Friday, October 31, 2008
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On second thought
I was going to inundate this page with bands befitting the theme of this week, but that seems kind of disrespectful in lieu of the post below. So I'll just go with the all-time greatest and leave it at that.
This one is for drumsalad...
Watchin' You - KISS
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thoughts from a proud Phillies fan...
Somewhere in my bruised sports fan psyche, I believed that this day would never come. Not while I was alive, anyway.
Hell, up until the last strike was registered last night, I still thought the Phillies might lose!
The Phillies are probably the one sports team that I have more invested in than any other. I've watched more of their games than any other pro team, and I've attended more of their games as well.
I've watched this team with my family and my friends during those lengthy periods when the team sucked, and I've relished those fleeting times when they joined the ranks of the MLB elite.
Last night felt like a culmination of all those years, set before me for two incredibly gratifying and glorious hours.
A great friend of mine didn't live long enough to see this incarnation of the Phillies play, but he would've been more impressed and more proud of them than anybody else.
To me, that's why a team like this means so much to a town like Philadelphia, where championships are few and far between. They make you remember not only your own experiences as a fan, but all the people who came before you and shared that love and the hope that this year could be "the year".
For my part, I'm going to enjoy the high that comes from seeing 25 years of futility come to a close. I'm going to smile with pride as I watch the people of Philly enjoy the time in the sun that only comes from being #1.
Even more than that, though, I'll remember what this team meant to me as a kid and the sheer joy of listening to the immortal Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn call games on TV and radio during the height of the summer months.
It sounds cheesy, but I can't help it. That stuff will always work for me...
My eternal thanks and gratitude to the guys that made this kid's dream come true...
THE WORLD CHAMPION 2008 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES!!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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A wonderful side benefit of Obama's prime-time address tonight...
Less Joe Buck.
He's a dimple-chinned piece of Philly-hating trash. Hearing less of his pre-game "analysis" can only do this country good.
P.S. Grampy McSame is trying to say that Obama is delaying tonight's first pitch. He's not...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The so-called "battleground" states are looking a little one-sided...
RealClearPolitics' polling data is making the battle for the White House look about as mismatched as the Falkland Islands War...
Out of the 13 swing states polled, Barack Obama leads in twelve (CO, FL, IA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NH, NM, OH, PA, WI), while John McCain leads in one (WV).
If you also consider Obama's competitiveness in other red states like Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Montana and North Dakota, next Tuesday night could bring a very early concession speech from John McCain.
My impression is that if Virginia is looking good for Obama when its polls close at 7pm, we'll be looking at an Obama landslide (300+ electoral votes)...
P.S. Be ready to post your election predictions next Tuesday. My 2004 prediction was off-the-mark, but I'm feeling more confident this year...
She's a pinko!!!
This commie shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the halls of power in our nation's capitol...
"We're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."I'll be damned if I want to "share" my wealth with this socialist ideologue...
--Gov. Sarah Palin, quoted by the New Yorker, a few weeks before she was nominated for vice president.
John McCain's been working with a convicted felon for the past 26 years...
How could he sit idly by as his Senate comrade, the unrepentant Ted Stevens, broke the law?
That's not change we can believe in, my friends...
Part I
Since everyone else will probably keep politics covered this week, I think I'll simply post bands to keep me in the mood for Friday. First up - one of the few bands I know of who can pull off the dual vocal attack.
Solitaire Unraveling - Mushroomhead
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), is now a convicted felon...
Sarah Palin is merely a symptom of a the disease known as the Alaska Republican party...
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that tainted the 40-year Senate career of Alaska's political patriarch.Give to his Democratic opponent, Mark Begich, if you're so inclined.
The verdict, coming just days before Election Day, adds further uncertainty to a closely watched Senate race. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
Stevens, 84, was convicted of all seven charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating Wednesday at noon.
Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced Jan. 26, but under federal sentencing guidelines, he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any.
It's good to take out the trash...
UPDATE: I'd really like to know if the virtuous Sarah Palin is still planning on voting for this old crook next Tuesday...
