felt like 5 minutes. So, I like the blog, and that's what I want out of it - unless I can figure out how to generate mucho $'s, which right now I can't figure out, maybe partly b/c I don't ever try to figure it out, and maybe mostly b/c I'm not as amusing and insightful as the handful of bloggers who generate good revenue, which is fine.*
Vive le Rangers de Tejas! Vive Derek Holland y Blake "Badass" Beavan! Vive Marpez!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*in the post preceding this one, I blogged about reasons to be successful, yet here am justifying lack of success. Sweet and sour irony with steamed rice. Hunan style.
Success Project 1
Why succeed at anything?
Faith. Faith that life has purpose. Doing right and succeeding serve a purpose.
We sense a Supernatural force which exists beyond intellectual understanding. It encourages us to do right. We sense guilt and responsibility if we do wrong. We sense - beyond anything we can intellectually explain - it is right to succeed. It serves a purpose. It is a true experience of life.
C.S. Lewis best explains this in his short, seminal apologia: "Mere Christianity". An entertaining intro to Lewis, from Ms. Rachel Lucas and canine artist Sunny "Ave Maria" Lucas.
Faith. Faith that life has purpose. Doing right and succeeding serve a purpose.
We sense a Supernatural force which exists beyond intellectual understanding. It encourages us to do right. We sense guilt and responsibility if we do wrong. We sense - beyond anything we can intellectually explain - it is right to succeed. It serves a purpose. It is a true experience of life.
C.S. Lewis best explains this in his short, seminal apologia: "Mere Christianity". An entertaining intro to Lewis, from Ms. Rachel Lucas and canine artist Sunny "Ave Maria" Lucas.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Texas Rangers New 2009 Uniforms: Industry Scoop
<==Star Telegram
Joe Siegler looks at history of Rangers uniforms; comments on new uniforms; has television screen captures of new batting helmet.
The new batting helmet is a dramatic shift. It is two tone, with metallic flecked paint.I speculate the design is inspired by the way players accumulate more and more pine tar on their batting helmets as the season goes on. The design even has wing thingys which are positioned where the players fingers would stain pine tar down the sides of the helmet as the players press the palms of their hands against the fronts of helmets while shoving the batting helmets into place. The wing thingys even fade out as they go back - exactly as the players' finger-implemented pine tar stains fade out as they go further back on the helmet. I'm speculating, but this makes sense as inspiration for the design.
My Southern brother is not speculating. He is a professional in the field of sports uniforms and helmets. He emails some industry scoop:
OK…sometimes I have the most obscure knowledge given my career path….similar to MSNBC’s Morning Joe program feature of “News You Can’t Use” …that’s me
1. The Rangers had to make a special appeal to Major League Baseball to request wearing BLACK shoes. MLB dictates / requires that a team’s shoe color be their dominant uniform color. Also, MLB defines the dominant uniform color as that which applies to 75% of their uniform. Therefore, MLB requires one of their teams colors to be 75% of their uniform from head to toe.
2. Most common plastic used in baseball helmets is ABS. ABS plastic is used in football helmets 9th grade and below. ABS allows for greater flexibility and of course is much less expensive. Two things happened a couple of years ago…first helmet paint went to acrylic…the same stuff used on cars….several application steps are required…priming, painting, hardener application , then the final clear coat finish. It is during this final clear finish coat you have the option for metallic flakes to be added. Look at your car paint, all cars have metallic flakes in their paint, you don’t see any of them with just a flat color. I never sell a helmet without adding metallic flakes in the clear coat process, even on white helmets it makes a huge difference…note The University of Texas helmets and how they shine on TV compared the big Badger football team or even the Cardinals in the Super Bowl. This is why HS, college, and Pro football helmets shine so much better today, and look so much better with HD TV cameras. The metallic flakes come in multiple shades of different colors…next time you watch Rutgers , they have red flakes in their red paint, makes their helmets really shine. Metallic flakes even allow eccentric alumni such as Phil Knight and Nike to dream up so many color combinations for Oregon ’s helmets.
