( 2:41 AM )
I Go To Sleep
Can't sleep, so I started reading news headlines on my PDA and I came across some gems. First, Bush says the progress we're making in Iraq is what's spurring the rash of terrorist attacks. It wouldn't have anything to do with a foreign country once again occupying their land or anything, would it? We managed to give the Iraqis a little more electricity and this is the thanks we get. Ingrates.
Next was Bush's claim that the White House is doing everything they can to help the 9/11 commission's independent investigation. Um, if you were really doing everything you could, why is the commission threatening to supoena you for the information you're withholding? Must be the ingrates in Iraq who spearheaded 9/11 that are screwing that up too.
And lastly - and this one is tricky. Heard about the Malaysian Prime Minister that said Jews control the world through their political influence over the world's super powers? Well oddly enough, according to the Washington Post, the US Senate voted to restrict military aid to the country until the secretary of state can determine whether they're working to promote religious tolerance for everyone (including those of the Jewish faith). The lesson being that if an anti-Semite says something bad about Jews, the powers that be in the US will slap that bigot down in seconds flat, thus lending some credence to the anti-Semite's stupidity.
Up is down. Red is black. And the Yankees won the world championship.....those are my headlines.
Speaking of which - I'm just now reaching the point of sadness over the Yanks World Series loss. Not so much because they didn't win, but because it's going to be the end of an era. No Zimmer. Melle Mel's probably gone. Rumors have Sori and Weaver (thank god) going to TX for A-Rod, Bernie becoming the new DH, and Giambi thinking about retirement or surgery. And who knows what our pitching staff will look like (Andy you god loving freak - please come back!). So those wonderful men in the Pinstripes will have many new faces next year. As long as Super Joe is there to keep things sane and cool, I'll keep coming back too.
Nighty night rabbit.
PS - who was that bitch who posted Sunday night?
( 11:01 PM )
The Love Below
I was thinking about doing another 2Walls real time review of the Democratic candidates debate. But I'm so bored with these guys, and more so the dog and pony show, that I can't pay attention long enough to post anything.
Matt Taibbi recently wrote in The Nation something to the effect that no great leader would look out upon the problems facing America and offer small-minded, incremental solutions to the problems we're facing. This country needs another leader who will speak honestly about why the policies of the Bush Administration are a failure for most Americans, and an agenda of what can be done to make this a better country for everyone. So critiquing the game means that I'm buying into the game, and shit is too serious right now for playing around.
I keep hoping that I'll focus my thoughts, and turn this blog into a sort of a fun read/column kind of thing. But I haven't been able to do that - mostly because I'm lazy and tend to write on the spot instead of developing anything. So I'm kind of stuck again this week with with a wandering mind and a bitter attitude (probably inspired by some kind of combo of the Yankees & Steelers losing, modern politics, thinking too much about writing because I'm surrounded by people who are "professional" writers and thinkers, and just being tired). So I'm gonna bail out of this blog, take a nap, and get back to you with a motivated mind. Oh yeah.
( 11:59 PM )
Once again there's too much on my mind to coherently organize into a clear-headed blog, so I'll just spew some thoughts here.
First off - gotta give Pedro Martinez his props for taking full responsibility for his failure on the mound last Thursday (no - I'm not over the game yet - in fact, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my ticket stub - but I digress). I'm a softie, so at first I could understand Grady leaving him in. But it's the manager's call, not Pedro's, so he should've gone with the bullpen that had been serving him well during the series.
Next up - I officially offered my support for the Howard Dean campaign today by making a contribution to his campaign. I'm not really supporting him on an ideological basis. I'm just fed up with the Democratic Party and our political system in general and he seems to be scaring the bejesus out of the establishment (even though I don't really see him as a threat) - so for that reason alone I figured I'd throw him some dough. Plus I love the fact that according to the Washington Post, 54% of his contributions come from people giving him $200 or less and 22% giving $1000 or more (compared to Bush's 10% under $200 and 85% $1000 or more).
I just read that an appeals court upheld a ruling requiring internet radio stations to pay royalties to artists for their songs. I'm too tired to go into why this is wrong, but since the RIAA applauded the decision, you can just trust me on this one. I'm mentioning it here because I'm sick and tired of the RIAA and want to do something to bring them to their knees. So I did a search on their membership (which is every major label and most indies) and stumbled across a site called which has organzied a boycott of RIAA affiliated labels. I'm signing up right after this posting.
Both my Steeles and Buckeyes are afflicted with 'we suck, but don't really suck'-itis. It's very frustrating, but there's still hope for both of them.
Wreckid 'O Da Week honors do not go to the Outkast or Radiohead. I thought I'd be spinning the Outkast for weeks to come (and I probably will), but I just wasn't in the mood this week. So I gave the new Radiohead 2 complete listens this past weekend, but thought it was too foreboding to be truly enjoyable. And then somehow I got sidetracked into listening to this great band I knew in LA in the early '90s called Phineas Gage. They were led by this great songwriter named John Stapleton, and they had a Replacements influence in their song stylings and general attitude. I passed their tape along to some A&R types, but I guess they didn't hear the greatness that was so obvious to me. Anyway, 10 plus years later, I still love their music even though they've long since broken up. One of my favorite songs by the band was called "Favorite Song" and the lyrics are:
Well I’ve seen those boys on MTV
It’s never done that much for me
They sure know how to strike a pose
They’re awful handsome goodness knows
They’ve got it down to formula
A sure cure for insomnia
Sometimes I think they’re in cahoots
With the boys in business suits
Why don’t you play that song again
About the girl who done you wrong
About the party lasted all night long
Well that’s my favorite song.
