Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Cliff Lee has a no-trade clause that lists 21 teams. If I'm an MLB GM - I'm calling the Phillies to see if I'm one of the 9 teams not on the list. I'm calling first thing... Heh heh - it's funny because its true... If you only had to pay for the cable channels you wanted or watched - how many people would still have MTV or MSNBC? Nobody forces you to buy cable but if you want cable then you are forced to buy channels you don't want. Doesn't seem right does it?... If I were in charge of the Big Ben clock in London - I'd have it strike 11 times at 10 o'clock every once in a while just to mess with the heads of some conspiracy theorists... Great headline!... In the tomato drink V8 - is one of the 8 ingredients ass? Sure tastes like ass to me... If Australians are from "down under" - does that mean Americans are from "up over"?... Remember when Democrats like Harry Truman insisted that the buck stopped with them and didn't blame some low level employees? Or the media? Or the previous administration?...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- If the JoeBots drive away Bill O'Brien - who do they think would wade into their toxic swamp to replace him?

- The Pogues Shane MacGowan seeking dental help so he can star in a Hollywood movie. You have to admit that would be great advertising for the firm that does it. "If we can fix Shane MacGowan's teeth - we can fix anyone's!"

- Interesting article about pool hustlers back in the day.

- Heh heh

Derek Lowe

Derek Lowe was designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers and his big league career may be over. And what a unique career it has been. Lowe once led the league in saves - something Jonathan Papelbon never managed to do. Lowe had as many 20-win seasons as Mike Mussina - but whereas Mussina was nicknamed Moose - it was Lowe who really shouldered the load and who led his league in games started 4 times (Mussina managed the trick just twice).

The Red Sox do not win the 2004 World Series without Lowe's pitching heroics. But it is Curt Schilling and David Ortiz who still get all the kudos. For his part in the 2004 Championship - Lowe was shown the door and allowed to sign with the Dodgers as a free agent.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying Lowe and his career 4.03 ERA is a Hall of Famer. It is also hard to feel bad for a man who spent all or part of 17 seasons in "the show" while raking in more than $110 million in salary. It's just that Lowe seems a decent guy and has been so enigmatic that the passing of his big league career seemed worthy of note.

Thanks for 2004.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Texts from Last Night - occasional comedy gold.

- Origins of 9 great British insults

- Heh heh - Summer is Coming!

- This use of the Marines really bothered me. Really bothered me.

- Heh heh - so true - so true

- Bea Arthur nude painting sells for $1.9 million

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I don't care how awesome the Internet becomes - Zombo.com will still be the best site ever... Have you seen those pictures of Richard Branson dressing up as a stewardess because he lost a bet? Just saying but the Most Interesting Man in the World would never do something like that.... Interesting - 10 hotel secrets from behind the front desk... I have Albert Pujols in one of my fantasy baseball leagues so I don't have to be reminded that Lyle Overbay has more HR (6-5) and more RBI (23-21)... Franks Sinatra has been dead for 15 years now - here's 15 things you may not have known about him... This is genius - comedian Kurt Braunolher paid to have this written in the sky above Los Angeles... Now would be a really good time for President Obama to raise or lower the sea levels just to distract people from all these scandals...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Nice profile of Rockies manager Walt Weiss. Hard not to like the guy.

- Senator challenges NFL's tax-exempt status. Of course a shortcut would be to just tell the IRS that the NFL was affiliated with the Tea Party.

- Col. Chris Hadfield singing Space Oddity is awesome. Part of me is bothered by the idea that NASA now is best known for singing astronauts and not for the sort of great goals and accomplishments that made them famous in the past. We don't even have a space shuttle any more.

- Watch this excerpt from a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace. Watch it once a week for the rest of your life to remind yourself "this is water".

- 11 Patron Saints of food, wine and those who cook or serve

- Interesting look at how our Solar System isn't "normal".

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Two very interesting pairings this past weekend. You had the Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain story and then Tiger Woods vs Sergio Garcia story-line at TPC Sawgrass. In both cases the younger player came off as bit of an ass... "Give us just the audio feed from Erin Andrews" said no TV producer ever... I read the subtext to this Dan Shaughnessy rebuttle by Red Sox part-owner Tom Werner as "I gave your daughter a job in Hollywood you ungrateful jerk"... God bless the Richard family. I cannot image the pain and grief they must shoulder every day... I still say that Tim Tebow would be a useful back-up to the Patriots. Tom Brady likes those one-yard goal-line plunges too much. He's getting older and there's no reason to risk him in those situations when you could have a guy like Tebow... Part of me thinks the Westboro Baptist Church is just some real elaborate hoax being pulled off by an not-dead Andy Kaufman... Playing off the success of ChristianMingle.com - I'd like to start a site ChristianDivorce.com. Jesus want you to separate!...