3. MLB had a problem…ABS plastic won’t accept acrylic paint…it weakens the integrity of the shell (that means they crack)…so MLB was SOL on the retail market for good looking helmet paint colors. MLB used their heads…good ‘ol lawyers and money being the root of all evil. MLB said they were concerned with concussions so they appealed to NOCSAE to increase the standard on protection of helmets used in college through the big leagues. To increase the scoring ratio from baseballs slamming into batting helmets required helmet manufacturers to move into GE’s Lexicon plastic which is used in HS varsity through NFL level football helmets, but VERY expensive. But guess what this does for MLB now Sherlock? If I told the story line correctly, hopefully you have concurred MLB is now able to use high gloss metallic acrylic paint and thousands of parents through out the metro-mess will be filling into Academy, Oshmann’s and Lids at the mall to pay $200 for a MLB merchandise approved Rangers batting helmets. MLB and the Rangers put mega bucks into their pockets…thank you very much. Only in America !
God Bless.
Sign me, Insignificant Info
To my way of thinking: virtually every sports fan loves this type of inside scoop. Thank you to Southern Brother.
Projecting Texas Rangers Pitching
Links to Mike Hindman's 2009 Rangers Pitching Prospects series here.
Candid photos of Rangers Pitching Propects here. h/t The Newberg Report
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Potential 2010 Rotation:
McCarthy..Rangers property through 2012; Replacement: Main in 2012
Harrison...Rangers property through 2014; Replacement: Martin Perez in 2013
Diamond..Rangers property through 2015; Replacement not in org
Holland....Rangers property through 2015; Replacement not in org
Feliz.........Rangers property through 2015; Replacement not in org
22 Year Old Pitcher Derek Holland ==>
I love every pitcher on that potential staff. I predict McCarthy will ripen and become a championship pitcher.
Some careers will end due to injury. Let's speculate Hurley's career is over. Otherwise, he would be a factor.
Main replaces McCarthy in time to trade McCarthy for prospects.
Martin Perez replaces Harrison in time to trade Harrison for prospects.
I recommend both Main and Perez serve at least half a season in the bullpen before moving to the rotation. The Rangers will have so much pitching and depth at that point, there will be no reason to move pitchers directly into the rotation. Give the young pitchers all the advantages - including acclimation time. Let the veteran starters continue giving outstanding performances.
<== Pitcher Joe Wieland turned 19 on Wednesday
These four big arms are potential championship quality starters: Poveda(94mph), Beavan(I project 94), Castillo(96), Wieland(I project 95).
B/c the starters ahead of them will be so outstanding, the above second group might shift to the bullpen.
B/c Rangers management likes the idea of Diamond in the bullpen, opportunity could occur for Beavan, especially, to break into the rotation. Beavan's outstanding control would serve him well.
Potential 2010 Bullpen:
Francisco.Rangers property through 2010; Replacement: Poveda or Beavan in 2011
Madrigal..Rangers property through 2014; Replacement: Carlos Melo in 2014
Rupe........Rangers property through 2012; Replacement: Wieland or N. Ramirez in 2013
Nippert....Rangers property through 2013; Replacement: (1) (any year replacement is ready)
Feldman..Rangers property through 2012; Replacement: (2) (any year replacement is ready)
Wilson.....Rangers property through 2011; Replacement: Murphy or Corey Young in 2012
Gabbard..Rangers property through 2013; Replacement: Kiker in 2011
Every reliever who is replaced before free agency (Madrigal, Nippert, Feldman, Gabbard) is traded for prospects.
<== Pitcher Doug Mathis
(1) Bannister(96mph) or Strop(94) or Laughter(94) or Castillo(96)
(2) Feldman holds the long relief spot. Rangers have a deep cast of control pitchers who could hold that spot: Hunter(90), Mathis(92), Murray(a favorite of mine, 90), Mendoza(92+), Ballard(88ish+), Schlact(I've a hunch he will be a factor, 93+), Hyatt(92?), Moscoso(94), Phillips(90), Reed(94), Gomez(90)
Catcher Max Ramirez==>
The Rangers have other outstanding pitching prospects who were not mentioned. The developing pitching is so outstanding that the Rangers ought zealously guard their hitting prospects. At this point, there is no reason for the Rangers to trade a hitting prospect for a control pitcher who throws between 90 and 95 mph. Unless the pitcher prospectively controls 96+ heat, the Rangers should hang onto, for instance, a hitter like Saltalamacchia. The Rangers should hang onto Catcher/DH Max Ramirez under virtually all scenarios. The organization must zealously guard their championship hitters.
