Friday Five
This summer--come to think of it, this whole year so far--is going by ridiculously fast. Once again, I find myself exhausted and wondering where the past two weeks went. Of course, the exhausted part probably has a lot to do with lugging around and putting away a few hundred pounds of frozen food that was donated to IFC today. You know, sometimes you really don't appreciate exactly how much some of your coworkers really do until you try to fill in for them for half a day. Anyway, here's a listpost and a brief Friday Five (I actually did the one for this week, what a concept).
1. The construction around here is getting out of hand. For all my local readers, I'm sure you've noticed that the entirety of Raleigh St is now closed. See, I'm thinking someone in the UNC administration has been watching Labyrinth too much and ended up deciding that the campus should be the best possible approximation of a maze. Its geometry Carolina style: the shortest distance between two points is under construction. While we're at it, we ought to just go ahead and use this as a recruiting tool; after all, where else can you go to school where simply walking across campus turns into a grand adventure. And then just when everyone gets used to one way of getting around, we go out and randomly rearrange all the construction sites in the middle of the night, throwing up fences and barriers kind of like what they did with the Berlin Wall.
2. My thoughts on the World Cup: You know what, I never liked that damn game anyway. Let's send the Steelers across the Atlantic and see if the Europeans can play some real football.
3. Speaking of Pittsburgh, I have to tip my hat to the city for being a great host for the Major League baseball All-Star game this week. I was extremely impressed at the views of the city, the way the game went, and most of all Phil Garner's managing an extremely good game. I thought the NL played a very great game and deserved to win and just hit a bad break in the 9th inning. But that kind of thing can happen in any one single game so you can't say they didn't give it their best effort. Clearly the NL players had a chip on their shoulder and felt they had something to prove and I enjoyed how aggressively they tried to win.
Which brings me to this idiotic tie-in between the All-Star game and home field advantage in the World Series. The past 25 fall classics have demonstrated that home field advantage is tremendously important and to award it based on a meaningless exhibition game is lunacy. And its also very insulting to the players and coaches. If someone is good enough to get selected to an All-Star game, they have to be very competitive people and there's also a lot of league pride. They don't need any extra motivation to win. As much as I truly enjoy the All-Star game, it has to be enjoyed for what it is: an exhibition game. A game that doesn't count is always going to be played differently--and there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, where is the logic in letting players like Alfonso Soriano or Mark Redman help determine the course of the World Series when they are not going to be there?
4. Obviously I am getting to this late, but I still have to extend a warm congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2006 Stanley Cup champions. Wonder how the folks in Detroit think the Cup looks from this distance.
5. Speaking of Detroit, that must be quite the blizzard they are having in Hell, seeing as how the Tigers have the best record in baseball more than halfway through the season. Now Satan can buy that hockey team he's always wanted. Then again, Steinbrenner already owns the New Jersey Devils....
6. I'm still laughing hysterically at the idea of jajy1979 being referred to as "a valued supporter of the Republican Party, our Agenda, and President Bush".
7. Do you believe in Suri Cruise? I don't usually follow celebrity gossip, but this story does look just a bit suspicious.
8. Want to know what else looks suspicious? Kenneth Lay's alleged "death". It seems way too convenient on so many levels, not the least of which is that the family supposedly had him cremated. Apparently, I'm not the only one who's skeptical.
9.
1. What about you makes you unique?
The fact that I'm such a collection of contradictions. I'm not one of the easiest people to figure out. And I've come to like it that way.
2. What aspect of your physical appearance makes you stick out from the crowd?
My height (I'm 6'6"). People always asked me if I played basketball. I've taken to responding, "Why no, I didn't. Did you play miniature golf?"
3. What do you always have with you while out in public? (for example, earrings, purse, wallet, watch, etc.)
A pen and paper for jotting down random ideas and inspirations that come to me. "If you don't write it down, it didn't happen." I realize this is probably not a unique answer for a writer.
4. Is there anything about your body that you think isn't normal?
Not particularly. Now my mind on the other hand....