2nd UPDATE: According to Alaska law, Stevens can't vote for himself next week. Hilarious...
3rd UPDATE: Here's video of Sarah Palin pallin' around with convicted felons...
Monday, October 27, 2008
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
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McCain Campaign Staff on Palin...
- With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say.
A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.
"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.
- "Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."
Saturday, October 25, 2008
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Suddenly, the campaign to spread racist fear about Barack Obama has a face...
And it's the face of a disgusting, racist, mentally shit-housed college Republican who tried to frame a non-existant black man for an assault that never happened in order to somehow make Barack Obama look bad.
Got all that?
Target: Fake America...
John McCain is finally coming clean about those parts of the country which he and Sarah Palin deem to be less than pro-American...
Well, in our nation's capital and New York City. I've seen it. I've lived there. I know the town. I know-- I know what a lot of these elitists are. The ones that she never went to a cocktail party with in Georgetown. I'll be very frank with you. Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves.In hindsight, we didn't take that big of a hit on 9/11, since so many of those who died were from such "elitist" areas.
3,000 dead anti-American elitists. We're probably better off...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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Caribou Barbie: If you've got $150k, you can dress her, too!
She's just a regular hockey mom, but man, she's got expensive tastes!
The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.Let the Eliza Doolittle comparisons continue, post-haste...
According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.
The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.
The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
How a Republican Congressman from North Carolina can lose his job...
In three easy steps:
1.) Say something incredibly stupid that makes Michelle Bachmann seem lucid by comparison.
2.) Deny saying something incredibly stupid, even though several reporters were there to witness you saying it.
3.) Stand by helplessly as the audio of you saying something incredibly stupid is made public.
Rep. Robin Hayes (R), kiss your ass goodbye!!!
Larry Kissell (D), start measuring the drapes...
Imagine A Senate Without McConnell or Stevens...
I wonder if you can.... ever since Rick Santorum and George Allen were ousted, McConnell has been atop my list of "Senators I would love to see defeated." Stevens leaving with him - via electoral defeat, not retirement - would be a real bonus. Even Al Franken is seriously challenging Norm Coleman and while I wouldn't mind seeing Coleman go, I don't really know what to make of Franken. If he could held the Dems get 60 and still let them oust Joe Lieberman from their caucus, though, I will happily take my chances. And Bruce Reed has interesting thoughts on why 60 is not as magic as it is played up to be.
Meanwhile, the more Americans hear about Obama, the more they like him...
That's right! The McCain/Palin sludge factory can throw all the nonsense they want at Obama, none of it is sticking...
Mr. Obama’s favorability is the highest for a presidential candidate running for a first term in the last 28 years of Times/CBS polls. Mrs. Palin’s negative rating is the highest for a vice-presidential candidate as measured by The Times and CBS News. Even Dan Quayle, with whom Mrs. Palin is often compared because of her age and inexperience on the national scene, was not viewed as negatively in the 1988 campaign.There are two weeks left before the election, McCain is giving up on Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado, and the electorate loves his opponent.
How exactly can he win this thing?
The mean old bastard gets even crankier...
This is definitely a temperament that should be guiding an arsenal of nuclear weapons...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Rebuking the GOP...
It's fine to remember/resent Colin Powell's performance at the U.N. leading up to the Iraq war, but whether you believe he was party to a willful misleading of the American public or just another duped by an intel community bound and determined to give Cheney and Bush just what they wanted, at least give Colin Powell credit for calling dirty politics when he sees it.
- Colin Powell's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama was as much a rejection of the Republican Party and Sen. John McCain's campaign as an embrace of the Democratic presidential nominee, political analysts said Monday.
- David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst who has advised the last four presidents, said the Powell endorsement may give voice to "disillusioned" moderate Republicans disappointed by the negativity of the McCain campaign.
While it energized conservatives, McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate may have alienated moderate Republicans like Powell, Wall said.