The organization is in a weird spot. They haven't had outstanding pitching since Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, and Jim Bibby left town. And yet, and yet: the organization must have faith they already control a deep group of outstanding pitching. They cannot mess up if they simply let the existing pitching develop, and let injuries and successes occur as they may. That is a brash potential 2010 Pitching Staff. The Rangers are one year from having something like it in place - at dirt cheap prices - if they just sit tight. On the other hand, they can mess up if they trade a talented hitter - Justin Smoak, for instance - for pitching depth which they do not need. The organization must ignore a long history of pitching trauma in favor of having faith in the pitchers they have. They must believe what they see with their own eyes.
Candid photos of Rangers Pitching Propects here. h/t The Newberg Report
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Potential 2010 Rotation:
McCarthy..Rangers property through 2012; Replacement: Main in 2012
Harrison...Rangers property through 2014; Replacement: Martin Perez in 2013
Diamond..Rangers property through 2015; Replacement not in org
Holland....Rangers property through 2015; Replacement not in org
Feliz.........Rangers property through 2015; Replacement not in org
22 Year Old Pitcher Derek Holland ==>I love every pitcher on that potential staff. I predict McCarthy will ripen and become a championship pitcher.
Some careers will end due to injury. Let's speculate Hurley's career is over. Otherwise, he would be a factor.
Main replaces McCarthy in time to trade McCarthy for prospects.
Martin Perez replaces Harrison in time to trade Harrison for prospects.
I recommend both Main and Perez serve at least half a season in the bullpen before moving to the rotation. The Rangers will have so much pitching and depth at that point, there will be no reason to move pitchers directly into the rotation. Give the young pitchers all the advantages - including acclimation time. Let the veteran starters continue giving outstanding performances.
<== Pitcher Joe Wieland turned 19 on WednesdayThese four big arms are potential championship quality starters: Poveda(94mph), Beavan(I project 94), Castillo(96), Wieland(I project 95).
B/c the starters ahead of them will be so outstanding, the above second group might shift to the bullpen.
B/c Rangers management likes the idea of Diamond in the bullpen, opportunity could occur for Beavan, especially, to break into the rotation. Beavan's outstanding control would serve him well.
Potential 2010 Bullpen:
Francisco.Rangers property through 2010; Replacement: Poveda or Beavan in 2011
Madrigal..Rangers property through 2014; Replacement: Carlos Melo in 2014
Rupe........Rangers property through 2012; Replacement: Wieland or N. Ramirez in 2013
Nippert....Rangers property through 2013; Replacement: (1) (any year replacement is ready)
Feldman..Rangers property through 2012; Replacement: (2) (any year replacement is ready)
Wilson.....Rangers property through 2011; Replacement: Murphy or Corey Young in 2012
Gabbard..Rangers property through 2013; Replacement: Kiker in 2011
Every reliever who is replaced before free agency (Madrigal, Nippert, Feldman, Gabbard) is traded for prospects.
<== Pitcher Doug Mathis(1) Bannister(96mph) or Strop(94) or Laughter(94) or Castillo(96)
(2) Feldman holds the long relief spot. Rangers have a deep cast of control pitchers who could hold that spot: Hunter(90), Mathis(92), Murray(a favorite of mine, 90), Mendoza(92+), Ballard(88ish+), Schlact(I've a hunch he will be a factor, 93+), Hyatt(92?), Moscoso(94), Phillips(90), Reed(94), Gomez(90)
Catcher Max Ramirez==>The Rangers have other outstanding pitching prospects who were not mentioned. The developing pitching is so outstanding that the Rangers ought zealously guard their hitting prospects. At this point, there is no reason for the Rangers to trade a hitting prospect for a control pitcher who throws between 90 and 95 mph. Unless the pitcher prospectively controls 96+ heat, the Rangers should hang onto, for instance, a hitter like Saltalamacchia. The Rangers should hang onto Catcher/DH Max Ramirez under virtually all scenarios. The organization must zealously guard their championship hitters.
The organization is in a weird spot. They haven't had outstanding pitching since Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, and Jim Bibby left town. And yet, and yet: the organization must have faith they already control a deep group of outstanding pitching. They cannot mess up if they simply let the existing pitching develop, and let injuries and successes occur as they may. That is a brash potential 2010 Pitching Staff. The Rangers are one year from having something like it in place - at dirt cheap prices - if they just sit tight. On the other hand, they can mess up if they trade a talented hitter - Justin Smoak, for instance - for pitching depth which they do not need. The organization must ignore a long history of pitching trauma in favor of having faith in the pitchers they have. They must believe what they see with their own eyes.