Well maybe I should bite my tongue
Once I was stupid, I was young
They’ll probably get over it
And realize it’s all bullshit
But these poor kids to dumb to see
Rebellion as commodity
Don’t waste your eardrums on a whore
Believe me it could be much more
Why don't you.....
(used without permission - copyright 1990 by Phineas Gage/John Stapleton)
Congrats Phineas - on a much overdue Wreckid reward.
Later.
( 3:18 AM )
Unbelievable
Just back from the Yanks game 7 victory over the Sox and I'm exhausted and elated. It was an amazing game, but not only because the good guys were successful.
It was amazing because:
I saw a Yankee fan get temporarily tossed out of the game because he started rooting against the Yankees. I'm not kidding. After Roger gave up his 4th run, this moron started shouting for Posada to punch Roger when he met with him on the mound. Yanks fans started getting in his face and told him to chill out and shut up, but he kept running his mouth. So when the cops came up to see what the commotion was about, we all started pointing toward him and the cops took him away. We laughed and couldn't believe it. But they let him come back a few innings later and he actually came up to us and apologized, so it's all good.
It was also amazing because I never gave up. Really. I was down and I knew the odds were against us. But I stayed upbeat and very vocal - even inciting a few chants. (Unfortunately I couldn't get a "mother f--er" chant going against Pedro - but I got a few laughs for the effort.)
But ultimately, it was the comeback against a team that I don't really respect that really made it great. Pedro Martinez is a pussy. He's probably the greatest pitcher in MLB, but somehow the guy lost all his control and started headhunting when the Yanks started to hit him in the 8th. Even Clemens didn't stoop that low. I have zero tolerance for guys who throw at other players, so I take it as a sign of justice in the world that Pedro was responsible for the Red Cox meltdown during game 7.
I also take a LOT of pleasure in Tim Wakefield giving up the winning run. When he bitched and moaned about not getting a call during his last start, I went crazy. He easily got a dozen questionable inside calls, so whining about not getting 1 call was wimpy, unsportsman-like, and ultimately the sure sign of a loser.
Grady Little sucks as a manager. While I constantly second guess Joe Torre (because 2nd guessing the manager is an art of baseball), 9 out of 10 times he proves me wrong. It's just the opposite with Grady, and for that I hope the Red Sux keep him on for a long, long time.
But the bottom line is the Sox are the Yanks main rival, and it's impossible to take more pleasure in someone else's pain. No doubt I can be an obnoxious fan doing my best to start "asshole" chants or just getting in Sox fans faces and yelling "loser." In fact, I took a special delight in getting in some guy's face after he said "at least we don't live in the slums" after the loser's team lost (again). "This ain't the slums, and at least we know the joy of winning. And if you don't shut your trap, I'll let all these other slum dwellers know you don't have enough respect for them."
I don't believe in curses, but I do believe in perpetual losers. And the Boston Red Sox are perennial, perpetual losers. For that I am glad. It's nice to know that someone else is always going to feel worse than you. So fuck you Boston. Maybe you'll find a modicum of sportsmanship while you're watching the New York fucking Yankess win the World Series in 6 games.
( 12:41 AM )
Hey Ya!
Oh man - it's about time a record gave me goosebumps. And best of all, I more or less just stumbled upon it.
Last Monday I was home sick with the flu. I was flipping around the tube and came across MTV playing 'hit videos.' So I decided to wait and see what was next and what came on was this clip with Andre 3000 from Outkast talking to his manager before he went on. When the music hits, it's about a dozen different versions of Andre singing this sparse pop song called "Hey Ya!" and I was instantly hooked.
Although I want to be, I'm not a big fan of the Outkast. I love their adventurous-ness, but the whole southern hip-hop thing makes me think their music is overrated. Or maybe I just haven't given their records enough time, but I think our paths are finally crossing at the right moment. And the big hype machine is scaring me off a bit because of all the accolades being thrown at The Love Below/Speakerboxxx. Hype generally equals shit - so I usually put the brakes on. But I've had Andre's solo disc in for the past 30 minutes and I've got a feeling that I'll be listening to this for the next few weeks.
Big up to the Outkast fo da Wreckid 'O Da Week.
( 12:00 AM )
Wake Up
Ok - I've already admitted that when Steinbrenner gives Joe Torre the heave ho, I'm dropping my Yankee pinstripes like brown on brown rice. So I totally understand Mike Walls & Brandon Copple's blogs expressing disenchantment with the Yankees. HOWEVER - under no circumstance do you jump from being a Yanks fan to being a Red Sox fan. You can't suddenly switch allegiance from the Evil Empire to Luke Skywalker just because some of the playoff games (or fight scenes) were great.
I can totally understand being from New England and tiring of the Sox losing ways and deciding to root for a team that wins every now and then. But it absolutely does not work the other way. Do you suddenly start hoping that Dustin Hoffman blows off the delectable Katherine Ross so that he can be with Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson? Do you trade in your Corvette because Motor Trends gave the Mustang a better rating? Or do you really stop eating McDonald's french fries because taste tests say Burger King makes America's favorite fries? Hell no. And you don't ever - EVER - root for the Red Sox to beat the Yankees no matter what.
Sure allegiances are made to be rethought every now and then. I mean as an adult I'm allowed to question the love I once had for Kiss when I was a teen. And luckily my dad took a second look at that whole cootie thing or I might not exist. But I just don't get liking the Yankees, but rooting for the Red Sox. It's wrong on so many levels that I have to question further contributions to 2Walls.com. I know - I know. You'd all miss these wisps of wisdom. But our fearless leader has just turned into a treacherous traitor and I don't know if I can continue this association.
Hopefully all will be right with the world and the Yanks will win in 6. Six because I have tix to game 6 and they damn well better play it because this will be the series of the year. That is until I start rooting for the Cubs to take the Yanks in 7!
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