Powell said he did not feel Palin was ready to be president and that factored into his decision to endorse Obama.
The first sign that I'm already overthinking this whole World Series thing...
My addled mind is coming up with superstitious bullshit and doomsday scenarios for the upcoming Fall Classic.
Case in point: The Phillies have gone to six World Series in their 125 seasons of Major League existence. Pretty sad, I know.
Now, take a look at the results of the first five:
1915: Lost to the Boston Red Sox
1950: Lost to the New York Yankees
1980: Beat the Kansas City Royals
1983: Lost to the Baltimore Orioles
1993: Lost to the Toronto Blue Jays
Notice anything similar about the four teams that have beaten the Phils in the World Series?
They're all AL East teams. Just like the Tampa Bay Rays.
Oy. Two more days and the real panic sets in.
God help us all...
Republican congresswoman calls for a new McCarthyism...
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) wants to make sure all members of Congress are "pro-America".
I assume she, in her infinite wisdom, gets to decide what it means to be "pro-America", although she doesn't expound on what it means to be "pro-America".
Oh, and she's a worthless asshole with a head full of candy...
P.S. Why do so many ultra-religious folks have that creepy 1000-yard stare? What the hell is the connection?
I'm really not sure what to make of this...
Colin Powell commands a lot of respect. Prior to his involvement in the Administration of George W. Bush, he seemed like a prime candidate to ascend to the highest office in the land, and for good reason. The guy is simply impressive.
However, I have a very tough time applauding anything he does, given his prominent role in selling the Iraq War to the American people and the world in general at the United Nations back in 2003.
I don't care if he was one of the few voices in the Bush Administration trying to slow the rush to war. If he was so concerned, he should have tendered his resignation rather than spread Bush's lies and misinformation before an international audience.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy that someone with such stature in military circles sees the leadership potential of a President Obama, and his endorsement announcement on Meet The Press is an incredibly thoughtful and, quite frankly, inspiring piece of footage...
Still, I just don't know how to feel about the guy now...
Friday, October 17, 2008
Can this dumbbell say anything intelligent???
Sarah Palin says she sometimes gets "depressed" when reporters actually do their job and talk about her qualifications.
She then goes on to make a comment that is psychotically inane:
Palin also made a point of mentioning that she loved to visit the "pro-America" areas of the country, of which North Carolina is one. No word on which states she views as unpatriotic.How the hell can one state be more "patriotic" than another?
And how is someone who approvingly addressed an anti-American, pro-secessionist organization as recently as last year even remotely qualified to make that distinction???
UPDATE: Huffington Post has posted Caribou Barbie's full remarks. They're far more brainless than I had thought...
"We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe" -- here the audience interrupted Palin with applause and cheers -- "We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation. This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom."In one fell swoop, she's declared that people from anywhere other than a small town:
1.) Aren't patriotic.
2.) Aren't "real" Americans.
3.) Aren't kind, good, or courageous people.
4.) Have never taught children.
5.) Have never served in the military or fought in wars.
Did I miss anything, you brain-dead popsicle of a woman?
Reflections on the first year...
Whew! We made it. Somehow.
Fiona and Declan's first year came to a close last night amid a swirl of nostalgia, excitement and anticipation for what the next year will bring.
"Challenging" doesn't begin to describe the experience of having no children, then suddenly having TWO.
I never thought I'd work so hard and yet, be so happy to do so.
I've learned a lot about myself in this last year. I've learned how strong I can be when things are tough. Consequently, I've also learned what a blubbering wuss I can be a mere 15 seconds later.
Through all of this, the one thing that always made me believe I was up to the task was my incredible wife. She shoulders roughly 100000% of the work I do, and does it with grace, compassion and unparalleled strength.
Here's to the year #2 with the coolest twins in the world!!!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The lesser-known reason the Phillies won the pennant...
The Phillies bullpen.
In five games, the Dodgers scored ZERO RUNS in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings.
That's incredible...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wanna know what I learned from tonight's debate?