And on the Third Day, He picked a fight with the country's most visible conservative
That hehline from Drew M.
To understand Limbaugh's response, it's important to know many economists - Amity Schlaes is one example - contend FDR worsened and extended The Great Depression. Their thrust: the cure for recession is recession. Let recession happen: the market is self correcting, and will cure itself faster and more effectively than outside forces are able. Government interference inefficiently slows and obstructs the cure.
Second, it's important to know of the contention that FDR kept getting re-elected b/c he was Santa Claus. FDR passed graft laws for "the common man". At election time, no one wanted to throw Santa Claus out of office.
Now to Limbaugh:
To understand Limbaugh's response, it's important to know many economists - Amity Schlaes is one example - contend FDR worsened and extended The Great Depression. Their thrust: the cure for recession is recession. Let recession happen: the market is self correcting, and will cure itself faster and more effectively than outside forces are able. Government interference inefficiently slows and obstructs the cure.
Second, it's important to know of the contention that FDR kept getting re-elected b/c he was Santa Claus. FDR passed graft laws for "the common man". At election time, no one wanted to throw Santa Claus out of office.
Now to Limbaugh:
[T]he effort to foist all blame for this mess on the private sector continues unabated when most of the blame for this current debacle can be laid at the feet of the Congress and a couple of former presidents. And there is a strategic reason for this.
Secondly, here is a combo quote from the meeting:"If we don't get this done we (the Democrats) could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can't let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That's how things don't get done in this town."To make the argument about me instead of his plan makes sense from his perspective. Obama's plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR's New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule, and it would also simultaneously seriously damage any hope of future tax cuts. It would allow a majority of American voters to guarantee no taxes for themselves going forward. It would burden the private sector and put the public sector in permanent and firm control of the economy. Put simply, I believe his stimulus is aimed at re-establishing "eternal" power for the Democrat Party rather than stimulating the economy because anyone with a brain knows this is NOT how you stimulate the economy. If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is that much less time debating the merits of this TRILLION dollar debacle.
President Bush flight to Texas
Was President Bush tempted to pick up one of those phones and make a prank call?
Political advisor Mark McKinnon:
As [President Bush] toured the cabin of the airplane throughout the flight, visiting with old friends, family, and staffers, he was filled with equanimity, grace, and a generosity of spirit.
Bush has gotten to know Obama during this transition period and he has a pretty good gut for people. His gut tells him Obama has what it takes to be a successful leader.
And while I’m reluctant to quote the president directly from private conversations, I think I can fairly report that he feels a genuine warmth for President Obama. He admires his sense of family, his relaxed and easygoing nature, and his character. He has gotten to know him during this transition period and he has a pretty good gut for people. His gut tells him Obama has what it takes to be a successful leader. Not yet tested. Not yet proved he is willing to make difficult and unpopular decisions. But the potential is clearly there.
And it’s nice to see that while some partisans have yet to sheath their swords, Obama too has warmed to President Bush during this period of peaceful, diplomatic, and graceful transition. He now believes, as does anyone who knows President Bush, that he is a “good guy” and that “he made the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances.”
I also know the Obama team has deeply appreciated the degree to which President Bush and his staff went out of their way to make for a smooth transition.
Whittle vs Noonan vs. Dr.Sanity on Barack supporters
Maybe all three are correct.
Bill Whittle is pissed off and snarky funny in this video. That he works in Hollywood only makes his observations funnier, more insightful, more pissed off, more snarky. PJTV's video technology takes about 30 seconds to load on my computer. You have to specify a video quality on the left side. It's worth it.
What Peggy Noonan saw at the Inauguration:
Air of good feeling and patriotic optimism.
Also:
Dr. Sanity, writing brilliantly the day before the Inauguration.
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Bill Whittle is pissed off and snarky funny in this video. That he works in Hollywood only makes his observations funnier, more insightful, more pissed off, more snarky. PJTV's video technology takes about 30 seconds to load on my computer. You have to specify a video quality on the left side. It's worth it.
What Peggy Noonan saw at the Inauguration:
Air of good feeling and patriotic optimism.
Also:
As for Mr. Obama, some thoughts that start with a hunch. He has the kind of self-confidence that will serve him well or undo him. He has to be careful about what he wants, because he's going to get it, at least at the beginning.
Dr. Sanity, writing brilliantly the day before the Inauguration.