5. What are you complimented on (looks, smarts, anything) the most? Why do you think that's the case?
Usually things that I can't ever seem to see in myself, so I end up being surprised to be complimented on them. I'm working on that. But I still think that the photographer from the local paper who once told me I am very photogenic was smoking some really strong stuff that morning.
1. The construction around here is getting out of hand. For all my local readers, I'm sure you've noticed that the entirety of Raleigh St is now closed. See, I'm thinking someone in the UNC administration has been watching Labyrinth too much and ended up deciding that the campus should be the best possible approximation of a maze. Its geometry Carolina style: the shortest distance between two points is under construction. While we're at it, we ought to just go ahead and use this as a recruiting tool; after all, where else can you go to school where simply walking across campus turns into a grand adventure. And then just when everyone gets used to one way of getting around, we go out and randomly rearrange all the construction sites in the middle of the night, throwing up fences and barriers kind of like what they did with the Berlin Wall.
2. My thoughts on the World Cup: You know what, I never liked that damn game anyway. Let's send the Steelers across the Atlantic and see if the Europeans can play some real football.
3. Speaking of Pittsburgh, I have to tip my hat to the city for being a great host for the Major League baseball All-Star game this week. I was extremely impressed at the views of the city, the way the game went, and most of all Phil Garner's managing an extremely good game. I thought the NL played a very great game and deserved to win and just hit a bad break in the 9th inning. But that kind of thing can happen in any one single game so you can't say they didn't give it their best effort. Clearly the NL players had a chip on their shoulder and felt they had something to prove and I enjoyed how aggressively they tried to win.
Which brings me to this idiotic tie-in between the All-Star game and home field advantage in the World Series. The past 25 fall classics have demonstrated that home field advantage is tremendously important and to award it based on a meaningless exhibition game is lunacy. And its also very insulting to the players and coaches. If someone is good enough to get selected to an All-Star game, they have to be very competitive people and there's also a lot of league pride. They don't need any extra motivation to win. As much as I truly enjoy the All-Star game, it has to be enjoyed for what it is: an exhibition game. A game that doesn't count is always going to be played differently--and there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, where is the logic in letting players like Alfonso Soriano or Mark Redman help determine the course of the World Series when they are not going to be there?
4. Obviously I am getting to this late, but I still have to extend a warm congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2006 Stanley Cup champions. Wonder how the folks in Detroit think the Cup looks from this distance.
5. Speaking of Detroit, that must be quite the blizzard they are having in Hell, seeing as how the Tigers have the best record in baseball more than halfway through the season. Now Satan can buy that hockey team he's always wanted. Then again, Steinbrenner already owns the New Jersey Devils....
6. I'm still laughing hysterically at the idea of jajy1979 being referred to as "a valued supporter of the Republican Party, our Agenda, and President Bush".
7. Do you believe in Suri Cruise? I don't usually follow celebrity gossip, but this story does look just a bit suspicious.
8. Want to know what else looks suspicious? Kenneth Lay's alleged "death". It seems way too convenient on so many levels, not the least of which is that the family supposedly had him cremated. Apparently, I'm not the only one who's skeptical.
9.
1. What about you makes you unique?
The fact that I'm such a collection of contradictions. I'm not one of the easiest people to figure out. And I've come to like it that way.
2. What aspect of your physical appearance makes you stick out from the crowd?
My height (I'm 6'6"). People always asked me if I played basketball. I've taken to responding, "Why no, I didn't. Did you play miniature golf?"
3. What do you always have with you while out in public? (for example, earrings, purse, wallet, watch, etc.)
A pen and paper for jotting down random ideas and inspirations that come to me. "If you don't write it down, it didn't happen." I realize this is probably not a unique answer for a writer.
4. Is there anything about your body that you think isn't normal?
Not particularly. Now my mind on the other hand....
5. What are you complimented on (looks, smarts, anything) the most? Why do you think that's the case?
Usually things that I can't ever seem to see in myself, so I end up being surprised to be complimented on them. I'm working on that. But I still think that the photographer from the local paper who once told me I am very photogenic was smoking some really strong stuff that morning.