Autism = Down's Syndrome
Thank you, Senator McCain for clearing that up.
Asshole...
I love it when he gets revved up...
Especially when he has a point.
Lewis Black talks about "government" with Anderson Cooper...
You have one chance to play a game against Death...
...in order to save your mortal soul. Which game do you choose to play?
I'd go with Yahtzee.
I'm a five dice-flingin' mothertrucker, and Death ain't got shit on me...
Calling out Caribou Barbie for dodging actual questions...
CNN's Roland Martin does a great job of trashing the Palin facade.
My favorite part:
My goodness, Tina Fey has actually done more interviews about playing Sarah Palin than Sarah Palin has done about being Sarah Palin!Right on...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
How I know that "Chuck" is the best show on TV...
In last night's episode, one of the main characters was named Von Hayes.
Call me a homer if you must, but any writer cool enough to put that reference in an episode of a prime-time network television show deserves a closet full of Emmy Awards...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Even Cowgirls get the blues...
First, they lose to the vaunted
Then, they find out that their fearless leader, playoff hero Tony Romo, will be out for a month with that manliest of injuries: a broken
Why do bad things happen to good teams?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
God bless the Flyers' fans...
They didn't disappoint!!!
Oh, and this wonderful paragon of motherhood has admitted to using her 7-year-old daughter to shield her from the inevitable booing she received...
A carpet was laid down and Palin, dressed in a beige trench, walked on to the ice joined by her daughters Willow and Piper. The GOP Vice-Presidential nominee said at an earlier fundraiser that she would stop some of the booing from the rowdy Philadelphia fans by putting her seven year old daughter, Piper in a Flyers jersey. She said, “How dare they boo Piper!”
A sobering fact about McCain/Palin...
One that I hadn't thought of, but am completely unsurprised to learn...
The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.
McCain, of course, was admonished by Senate Ethics Committee "for exercising 'poor judgment' for intervening" with federal regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, as part of the infamous Keating Five scandal.
And now McCain's running mate has also been found to have violated state ethics laws and abused the powers of her office, as part of the "Troopergate" scandal.
So, that settles that...
You can add "crook" to the ever-growing list of adjectives that accurately describe Caribou Barbie...
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska's governor and violated state ethics law by trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police, a state investigator's report concluded Friday.It's worth noting that the bipartsan panel came to this conclusion unanimously...
"Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda," the report states.
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan's refusal to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten from the state police force was "likely a contributing factor" to Monegan's July dismissal, but Palin had the authority as governor to fire him, the report by former Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower states.
However, it states that her efforts to get Wooten fired broke a state ethics law that bars public officials from pursuing personal interest through official action.
Friday, October 10, 2008
To end the week on a very mellow note...
Here's a little AM gold to cool you down...
"How About Us" by Champaign
It's time for Philly fans to show their true colors...
...and boo the shit out of this hollow-headed dope.
Sarah Palin's next faceoff will come on the ice of an NHL arena, not at a debate.Ed Snider, you are a fucking whore...
The GOP vice presidential nominee will drop the ceremonial first puck when the Philadelphia Flyers open the season against the New York Rangers on Saturday. Palin, the Alaska governor and self-described "hockey mom," will join the winner of a team promotion for the "Ultimate Hockey Mom" to drop the puck.
Last month, Palin visited a Philadelphia bar with Flyers owner Ed Snider, who has donated money to the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
P.S. To all the Republicans dying to mention that John Kerry threw out the first pitch for the Red Sox and that Barack Obama did the same for the White Sox, may I remind you that those two men are actually from those cities.
Caribou Barbie, on the other hand, would be better-suited dropping the puck for the Ketchikan Blubberfuckers...
John McCain of 2000 decries John McCain of 2008's "lack of vision"...
Glad I'm not the only one that sees it...
Thursday, October 9, 2008
John McCain = Chickenshit
John Cole calls out the old man for being a big pussy...