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Friday, January 23, 2009
U.S. could gain a Dirty Harry Edge
1. We should keep Guantanamo detention and flip the finger at the rest of the world.
Such confers upon the U.S.A. an edgy aura; a "don't mess with us" dynamic. It's a Dirty Harry Edge, a "Do you feel lucky, punk" dynamic, and it would be valuable for us to possess it.
We never will possess it. We are wimpy fools who fantasize we can convince the rest of the world to "like us" even as we remain a powerful nation of nonvictims. Puke. In some respects, we have the mental toughness of puppies.
I once touched on the value of unpredictability inside negotiation and game strategy. I once mutually destroyed myself and my friend early in a Risk game. My friend had attacked me when he could have attacked others. I need him to know and remember there is a price to be paid. I need him to think: Greg is irrational and unpredictable; I don't want to mess with him if I don't have to. Exactly so. It is true.
I used to sell cars. In negotiation: keep the other party guessing. If the other party began to believe they knew what was going on, if they began to get cocky, I would go up on my car's price: Sir, I know I offered it a while ago for $20,375; now I'm offering it for $21,475. Which I actually was, no bull. The price of the car is whatever I say it is.
I needed to establish my unpredictability, my irrationality. This destroyed - like sweeping a partially worked puzzle off the table and into pieces on the floor - what the other party previously believed was a rational and understandable process. Suddenly they didn't understand. Suddenly I was irrational and unpredictable.
You would think some of those clients would've gotten angry and ended negotiation - and that would've been okay with me. Perhaps it was a fluke, but it never happened. Perhaps they were too discombobulated to process everything and walk out. By the time things made sense to them again, we were far beyond sweeping the puzzle to the floor. Perhaps, instead, they were too amused. If they had walked out: fine. I would rather have lost the sale than suffered through the process they had laid out in their mind. I would rather have kept the car.
Closing Guantanamo detention gains us nothing. Goodwill of the world? Horsefeathers. The world is pulling a public relations power play. The world is also probing for weakness. We are meekly submitting, which gains us nothing. If we close Guantanamo we actually lose: we are revealed as weak minded teddy bears: Please love us! Oh please, please love us! We are detestable.
We should stay right there: defiant, edgily unpredictable. When the world stays mad we have lost nothing. Repeat: we have lost nothing. The world is going to stay mad until our nation eventually becomes weak and frail. Beseeching the world gains us ... exactly ... NOTHING.
We should build a Statue of Liberty replica on Guantanamo soil. In place of a torch, the lady should be sticking a mighty middle finger high in the air. Her nails should be perfectly manicured; painted Old Glory Red. They should be the only color on the statue, emphasizing their preparedness and willingness to dig into some for'ners. The lady should be faced squarely towards the Cour Internationale de Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
2. The second reason for keeping Guantanamo open (after the Dirty Harry Edge) is to keep imprisoned terrorists decisively separated from mainland legal rules, and decisively separated from moonbats in our domestic legal system - be they lawyers, judges, or juries. These terrorists were taken under war conditions. We did not stop to collect evidence for domestic criminal trials.
Slightly related political craziness
Citizens and politicians and media saying: Don't bring the terrorists to my state! They are dangerous terrorists who are a threat to public safety!
Horsefeathers again. Imprisoned terrorists are a very minor threat to public safety. We experience more danger during a drive to church. We should stop this fantastical hand wringing. We look foolish, and are being foolish. We have terrorists in Guantanamo for legal reasons, not public safety reasons.
If we close Guantanamo: put those terrorists right in my hometown: Fort Worth, Texas. Juice our economy by establishing a Super Max prison. Please. We love prosperity. Put that Super Max in Stop Six, or out by the Minimum Security Fed Prison just north of TCJC Southwest Campus, or smack in the middle of Z Boaz Golf Course, or on the old Carswell AFB, or north of the Stockyards - that area could use some economic boost. For gosh sakes, this whole town is armed. If the terrorists make it out of the Super Max, they'll still never make it to the city limits. The whole problem of their detention and legal status might become moot.
Our politicians and media are acting foolish. They should follow Crash Davis' advice:
Don't think. You can only hurt the team.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rove, re Guantanamo detention(my paraphrase):
In a time of war, you don't wing it. You figure out what you are going to do before you make the big announcement you are closing Guantanamo.
Update: More Rove, during Q&A at Univ. of Miami:
“One year from now, Gitmo won’t be closed,” Rove said. “If it is, there will be an uproar in the U.S. about where to put these people.”
Funeral Homes offering webcast option
for funerals.
Once you take a moment and allow this to sink in, it's easy to see it's an outstanding option for: older persons who have difficulty traveling, younger persons who cannot afford the trip, far flung persons who ought not take the time away from work.
It's a pale shadow of actually being at the funeral, and of actually communing with your family and friends. I always think that - when I'm dying - I shan't regret having attended funerals and weddings and family functions.
Still, though, sometimes things (properly so) do not work out for attendance. A webcast is a good idea.
Once you take a moment and allow this to sink in, it's easy to see it's an outstanding option for: older persons who have difficulty traveling, younger persons who cannot afford the trip, far flung persons who ought not take the time away from work.
It's a pale shadow of actually being at the funeral, and of actually communing with your family and friends. I always think that - when I'm dying - I shan't regret having attended funerals and weddings and family functions.
Still, though, sometimes things (properly so) do not work out for attendance. A webcast is a good idea.
Cutting the knot holding the left together?
Johah Goldberg
By hastening the end of the Cold War, Reagan took away the defining cause of the conservative movement. The right had other issues, to be sure. But anti-communism was the coalitional glue. And while all principled conservatives were happy to trade a live campaign issue for a dead Soviet Union, the damage to conservative cohesion was real.
If Obama lives up to the dreams of his biggest supporters in writing a new, post-racial chapter for America, he will have at once done more for America than any Democratic president in generations. But he also will have cut the knot holding much of the left together. As an American and as a conservative, I certainly hope that's the case. He's already made a good start of it just by getting elected.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Barack's "Oath"
Barack retook the oath, last night, from Justice Roberts, "out of an abundance of caution."
Barack's original oath wasn’t the oath associated with the office. Barack took an oath Justice Roberts accidentally concocted, and which may as well have been concocted and sworn to over beers at a tavern.
I don't know the legalities of taking the proper oath (and apparently such is up for grabs anyway). To me, taking the oath is about honor, self declaration, principle, a sacred bond. Such a thing is a statement of who you are as a person. It’s kind of like voting: your vote - during your entire life - is never going to functionally make a danged bit of difference in any election. Voting is not about functionally making a difference. Voting is a solemn declaration of who you are. Taking the Presidential Oath is making a sacred bond with the people of the nation. I’m actually more interested in Barack’s sacred bond with me, with all of us, than I am interested in functional legalities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun Fact from Dave Wiegel:
Barack is first President to be sworn in by a Chief Justice he voted against confirming.
Barack's original oath wasn’t the oath associated with the office. Barack took an oath Justice Roberts accidentally concocted, and which may as well have been concocted and sworn to over beers at a tavern.
I don't know the legalities of taking the proper oath (and apparently such is up for grabs anyway). To me, taking the oath is about honor, self declaration, principle, a sacred bond. Such a thing is a statement of who you are as a person. It’s kind of like voting: your vote - during your entire life - is never going to functionally make a danged bit of difference in any election. Voting is not about functionally making a difference. Voting is a solemn declaration of who you are. Taking the Presidential Oath is making a sacred bond with the people of the nation. I’m actually more interested in Barack’s sacred bond with me, with all of us, than I am interested in functional legalities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun Fact from Dave Wiegel:
Barack is first President to be sworn in by a Chief Justice he voted against confirming.
Lincoln's Third Inauguration
Barack reminds of Lincoln, except for: humility, selflessness, maturity, familiarity with classical values, superior logic, willingness to stand on principle. Other than that: Lincoln was tall, Barack is tallish; both men grew up in Illinois - except for, you know, Barack.
Barack gives green light for Iranian nuclear bomb
Candidate Barack: Iranian nuke "unacceptable"; vows to keep military option open.
President Barack, Day One: Iranian nuke "troubling"; vows to sanction Iran so hard - sooo much harder than they've been sanctioned before.
Mullahs incapacitated by laughter.
Ace
Actually, I think
Sanctions + CIA behind scenes work with internal dissidents + low oil prices =
possibly excellent strategy to hobble Mullahs.
However, it's important - for encouragement of Iranian dissidents and for many other reasons - to ALWAYS make it clear all options are on the table when dealing with Iran.