John McCain is not man enough to own his shit. John McCain will not openly confront Obama with his smears and lies and innuendo. John McCain will not come out and talk about Ayers, he has to be asked. That is why he goes to places like Fox News, so he can be asked. What a coincidence.Ouch!
John McCain is a coward.
John McCain would rather hide behind his wife and Sarah Palin than say it himself.
He would rather produce 2 minute ads that his campaign will never pay to air anywhere, and hope that the tire-swinging media will bring up the topic so he doesn’t have to do it himself.
John McCain just wants to throw shit out there, and “raise questions” about Obama, and hope his supporters connect the dots, because he is too much of a coward to directly push this toxic stew. He would rather hide behind right-wing bloggers, surrogates, and scummy websites staffed with wingnut welfare recipients like the NRO and the Weekly Standard.
John McCain had 90 minutes to bring this stuff up to Obama, to his face, and passed.
John McCain is a coward.
Jon Stewart raises a good point...
How can Sarah Palin ask "Who is Barack Obama?" when we just met her dumb ass 5 weeks ago?
Discuss...
Since I'll be buried under a mountain of work-related dogshit for the forseeable future...
...I'd like to point out which team was the last win the World Series and have the major league home run leader on its roster...
The 1980 Philadelphia Phillies
Oh, and John McCain has something to say to his fellow prisoners...
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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Criminally underrated bands IV
So many bands have ripped this sound off yet nobody has come close to capturing it again. They also spawned Rival Schools and Handsome, a super-group that made possibly the greatest debut/final album ever.
Fazer - Quicksand
Dine Alone - Quicksand
Monday, October 6, 2008
Bottoms Up
This album is finally old enough to buy a beer as of last month. Although a couple of strippers, an 8-ball and some JD would be more appropriate to celebrate this anniversary.
Damn I miss real rock & roll...
It was a pretty good idea for a Chili Peppers album, but...
Lack of tact has been undermining their credibility for years now, but this is taking absurdity to a new level. Never mind that it takes tens of thousands of gallons of milk to make even a single batch of a flavor and most women only produce ounces of milk which is almost immediately consumed by the intended recipient(s). I’m not even going to address the gargantuan list of reasons why this is completely unfeasible.
There’s enough cruelty to combat out there. Get with the program instead of employing every means necessary to render yourself irrelevant.
Asleep at the wheel
I thought I was going to watch a debate and I got a stump speech. I didn’t hear a single coherent answer to any question posed but rather tangential dialogues on “energy” delivered in a manner befitting someone speaking at a PTA meeting. I’m no Biden fan by any stretch at all – but if the bar is set at “don’t spontaneously combust on national TV” and when it’s accomplished praises are sung far and high, I question the sanity of all of this. The words “Palin administration” should be enough to spawn ulcers nation(world)wide. And she had the temerity to attach the McCain suffix to kinda disguise the designs, you know? Shucks! How endearing it would be to have multiple years of State of the Union addresses delivered “Fargo” style...
It must be nice to be able to stand up in front of a crowd and spew out a bunch of “facts” with the knowledge that everything you said will be confirmed or disproved later. For those of us “common” people to which apparently the crux of this “debate” was addressed, I daresay we would be looking for jobs afterwards if we tried doing such at our respective places of employment. But I suppose when the mighty Umbrella of Job Creation is rendered from the stone such fears will be all for naught.
No wonder we’re going in circles and falling about in such a manner. Spinning does that. And I’m getting sick.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I'm off to the Rose City for a week...
My wife and I are taking the twins on a cross-country flight to Portland, Oregon tomorrow.
Pray for us...
P.S. Something you might not know about Portland: It's literally crawling with cool retro neon signs, the likes of which are all over the place on the Jersey Shore...
A sneak peek into Sarah Palin's Facebook page...
It seems she's a participant in the great Facebook social experiment...
In lieu of another diatribe
This is how I feel about pretty much everything going on right now. But I will make 2 claims:
1) This is the greatest live band I have ever seen.
2) Undertow is one of the greatest albums ever made. Which is even more impressive given their canon.
Intolerance - Tool