America wants to keep pressure on Iran in every possible way - including via the words of the American President. Barack's policy words ease the pressure. Barack's policy words discourage dissidents. Barack's words make him and America look weaker than we actually are. On Day One, Barack has punked himself, and our nation, and is too inexperienced and unseeing to know it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there's this, also from Day One (my paraphrase): the U.S. is willing to meet with Iran without preconditions, on condition Iran stops enriching Uranium.
Mumbo jumbo bullshit. The pile of such is already high.
President Barack, Day One: Iranian nuke "troubling"; vows to sanction Iran so hard - sooo much harder than they've been sanctioned before.
Mullahs incapacitated by laughter.
Ace
Actually, I think
Sanctions + CIA behind scenes work with internal dissidents + low oil prices =
possibly excellent strategy to hobble Mullahs.
However, it's important - for encouragement of Iranian dissidents and for many other reasons - to ALWAYS make it clear all options are on the table when dealing with Iran.
America wants to keep pressure on Iran in every possible way - including via the words of the American President. Barack's policy words ease the pressure. Barack's policy words discourage dissidents. Barack's words make him and America look weaker than we actually are. On Day One, Barack has punked himself, and our nation, and is too inexperienced and unseeing to know it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there's this, also from Day One (my paraphrase): the U.S. is willing to meet with Iran without preconditions, on condition Iran stops enriching Uranium.
Mumbo jumbo bullshit. The pile of such is already high.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sarah Chang wonderful music video: Vivaldi Four Seasons
Like five minutes of inhaling refreshing air: beauty of Sarah Chang, beauty of Vivaldi, Chang's commentary on the music:
I love this piece so much. Every time I listen to it, it's always fresh. It's got some of the most beautiful simple melodies. Vivaldi really was the beginning of everything. He came before Bach, before Mozart, Beethoven. He is the epitome of the Baroque composers. In my heart, "The Four Seasons" are the jewels of the whole Vivaldi repertoire.
[...]
I don't know of any other composer who was so specific in wanting certain images portrayed in the music - in not only giving it to you a guideline, but actually pinpointing each section, and giving: an image of a certain animal, and a certain emotion, to go along with the music.
Webutante fetes President Obama
astutely, offering the musical group "Seasons" playing Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons: Spring":
Listening to these musicians reminds of this post about musicians, which included this observation:
Postscript:
B/c I'm a beginner at learning about music, I've learned, today, from browsing YouTube, about Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons". I remember, as a young adult, watching the movie "The Four Seasons", with Alan Alda and Carol Burnett. I remember how I loved the music, and how I thought the music helped the movie. It's nice, now, to further discover that music.
Under the tutelage of many - especially my son - I'm becoming more of a music person. I like an extra and funky thing about music: it fires and adheres and coheres brain synapses. Music and chess. And Dr. Pepper? Maybe not so much.
Listening to these musicians reminds of this post about musicians, which included this observation:
We never get to a place of solid and constant courage. If we are to be courageous, we must summon it again and again.May America summon herself again and again.
Postscript:
B/c I'm a beginner at learning about music, I've learned, today, from browsing YouTube, about Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons". I remember, as a young adult, watching the movie "The Four Seasons", with Alan Alda and Carol Burnett. I remember how I loved the music, and how I thought the music helped the movie. It's nice, now, to further discover that music.
Under the tutelage of many - especially my son - I'm becoming more of a music person. I like an extra and funky thing about music: it fires and adheres and coheres brain synapses. Music and chess. And Dr. Pepper? Maybe not so much.
Historic Inaugural
Bless You, O Obama, My Lord; for while we just experience the worst Inauguration Day sell-off in history, God Himself hath decreed the bar shall be lowered for you, lower than the deepest chasms of the darkest Seas; and whilst the Dow did fall, we are Greatly Thankful that it did not fall further, by your kindness and grace.
Amen.
Does anyone on the left notice the Dow took a gigantinormous dive when Obama was elected*, followed by a historically huge dive yesterday? Does anyone on the left put two and two together?
*Over two days, the Dow lost 10% of total value - 930 points in toto - in worst two day loss of value since market crash of 1987.
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January 21st, 2009 at 9:27 am
I particularly loved Obama’s shout out to Atheist in his speech, “…for we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers.”
This is what I love about America, it’s variety, it’s endless canvas, it’s 1776 model of revolutionary change that after more than 200 years is the only healthy force of revolutionary change in the world, that just when you think you know what America it renews itself … how envious can tyrants be? How hopeful can everyday people that just want to work and love their family feel that there is a homeland of all people the world. Cheers for America, democracy, and liberalism!